Bambu Lab A1 Must Prints!! (7 Things You Need to Print)
Now if you're like me and you have just purchased and received the Bambu Lab A1 then you may be wondering what to print first. Well today I'm going to share with you the first 7 things you need to print on the A1.
Some of these come already pre-sliced on the printer and others are some nice quality of life upgrades.
Honourable Mentions
Benchy
Of course the first honourable mention is the Benchy which is prelaoded on the A1. Now for those of you that are new to 3D printing, you may be wondering what this cute little boat is and why it's called a benchy. Benchy is short for benchmark as this print is a great way to test your printer's capabilities. It is designed to test how well you printer deals with overhangs, large smooth curves, tiny surface details, Cylindrical Shapes and much much more.
Now for those of you that are familiar with benchys, will know that this print usually takes around 40 mins to over an hour on older printers, however that is not the case with the BambuLab A1. Bambu Lab has sliced this file themselves and have somehow reduced the print time to an impressive 21 minutes, which includes the 7 minute calibration and bed level. I definitely recommend printing this first as seeing the speed this prints at in person will blow you away.
Bambu Lab Bed Scraper
Bambu Lab supplies you with a Bambu scraper blade in the accessories box. Now it took me a little while to realise this but, stored in the printers on board memory is a file that allows you to print your own scraper that the blade slides onto. It takes just over an hour to print and comes with a stand to hold it in. This is a great idea in my opinion and it works very well.
Now onto the main 7
Purge Bucket
The first object on this list is a purge bucket. The purge bucket is a must have as every time your printer loads and unloads filament it will purge an amount of filament and shoot it out the left hand side of the machine through its purge wiper. If you purchased an AMS Lite your printer will also purge an amount of filament every time you change colour to ensure your colours don't get mixed in your print.
Now there's plenty of different stl files available for purge buckets however I have chosen this one as it's a multicolour print with the Bambu Lab Logo on the front.
Deflector
The second object on this list is a deflector. The deflector is a great way to help reduce some mess when multicolour printing and changing filament, as the A1 purges its filament on the left hand side of the machine by quickly flicking its head against the purge wiper. This then flicks the filament of the head and honestly in a wide number of directions. This deflector works very well and helps aim my purged filament into the purge bucket and in my opinion is a must print for all A1 owners.
PTFE Removal Tool
The third object on this list is a PTFE Tube Removal Tool. The PTFE Tube removal tool is a little handy tool that makes removing the guide tubes from the AMS Lite and AMS Lite Filament Hub a lot easier. It takes only 11 minutes to print and simply slides over the top of the PTFE tube and once pressed down into the connector easily remove the guide tubes.
Y-Splitter
The next object on the list is a filament y splitter. This is a must have for people who have an AMS Lite unit that also want to print non compatible AMS materials. The Y splitter makes it easier to swap from using the AMS to using an external spool of filament as you don't have to constantly remove and re-insert the guide tube connecting from the AMS Lite to the printer. Simply connect the y splitter to the machine and use the guide tube from the AMS Lite to connect to one side of y splitter and a second to connect to an external spool on your spool holder.
Tool Box
Next up is probably my favourite print on this list. A tool box, this tool box is 100% 3D printable and is designed to fit all the accessories that came with the A1 as well as spots for the 0.2mm, 0.6mm and 0.8mm hotends. It also has a spare section below the hotends for extra parts and accessories. This rugged box with keep all your tools safe and together and you'll never be frantically searching for the correct Allen Key needed to tighten a screw again!
Swatch Display Holder
The penultimate object on this list is not specifically for the A1 however it is for something that comes with the A1. A swatch display holder, this swatch display holder is designed to fit all the filament swatches that come with the A1. It is a great way to not only store them but to view them as it uses a bearing to allow the top section to be spun popping the selected swatch up for better viewing.
Build Plate Aligner Tool
The final item on this list is a build plate aligner tool. Now if you're finding it difficult to align your build plate perfectly on the bed of your A1 then this is definitely the print for you. I've personally noticed that sometimes it is a little bit difficult to perfectly sit the build plate on the bed as the aligners at the end are very small and flimsy and the magnets on the bed are very strong.
This build plate aligner pops up slightly higher than the current aligners and is stronger allowing a solid surface for you to push the build plate against when reinstalling the bed.
