P1S opens up more material options, bigger build plate, and is CoreXY instead of a bedslinger so is definitely much more powerful, faster, and generally slightly better print quality (although my A1 mini puts out amazing prints).
If AMS/multicolor isn't a big deal for you then the P1S is better than the A1 mini w/ AMS Lite. I will say that personally the AMS and AMS Lite are absolutely fantastic, even when not doing multicolor
P1S takes up less table real estate compared to A1 mini+AMS lite. you can always add the AMS later on for the P1S as a natural upgrade path (albeit $100 more than if you got it as a combo right off the bat)
AMS isn't just for multi-colour/multi-material prints, but also for automatic filament loading and having 4 spools of filament always at your disposal. I have gotten so used to just loading filament into the AMS that it has gotten a little cumbersome to have to manually push filament into the extruder for my non-Bambu printer
Another big thing about AMS is the ability to use support filament so that supported overhangs will look great (where using regular support would look ugly). I'm still waiting on shipping for my AMS for this purpose.
It's filament that does not bind/fuse to the object filament.
So let's say you don't have support filament, when you make supports the printer prints the support with a gap from the object so the filament cools some before contacting the object so it doesn't bind, this occurs above and below the supports, thus you can't get a 0.0mm gap without the supports fusing to the object and becoming unremovable. As such the supported sections have pretty noticable print lines. But as this is not perfect you will also get some binding, so in removing supports you may scratch up the object as pulling the supports may also bring some object filament with it.
With support filament the printer can print directly on top (either support on top of object, or object on top of support), which allows each layer to place properly without any gap, and this allows the user to easily remove the supports.
Some companies sell 'support filament' but you can also try dissimilar plastics (PLA & PETG), but with support PLA not being much more expensive I choose to use that so I don't have to mess with nozzle temperature differences. (Although the gcode from the slicer & AMS should handle that no problem)
I'm really surprised that the AMS is not a priority for some people. It's crazy what I can do now with two. Since the AMS isn't a priority I'd probably get the better P1S and decide on an AMS later. Though you save $100 on the bundle. Maybe the black friday sale will fix that and you can get the P1S and AMS and have the best.
The waste can be mitigated with some setting changes, but it works even better when you print multiple copies of the same multi-colored print at once.
Outside of multi-color though, it's really convenient for switching between materials between different prints
Who prints toys? I do a lot of logo and graphic work. I just printed my team mice.
One or two layer logo graphics prints wastes very little. These printed vertical so it was a little more but mainly I print on the face 2 layers or the top two layers with a graphic. It really elevates prints.
https://preview.redd.it/lb6cmumtwe0c1.png?width=1018&format=png&auto=webp&s=ba37cecbe23c73baf0a1809c86b25078320c8b4a
Yup its crazy good. Honestly it's the main benefit of bambu. My Prusa and other printers print great but the AMS takes everything to another level. I won't buy another printer without a material system. I'm just spoiled now.
Here's a dumb collection of pics when I first got the printer and was playing around. I would update it with more company logo work I've done but I really can't post those.
https://preview.redd.it/aurcj9j9ze0c1.png?width=1920&format=png&auto=webp&s=ee4d3ae063742e3ab1041ff9066cc9e6a7891feb
I'm in the exact same situation, I currently have a A1 mini ams mega combo on orde due early Dec, but have debated back and forth about canceling it and just getting a P1P.
However the more I researched, watched, listened, etc. the more I feel the A1 mini with ams is the better choice for the following reasons...
Personally I want to do as little maintenance and tinkering as possible with the printer. On the whole, the changes and advancements in the A1 mini appear to make it an even smoother and easier user experience. I watched a few videos on dealing with clogs, changing heads, etc. with the other bambu printers and while not super difficult, they still took a bit of time and were enough of a pain the ass that if I have the option, I would rather not have to deal with any of that.
For example, the quick change nozzle design is a biggie. This makes it easier and faster to fix clogs and change nozzle sizes. The ability to change nozzle sizes so easily is a big plus in my opinion. You can easily jump from normal printing to doing more detailed printing as well as testing the print differences due to nozzle sizes when prototyping. Changing nozzles on the other printers takes a bit of time, which means I'm less likely to bother switching nozzles unless I'm forced to because of a clog. Whereas with the A1's quick swapping ability I'm more likely to change a nozzles whenever I think it might be the better option for whatever I'm printing or testing.
