Bambu Lab A1

What hackers pick instead

• Bambu Lab 3D printerRecommended as reliable, polished 3D printers that just work at a strong price, letting you print instead of tinker; critics object to cloud lock-in and features removed by firmware.124recommend
• Prusa 3D printerPeople recommend Prusa printers for their openness, open source roots, repairability and long support life. The most common caveat is high cost, which many buyers find hard to afford.68recommend
• Bambu Lab P1SRecommended for reliable, easy printing that works out of the box and needs little maintenance. Critics object to the closed ecosystem, cloud and account concerns, and the company's direction.29recommend
• Prusa MK3People recommend it for reliability, repairability and easy printing out of the box, and it can be upgraded as the line evolves. The common caveat is its price, which critics say is high for what it offers.28recommend
• Bambu Lab A1 MiniRecommended as a cheap, reliable printer that works out of the box. Critics object to Bambu Lab's closed servers and its conduct toward open source.27recommend

Every quote

The 29 most detailed of 32 comments. Each links to the original.

1. Auto-leveling, input shapping, PEI plates, high flow hotends, better build quality... all that have improved reliability significantly while increasing speed by a lot.

   Recommends · Sep 2026 · in “Sherline Tools Is Going Out of Business”

2. Bambu's printers are functionally best-in-class, but intrusive and proprietary in their approach to software.

   Mixed · Feb 2026 · in “Ask HN: What Are You Working On? (February 2026)”

3. For the A1 and P1S you're better off backporting the profile to PrusaSlicer or Orca.

   Mixed · Jan 2026 · in “Grid: Forever free, local-first, browser-based 3D printing/CNC/laser slicer”

4. Before I got a reliable printer (bambulab a1) i put off even the smallest projects

   Recommends · Jan 2026 · in “A Year of 3D Printing”

5. The Bambu A1 is much better engineered than the Prusa, but the software sucks

   Mixed · Jan 2026 · in “The Year of the 3D Printed Miniature (and Other Lies We Tell Ourselves)”

6. it's one of the cornerstones of why BambuLabs printers are so easy to use

   Mixed · Nov 2025 · in “Prusa Open Sources a Solution for Smart Filament Tagging”

7. the Bambu A1 I have is an absolutely amazing machine for the price

   Mixed · May 2026 · in “Louis Rossmann tells 3D printer maker Bambu Lab to 'Go (Bleep) yourself'”

8. The Bambu A1 is much more polished and it costs 1/3 of the price.

   Recommends · May 2026 · in “Louis Rossmann tells 3D printer maker Bambu Lab to 'Go (Bleep) yourself'”

9. unexpectedly way more fun and useful than I thought it would be

   Recommends · Nov 2025 · in “Show HN: I built a synth for my daughter”

10. they're both about as idiot-proof as 3D printers gets

    Recommends · Apr 2026 · in “Modifying FileZilla to Workaround Bambu 3D Printer's FTP Issue”

11. my A1 has been excellent value, very reliable

    Recommends · Apr 2026 · in “Tim Cook to become Apple Executive Chairman”

12. the arguably better Bambu Lab A1 is 260 EUR

    Recommends · Dec 2025 · in “Roomba maker goes bankrupt, Chinese owner emerges”

13. not nearly as well engineered as the A1s

    Recommends · Apr 2026 · in “Modifying FileZilla to Workaround Bambu 3D Printer's FTP Issue”

14. The A1 is a pretty good printer OOTB.

    Recommends · Nov 2025 · in “Show HN: I built a synth for my daughter”

15. bout watching this and previous dramas I rather go with different vendor

    Criticizes · May 2026 · in “Restore full BambuNetwork support for Bambu Lab printers”

16. I don't understand their motivation to cut us off.

    Criticizes · May 2026 · in “Restore full BambuNetwork support for Bambu Lab printers”

17. I upgraded from my buggy, annoying Ender 3 Pro to a Bambu A1, and it's been pretty wonderful so far.

    Recommends · Apr 2026 · in “Modifying FileZilla to Workaround Bambu 3D Printer's FTP Issue”

18. Good choice, keep in mind that you'll probably spend more on filament rolls if you get hooked

    Recommends · Apr 2026 · in “Modifying FileZilla to Workaround Bambu 3D Printer's FTP Issue”

19. will do most things you'd want it to do, fairly reliably, but with a closed ecosystem

    Recommends · Nov 2025 · in “Marble Fountain”

20. what I'm saying is that 3D printer now work better than inkjet 2D printers ever did.

    Recommends · Oct 2026 · in “RepRapMicron”

21. I wouldn’t call the A1 build plate small , more like average/typical sized.

    Recommends · Jan 2026 · in “A Year of 3D Printing”

22. The A1/A1mini are still two of the best budget beginner printers IMO

    Mixed · May 2026 · in “Restore full BambuNetwork support for Bambu Lab printers”

23. Go for it, don't spend a lot of money though on the first one.

    Recommends · Apr 2026 · in “Modifying FileZilla to Workaround Bambu 3D Printer's FTP Issue”

24. I've also been very happy with my A1 (bought ~18 months go)

    Recommends · May 2026 · in “Louis Rossmann tells 3D printer maker Bambu Lab to 'Go (Bleep) yourself'”

25. I mean it is. For everyone who i know who owns one.

    Recommends · Sep 2026 · in “Sherline Tools Is Going Out of Business”

26. I know of numerous people who have purchased one

    Recommends · Sep 2026 · in “Sherline Tools Is Going Out of Business”

27. the roughly equivalent A1

    Recommends · May 2026 · in “'Fuck you, Bambu': How one private message could change the face of 3D printing”

28. The Bambu... not so much.

    Mixed · Dec 2025 · in “Roomba maker goes bankrupt, Chinese owner emerges”

29. It's stuck in the auto calibration stage. It gets halfway through then it stops with a generic error message.

    Criticizes · Sep 2026 · in “Sherline Tools Is Going Out of Business”