I purchased my Bambu Lab A1 Combo about 5 months ago, and with the exception of a heatbed temperature malfunction, I’ve had a great experience with it because the 3D printer just works. In comparison to my older 3D printer, the Bambu Lab printer is relatively worry-free because bed leveling, Z-height adjustments, and flow calibration are done automatically, and success rates with prints are very high. That being said, the printer does require occasional routine maintenance, and there are some common issues that I’ve either experienced myself or see reported by others that may require troubleshooting.
MAINTENANCE
First let’s talk about routine maintenance. I find it helpful that my Bambu Lab A1 reminds me of scheduled maintenance. For example, it tells me when it is time to lubricate the A1 Y-axis guide rail. It displays a QR code on the screen which takes you to the wiki page with written step-by-step instructions and an accompanying video to illustrate.
Another reminder is the availability of firmware upgrades. Upgrading is as simple as accepting the upgrade on the touchscreen or from the Devices tab in Bambu Studio. While most firmware upgrades are welcomed with open arms, there has been recent controversy with the impending release of their Authorization Control System which they state is being done for security reasons. Some users have lamented this forthcoming change, the rumor mill was in full swing, and Bambu Lab issued a statement to set the record straight related to third-party integration with Bambu Connect in an attempt to quell some of the fear. A summary is provided here and here and a zillion other places. Suffice it to say that I am not bothered by it at all, and I will likely just instal the firmware update when it becomes available.
Visit the A1 Maintenance Guidelines for additional recommendations.
TROUBLESHOOTING
Aside from the aforementioned heatbed malfunction, the main issue I’ve had to troubleshoot is related to filament getting stuck in my AMS Lite unit. One time this was due to a tangle in the filament (which was my fault for accidentally letting go of the filament and not checking for tangles when loading the filament), and at other times it had been due to an overly sensitive filament tangle detection feature which simply required me to resume printing (I’ve since deactivated filament tangle detection because of the high rate of false positives).
I’ve recently started following the Bambu Lab subreddit, and there are some common problems that people report. By far the most commonly reported issue is a sloppy or non-adherent first layer, and community contributors are always quick to point out that users have gotten the oils from their fingers onto the build plate. While some people use isopropyl alcohol to clean their build plates, Bambu Lab offers a Textured PEI Plate Cleaning Guide and specifically recommends detergent because alcohol might only spread the oils on the print bed rather than removing it. While some commenters swear by a particular brand of dish detergent, I find that any dish detergent or liquid soap does the job well, as long as I remain vigilant about not touching the build plate with my fingers after washing.
One time I introduced a jam in my hotend because I attempted to feed a new roll of filament into the hotend in the middle of a print job as I reached the end of another roll. I simply needed to understand how to remove the hotend so I could clear the jam, and sure enough there is a wiki on how to replace the A1 toolhead.
Perhaps less common but certainly very dramatic is when users experience hotend clumps. If left unattended for many hours, the clumping can turn into a huge blob. Although it may appear quite disastrous, Bambu Lab provides blob/clump cleaning instructions which should restore printers to fully functional status.
CONCLUSION
As with any hobby, there may be ups and downs. For 3D printing, maintenance and troubleshooting are inevitable, but I think Bambu Lab does a very good job of making it as understandable as possible. I hope your ups far outweigh the downs so that you can unleash your creativity.