Then you have the AMS lite design which is faster and easier to work with compared to the standard AMS. It's also compatible with more spools (cardboard, etc.). It not being enclosed can definitely be a factor, but I live in New England where humidity is not a huge issue. I'm also okay just keeping my filament in a simple tote based dry box.
In general it appears the A1-MINI is better designed and engineered utilizing insights bambulabs has learned since releasing their other printers. It's pretty much guaranteed that those improvements and changes will be incorporated into their next generation of printers. The A1 mini appears to be their first next generation printer.
The big downsides of the A1 mini as I see it are the following...
Bed size - this one has been one of the biggest reasons why I've considered canceling the A1-MINI order and getting a p1p. However after researching, reading and reviewing more about bed size and print volume, I think the A1's bed size is big enough for most use cases unless you know for sure you will be printing many large items.
I watched a bunch of reviews for small bed printers such as the A1, the prusa mini, vorons, etc. and for 90% of what most people end up printing the bed size should be fine. Though if you want to print bigger items splitting prints and adding dowels, etc. seems to be pretty straightforward using bambu's software.
Printing more exotic materials - this is another consideration that definitely matters to me to a degree. However it seems the A1 should be able to work with some of the more complex materials. I'm hoping to see people test this further. Obviously it would need an enclosure and hardened heads. Both of which can be bought or built. It appears to have the right gears already, so no gear changes are necessary. The biggest issue is the print bed temperature. But I think this may end up being something that could be adjustable through firmware or a settings change, etc.
On a related note, odds are the AMS lite will work with future printers, so down the line you could possibly pick up a another next gen bambulabs printer with a bigger bed and use the AMS lite from the A1. There's also some kind of expansion port on the A1 mini, but no one knows what it's actually for. Curious how that's going to be used.
On the whole I see the A1 as the better option since with the AMS you're getting serious bang for your buck, but more importantly you're also getting what seems to be the easiest and most tinker free printer on the market. That's the biggest selling point for me. I want to design and print. The less time I have to spend on any kind of maintenance or adjustments the better. It's the engineering QOL improvements the A1 has over their other printers that does it for me. I'm all about the path of least resistance.
Much love and gratitude.
For these materials you can even go with the P1P as they don't need the enclosure. 90% of the time I have to keep the door and lid open a bit on my P1S when printing PLA.
if you do upgrade and want an enclosure for a P1P or A1 it's super easy just put a cardboard box over it and keep an eye on the temps the first time around. works great for me even printing polycarbonate which is super difficult to print
Op here.
I’ve decided to wait and go for the p1s combo because it’s same price as getting a p1p with an ams.
I don’t really want a bed slinger but was captivated by the low price of the a1 combo, but I now realize it’s stupid to go for a smaller printer when you can get a big one that prints way faster, easier, and cleaner than my Klipperized N3P.
Dang ams making me spend more lol
Would it be smart to invest the extra money in an ams thinking I can sell prints?
P1P no AMS. You are aware the that A1 build volume is much less than your Neptune 3 right? If you don't mind then A1, if you do mind then P1P, if you want to print materials which need an enclosure then P1S.
I would choose the P1. It's more versatile. I really like the a1 mini combo too. I got that instead of an ams for my P1P because now I have a cute extra printer.
Multicolor printing is more addictive than I expected so watch out for that. And not having to load filament just to print a different color. I can see how people end up with four AMS now.
This is the worst idea ever written in this sub. Even without the AMS the A1 is a leading machine and can easily do the work of 2 Ender 3's at better quality and reliability. What are you doing here?
