Bambu Lab A1 mini Review: Small Bed, Same Easy Start

The A1 mini is the A1 shrunk to a 180 mm cube. The automatic calibration, the quiet motors and the quick-swap nozzle all carry over. The only thing that changes is the size.

The case for it

It fits where the A1 will not: a desk corner, a shelf, a child’s bedroom. It arrives built and is printing in about 20 minutes. For small models, figures, keychains, replacement knobs and clips, the bed is never the limit.

The case against it

180 mm runs out fast. Workshop uses run into the bed edge first: a drill-bit rack, a dust-port adapter, a router-template blank, a box for a project. See 3D-printed workshop jigs and fixtures for the kind of parts we mean. Most are bigger than 180 mm in at least one direction.

Multi-colour gets messy. The optional AMS lite adds four colours, but on the mini the printer throws purged filament off the bed at each change, and the whole setup takes much more room than the printer alone. That undermines the reason for buying a small printer.

The camera. Reviewers find it barely usable for checking a print.

The firmware point in the A1 review applies here too.

Verdict

Buy the mini for a desk you cannot clear. If you have the space, the full-size A1 is the better first printer.