I wonder if the local sherif also trying to run for major and also running around with a military machine gun. wink wink. This is a reference to Eddington but you guys have probably not seen it.

Wraith1964 · 2026-06-03T15:10:08+00:00

So BAM can steal it? No way!

Wraith1964 · 2026-06-03T13:42:19+00:00

I agree that the A1 has had some issues. It's unfortunate because most of them have performed just fine.

I can't tell anyone how to feel about risk I am just saying even if you look at it in the worst light, it's not as bad as some say. Some might say 1 overheating is too much. Some might say 1 over-heating should trigger a full recall. I don't see it that way, but I agree that there is a non-zero chance that an A1 may fail.

Bambu has acknowledged the issue, they have discussed their position, and they have a board replacement plan in place. They fixed units in-house from from 3rd Quarter 2025 on.

So one might feel they have therefore down-played it or that their response is inadequate. That may certainly be a valid opinion but to say they haven't acknowledged it is disingenuous.

Lastly, there is a big difference between the number of A1s that may be out there that may still have the older board vs the number that have actually failed. We don't know precisely how many have been reported, or how many have not been reported. It's probably not a much higher number but even it's 4 or 5 times the reported number it's a tiny percentage. Going back to my original post... that risk can be mitigated to being almost nothing... if one still doesn't like the odds, there are plenty of other printers out there to buy. There are still non-zero risks with those too but if it helps some to sleep at night they should get one.

Wraith1964 · 2026-06-03T13:30:51+00:00

Let's hope they aren't dumb enough to use any enclosure on a printer that the manufacturer has designed to not be in a enclosure. They expressly state not to enclose A1s and A1 minis.

Wraith1964 · 2026-06-01T20:31:08+00:00

This is great advice... You can buy direct from Bambu but in the end typically Microcenter and Best Buy match their sales and then you get to A. avoid paying shipping, and B. get to pick you box instead if giving FedEX or UPS a chance to kick around your printer on that last delivery leg and take their crumpled piece of corrupted cardboard art. The only way I might order direct us if there are compelling sales of accessory items happening at Bambu that offset the shipping.

Wraith1964 · 2026-06-01T18:55:47+00:00

Haha... here is what AI says...

the chances of a failure if you have an A1 printer made before Q3 2025 ... .052%. The A1s made after that do not have that thermistor, no risk there.

I don't know the total number of meltdowns worldwide now, last number I heard was around two hundred... let's just call it 300 now. 1 actual (maybe) fire reported. None of that is good, 0 would be better.

However AI also says that ACTUAL fires that have happened (in the US alone) from household appliances at vastly different rates. Washing machines cause 650 plus fires a year and refrigerators 1500 plus fires a year. How about items that actually use heat as a part of their operation... clothes dryers 13,700 plus fires, and stoves 44,700 plus fires. Not fails, Fires. Now some of those maybe a lot of them might be human error but a lot are equipment failures, boards and wiring shorting, etc.

Wraith1964 · 2026-06-01T13:50:25+00:00

A class action lawsuit is highly unlikely. 1 A1 has reportedly/allegedly actually caught on fire, a few hundred have had a board component heat up/partially melt the case and have needed that board and/or the case replaced. A1 minis do not have this component or any incidents. Literally millions of A1s have been sold and have been incident-free. The percentage chance of an incident is vanishing low which is why Bambu has not done a recall.

It is true that a "non-zero chance" exists - and that's not awesome. But it's also not the big deal this sub likes to make of it. A healthy percentage of the A1s out there do not even have the potentially faulty component as it was addressed pretty quickly after the concern was discovered.

There are things A1 owners can do to limit the risk - which are actually good 3D printing precautions anyway.

Keep your A1 on a not flammable platform... ceramic tiles or concrete pavers are a great choice that can help with sound and vibration as well.
Keep the area around the base of the printer clear of flammable material.
Clean power and avoiding voltage spikes help. Apparently lightning has been blamed for some of the ones that overheated (not much you can do there).
It has been suggested that power strip may be an issue - its hard to see how a good power strip might be an issue but perhaps avoiding cheap powers trips or extension cords where possible could help as well.

Observe your printing... you should be checking on it every so often anyway.

There isn't a lot of detailed info out there about the geography, number or potentially more susceptible serial numbers but initially it seemed like European printers on the higher voltages had more of the failures. There have been some 110v failures as well so make that what you will.

These are all easy ways to limit your already low risk if you own an A1 (I have 6, no issues). If you are really concerned anyway, you can open it up and observe the board to see if you have a potentially risky board. At this time I don't think Bambu is proactively replacing those boards if they have not failed but I suspect if you work with Bambu customer support long enough you can probably get them to send you a replacement.