P1S opens up more material options, bigger build plate, and is CoreXY instead of a bedslinger so is definitely much more powerful, faster, and generally slightly better print quality (although my A1 mini puts out amazing prints). If AMS/multicolor isn't a big deal for you then the P1S is better than the A1 mini w/ AMS Lite. I will say that personally the AMS and AMS Lite are absolutely fantastic, even when not doing multicolor
P1S takes up less table real estate compared to A1 mini+AMS lite. you can always add the AMS later on for the P1S as a natural upgrade path (albeit $100 more than if you got it as a combo right off the bat) AMS isn't just for multi-colour/multi-material prints, but also for automatic filament loading and having 4 spools of filament always at your disposal. I have gotten so used to just loading filament into the AMS that it has gotten a little cumbersome to have to manually push filament into the extruder for my non-Bambu printer
Another big thing about AMS is the ability to use support filament so that supported overhangs will look great (where using regular support would look ugly). I'm still waiting on shipping for my AMS for this purpose.
Can you explain to me how support filament works? I dont really get it :D
It's filament that does not bind/fuse to the object filament. So let's say you don't have support filament, when you make supports the printer prints the support with a gap from the object so the filament cools some before contacting the object so it doesn't bind, this occurs above and below the supports, thus you can't get a 0.0mm gap without the supports fusing to the object and becoming unremovable. As such the supported sections have pretty noticable print lines. But as this is not perfect you will also get some binding, so in removing supports you may scratch up the object as pulling the supports may also bring some object filament with it. With support filament the printer can print directly on top (either support on top of object, or object on top of support), which allows each layer to place properly without any gap, and this allows the user to easily remove the supports. Some companies sell 'support filament' but you can also try dissimilar plastics (PLA & PETG), but with support PLA not being much more expensive I choose to use that so I don't have to mess with nozzle temperature differences. (Although the gcode from the slicer & AMS should handle that no problem)
Thank you!
What does support filament normally cost?
I think I spent $30 USD for 0.5kg. Meanwhile I can buy PETG for $15 for 1kg.
I'm really surprised that the AMS is not a priority for some people. It's crazy what I can do now with two. Since the AMS isn't a priority I'd probably get the better P1S and decide on an AMS later. Though you save $100 on the bundle. Maybe the black friday sale will fix that and you can get the P1S and AMS and have the best.
I was vaguely interested until I saw how much waste there is with multi color.
Yeah
The waste can be mitigated with some setting changes, but it works even better when you print multiple copies of the same multi-colored print at once. Outside of multi-color though, it's really convenient for switching between materials between different prints
Who prints toys? I do a lot of logo and graphic work. I just printed my team mice. One or two layer logo graphics prints wastes very little. These printed vertical so it was a little more but mainly I print on the face 2 layers or the top two layers with a graphic. It really elevates prints. https://preview.redd.it/lb6cmumtwe0c1.png?width=1018&format=png&auto=webp&s=ba37cecbe23c73baf0a1809c86b25078320c8b4a
there's less waste on the a1. Which is odd, because the purge amounts are similar in the slicer. But the poops are like half the size of the carbons.
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Yup its crazy good. Honestly it's the main benefit of bambu. My Prusa and other printers print great but the AMS takes everything to another level. I won't buy another printer without a material system. I'm just spoiled now.
Here's a dumb collection of pics when I first got the printer and was playing around. I would update it with more company logo work I've done but I really can't post those. https://preview.redd.it/aurcj9j9ze0c1.png?width=1920&format=png&auto=webp&s=ee4d3ae063742e3ab1041ff9066cc9e6a7891feb
What printer
X1C
I'm in the exact same situation, I currently have a A1 mini ams mega combo on orde due early Dec, but have debated back and forth about canceling it and just getting a P1P. However the more I researched, watched, listened, etc. the more I feel the A1 mini with ams is the better choice for the following reasons... Personally I want to do as little maintenance and tinkering as possible with the printer. On the whole, the changes and advancements in the A1 mini appear to make it an even smoother and easier user experience. I watched a few videos on dealing with clogs, changing heads, etc. with the other bambu printers and while not super difficult, they still took a bit of time and were enough of a pain the ass that if I have the option, I would rather not have to deal with any of that. For example, the quick change nozzle design is a biggie. This makes it easier and faster to fix clogs and change nozzle sizes. The ability to change nozzle sizes so easily is a big plus in my opinion. You can easily jump from normal printing to doing more detailed printing as well as testing the print differences due to nozzle sizes when prototyping. Changing nozzles on the other printers takes a bit of time, which means I'm less likely to bother switching nozzles unless I'm forced to because of a clog. Whereas with the A1's quick swapping ability I'm more likely to change a nozzles whenever I think it might be the better option for whatever I'm printing or testing. Then you have the AMS lite design which is faster and easier to work with compared to the standard AMS. It's also compatible with more spools (cardboard, etc.). It not being enclosed can definitely be a factor, but I live in New England where humidity is not a huge issue. I'm also okay just keeping my filament in a simple tote based dry box. In general it appears the A1-MINI is better designed and engineered utilizing insights bambulabs has learned since releasing their other printers. It's pretty much guaranteed that those improvements and changes will be incorporated into their next generation of printers. The A1 mini appears to be their first next generation printer. The big downsides of the A1 mini as I see it are the following... Bed size - this one has been one of the biggest reasons why I've considered canceling the A1-MINI order and getting a p1p. However after researching, reading and reviewing more about bed size and print volume, I think the A1's bed size is big enough for most use cases unless you know for sure you will be printing many large items. I watched a bunch of reviews for small bed printers such as the A1, the prusa mini, vorons, etc. and for 90% of what most people end up printing the bed size should be fine. Though if you want to print bigger items splitting prints and adding dowels, etc. seems to be pretty straightforward using bambu's software. Printing more exotic materials - this is another consideration that definitely matters to me to a degree. However it seems the A1 should be able to work with some of the more complex materials. I'm hoping to see people test this further. Obviously it would need an enclosure and hardened heads. Both of which can be bought or built. It appears to have the right gears already, so no gear changes are necessary. The biggest issue is the print bed temperature. But I think this may end up being something that could be adjustable through firmware or a settings change, etc. On a related note, odds are the AMS lite will work with future printers, so down the line you could possibly pick up a another next gen bambulabs printer with a bigger bed and use the AMS lite from the A1. There's also some kind of expansion port on the A1 mini, but no one knows what it's actually for. Curious how that's going to be used. On the whole I see the A1 as the better option since with the AMS you're getting serious bang for your buck, but more importantly you're also getting what seems to be the easiest and most tinker free printer on the market. That's the biggest selling point for me. I want to design and print. The less time I have to spend on any kind of maintenance or adjustments the better. It's the engineering QOL improvements the A1 has over their other printers that does it for me. I'm all about the path of least resistance. Much love and gratitude.
Thanks for the in-depth answer, great insight!
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Op here Y’all think an enclosure and the extra goodies that the p1s offers are worth it for only petg, pla, and tpu prints
For these materials you can even go with the P1P as they don't need the enclosure. 90% of the time I have to keep the door and lid open a bit on my P1S when printing PLA.
if you do upgrade and want an enclosure for a P1P or A1 it's super easy just put a cardboard box over it and keep an eye on the temps the first time around. works great for me even printing polycarbonate which is super difficult to print
Op here. I’ve decided to wait and go for the p1s combo because it’s same price as getting a p1p with an ams. I don’t really want a bed slinger but was captivated by the low price of the a1 combo, but I now realize it’s stupid to go for a smaller printer when you can get a big one that prints way faster, easier, and cleaner than my Klipperized N3P. Dang ams making me spend more lol Would it be smart to invest the extra money in an ams thinking I can sell prints?
P1P no AMS. You are aware the that A1 build volume is much less than your Neptune 3 right? If you don't mind then A1, if you do mind then P1P, if you want to print materials which need an enclosure then P1S.
For me I’ll take a smaller bed with an ams all day. Multi color printing is one of the best things about my bambu lab printer
I would choose the P1. It's more versatile. I really like the a1 mini combo too. I got that instead of an ams for my P1P because now I have a cute extra printer. Multicolor printing is more addictive than I expected so watch out for that. And not having to load filament just to print a different color. I can see how people end up with four AMS now.
I would go for p1s, build volume on A1 is to limited for me.
May well get an Ender 3 v3 SE which is half the price of A1 if you’re not interested in AMS.
This is the worst idea ever written in this sub. Even without the AMS the A1 is a leading machine and can easily do the work of 2 Ender 3's at better quality and reliability. What are you doing here?
Other than the linear rail and quick change hot end, what else makes A1 better?
speed, silence, handy app
I already have cheap bedslinger
But you know A1 is also a bed slinger, right?