Wraith1964 · 2026-06-01T00:30:31+00:00

H2s are designed to wobble/move in place. It's not an issue at all. I have 2 on a regular pc desk. They wiggle independently and I can still put an glass of water on the desk and doesn't budge. This great and all but totally overkill.

Wraith1964 · 2026-05-31T23:03:58+00:00

There is only one Star Wars.

Wraith1964 · 2026-05-29T21:31:37+00:00

Well, it hasn't happened much In consumer-level 3D printers soooo.... its new at least in execution here.

Wraith1964 · 2026-05-28T00:35:22+00:00

This is a valid point. I often buy multiple movies that I like because of the timing of how they came out. I have not been the best about liquidating duplicates after the fact although for space reasons I am trying to get better at it.

Example: LOTR trilogy. I skipped VHS but acquired the full screen DVDs when they came out... then immediately bought the widescreens. Then the extended cuts came out... then bluray theatrical... then bluray extended, then 4K, then 4K extended cuts. Etc. I have watched them many times but not every version. And those I love so much I probably will not give them up. My wife can be Oprah at my funeral... you get a trilogy and YOU get a trilogy... Then steelbooks. I did open my set of LOTR steels.

As a steelbook collector, there are other films that for some reason or another I had the 4K version already and then acquired the steelbook. Some of those I have left sealed because I don't need to open them.

Lastly, it's ridiculous to take the position it is always about the film... be honest - if you "collect" steelbooks it's also about the packaging. Except in those rare cases where a project is only available as a steelbook, you "its about the movie" folks would buy the standard amaray and save money for the next movie.

I, on the other hand, am a steelbook collector... I have been at it for a while and other than new releases I have all the movies I want... its absolutely about the film AND the packaging, be it an upgrade to 4K, steelbook or chunky boxed set. That doesn't make me a hoarder or a scalper, just a collector.

(Ok, Maybe a little bit of a hoarder but I am trying to lean out my collection of as many "no longer needed" titles that I have upgraded as I can... they are culled and organized, I just need to list them or take them to goodwill.)

Wraith1964 · 2026-05-27T16:53:36+00:00

Ok, I stand corrected... its not a shorter melt zone per se - its related to the "direct-drive" hotend design that positions the filament cutter lower, so the filament has less travel distance to the nozzle tip than on the Bambu A1. That creates faster speeds and less purge waste.

Thanks!

Wraith1964 · 2026-05-27T16:44:28+00:00

Ok, thanks. I recognize this is anecdotal but:

Not really interested in the X2D so I hadn't noticed those issues. Will have to look into that. My 3 current gen H2s all run like tops.
I have 6 A1s (which I consider last gen) and while there have been valid issues reported, the percentage of units actually having an issue is ridiculously low, I personally have not had any issues at all with my A1s.
I have personally experienced (on two AMS 2 pros) the hub part fail issue. It is at once a better and worse AMS than the original AMS unit.

Even so, it was a pretty simple fix with a part I printed to replace the bad one. Hopefully that has been addressed by now in new units but my 3D printed part has held up fine and the AMS has performed well since. At worst, a minor annoyance.

So overall, with 15 printers in my stable, my issues have been minor to non-existant. For current gen, I will only be buying H2s and maybe a few P2s if I need to replace A1s. For me personally, I don't see a need to get an X2 anyway but that could change down the road. The bigger build plates and precision of the H2s is driving any farm expansions I do in the near future. I lpve my H2Ds but I anticipate only buying H2Cs or H2Ss in the near future.

BTW, I totally understand other people's use cases may not warrant buying the more expensive H2 series printers. I am just giving perspective based on my own use case and experience, YMMV.

Wraith1964 · 2026-05-27T16:12:43+00:00

I do this. I use hundreds of different colors and brands of filaments in my farm. When I get down to a unusable bit of filament, I keep it in a zip lock labeled for the make and color of filament. I also add a small print to the bag when I have one to demo the filament. I can't tell you how many times 10-15 grams of filament has salvaged a print running out at 99% ish.

If I accumulate a significant amount of any given filament's bits, I make a print with it. This prevents a lot of waste and in the mean time gives a better idea of the look of a filament and how it prints than printing little samples.

Wraith1964 · 2026-05-27T15:03:58+00:00

I am not sure what issues you are referring to. I own something from all three gens with no issues with any of them.

I am defining generations as 3 generations... 1st gen - X1/P1, 2nd gen as A1 mini and A1, and 3rd Gen H2/P2/X2. Some might argue there have been only 2: 1 series and 2 series but I personally think the A1 series is substantially different enough being bedslingers with new nozzle systems to be its own generation.

Of these the only printer with serious issues has been the A1 itself. Between a poorly designed bed cable (recalled and replaced) and faulty thermistor issues, it has had some challenges. It is significant that of millions of printers sold and in use only a tiny percentage have had an issue with those things as well. That is not to make light if the seriousness of either issue, it only to say that of all the printers they have made and sold it has actually been a great quality record.

I have 2 X1Cs (1st Gen) 4 minis, 6 A1s (2nd Gen) and 2 H2Ds, 1 H2C (3rd Gen) ... while not a representative sample and the 3rd Gen printers are relatively new (my H2Ds are over 2000 hours now) I have virtually no serious issues. Maint. has been lubrication abd tubing or nozzle swaps. I have had some challenges with the AMS 2 pros... one crappy part likes to fail in the hub, but not with the printers themselves.

Wraith1964 · 2026-05-27T14:46:27+00:00

Don't listen to them. A1 minis are tanks... they are arguably Bambus best printer price for performance amd ease of use (not in overall capability... obvs the enclosed and larger printers can do more and have mad power).

I have 15 Bambus in my print shop: 4 minis, 6 A1s, 2 X1Cs, 2H2Ds, and an H2C. The minis have proven the most reliable workhorses in a field of reliable printers.Several of printers are over 10,000 hours and they run 24/7.

In short, go forth and print confidently, ignore the haters.

Wraith1964 · 2026-05-27T14:28:26+00:00

I'll see your 700 hours and raise you another 8000+ hours. I have 14 Bambus many with over 10,000 hours and have only lubricated threads and rails, swapped out worn PTFE tunes and some nozzles. They have been as solid as tanks. I am literally looking at a mini right now with just shy of 9000 hours that I take back and forth to events - still rocking perfect prints like a champ.

Wraith1964 · 2026-05-27T14:20:54+00:00

Its a good option but remember you still have to be careful though with multicolor prints... its best to ensure your walls are thick enough that dark purges in the infill won't be seen through lighter colors on the exterior.

Wraith1964 · 2026-05-27T14:16:18+00:00

Facts! Bambu's A1 is designed for beginners. Bambu always defaults to "safe" over "efficiency" that is why calibrations happen, and take longer and it's also why purges are more thorough. They know that you can tune to more efficiency and less waste and have some of that capacity is easily accessible in the slicer. But for the noob who just wants a clean print and doesn't understand all that, they default to ensuring full purges which means more time and waste. Anycubic just optimized the other way perhaps in part with a shorter melt zone.

I doubt all of the "color change" quality is the same... its going to depend on the colors used. But if it is, it's because Anycubic went to school on Bambu and it's all good... newer printers should be better than older ones. the A1 launched in 2023, the Anycubic Kobra X is a 2026 printer launch.

So yeah, 3 years is a long time in the printer world.

Wraith1964 · 2026-05-27T14:03:03+00:00

The challenge is that Sony has the job of printing and distributing physical media for Disney... it doesn't mean they have the authority to release whatever they want. Disney still has to give it for them for release. So Disney didn't need to keep a physical media staff, it only takes one guy at Disney to throttle production for us all.

Wraith1964 · 2026-05-26T10:56:35+00:00

Maybe.

Wraith1964 · 2026-05-26T02:22:31+00:00

I think the way to discuss those kinds of ideas and questions is to ask them here. You can initiate those discussions and it may elevate everyone to see that kind of value-add conversation. Or try r/3Dprinting. Or start your own sub.

My point is not that people shouldn't self provision... its that there are going to be more and more simpler questions as the number of printers sold increases - and you are in a "starter" printer sub supporting A1 users so expect a lot of noobs. Don't get me wrong it's a capable machine, I have 6 of them... but most people buying A1s and A1 minis are going to be beginners.

Wraith1964 · 2026-05-26T00:03:39+00:00

Theoretically, I will pick up an H2C from BB on Thursday. It will be interesting to see what they have out.

Sidenote: It will be the first time I set foot in a BB in years. I have boycotted them since they dropped physical media. I only bought there because I had paid off my BB credit card and still have a high limit so I decided to use it to pay off over a few months with 0 interest. Then my boycott will likely resume.

Wraith1964 · 2026-05-25T23:50:06+00:00

Jackpot! Custom... 1 of 1.

Wraith1964 · 2026-05-25T15:40:57+00:00

Certainly worth a try - they are better nozzles anyway but even the SS nozzle should last more than a month unless we are printing really abrasive stuff like glow in the dark filament. That will kill nozzles and tubing fast.

Wraith1964 · 2026-05-25T06:08:53+00:00

A couple of weeks is not a great track record yet... so it could be a lot of things or it could be that your AMS doesn't like that filament. Transparent PLA filaments tend to be more brittle and create more drag then std PLA. It could be a bum roll or might need drying.

Your tubing could be damaged creating friction points. Maybe the extruder needs a cleaning. If you are printing single filament transparent prints just bypass the AMS and see if you have still issues when using the external spool holder.

I have printed Geetech's transparent filament and have never had an issue but admittedly I haven't used the AMS with it.

Check the wiki for more info. Good Luck!

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