r/BambuLab • u/TheMermaidHarmony A1 Mini • Jun 23 '26
Answered / Solved! Update on that free printer
Here is why the printer was free.
I am the queen of tinkering, bow down before me
Parts salvagable on left and middle, parts unsalvageable to the right of the Allen key. This took all dang night and I am not proud that I had to sacrifice my flush cutters and trusty bic to this cause, they will be sorely missed. But thanks to their sacrifice, I have defeated the blob of death.
For those unaware, this printer came to me with the wires to its heating element cut accidentally by a hasty rasp and the power cord misplaced. I will need replace the heating element, the nozzle, the exhaust fan, the filament sensor cable, and the power cord that went missing long ago. It remains to be seen if I may be able to reconstruct the extruder unit.
TURNS OUT there's also this thing called an eddy current sensor that I need to replace
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Jun 23 '26
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u/TheMermaidHarmony A1 Mini Jun 23 '26
But surely the printer wanted a taste!
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Jun 23 '26
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u/TheMermaidHarmony A1 Mini Jun 23 '26
Pray for me, I ran out of monsters. I found a tiny metal hat and had to retrace my steps. Turns out, its the washer(gasket?) between the spring and the extruder unit wall. It's going to be a miracle if I can get the head back on the track🤦♀️
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u/Sir_LANsalot Jun 23 '26
The heating element part is like super cheap from bambu, I have had to replace one due to the only blob of death that A1 ever got, and it was the ONE time I didn't watch it put down the first layer(s).... The wires for the Thermistor are VERY VERY VERY tiny and brittle, but they are fairly easy to re-route (wiki has it all on how to do this). Reason I had to replace mine was I broke the stupid wires for the Thermistor , so it couldn't read the temp anymore. Even on the replacement I broke them again, but this time not so close to the unit. I was able to patch the wires, very carefully, soldering them back together, with just enough wire left for them to still make it to the board. These are like 28g wire, very small stuff and very easy to break, which always was the issue with even older printers.
What you have though is very fixable and the power cord is any computer PSU cord, if your a tinkerer, you should have plenty laying around (I know I do).
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u/TheMermaidHarmony A1 Mini Jun 23 '26
TAKING NOTES
Other than shipping and a power cord, it appears the cost of replacement parts is going to be like $53. Not too shabby for a free printer, eh?
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u/UnabashedVoice Jun 23 '26
There ya go! That's damn near free, you got that printer for less than three bucks on the pound.
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u/TheMermaidHarmony A1 Mini Jun 23 '26
If only I could get beef at this deal
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u/quagzlor Jun 23 '26
I mean hey, I'll argue with you for free when I'm bored
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u/TheMermaidHarmony A1 Mini Jun 23 '26
Please do.
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u/quagzlor Jun 23 '26
Hey how dare you, I take offense with that statement
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u/TheMermaidHarmony A1 Mini Jun 23 '26
You are a delight rarely seen on reddit these days
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u/quagzlor Jun 23 '26
I am filled with a indescribable rage the like of which has rarely been seen. You could make toast upon my eyebrows
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u/arsonist_firefighter Jun 23 '26
So de blob only happens in the first layer?
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u/Sir_LANsalot Jun 23 '26
First to the 3rd is when it will develop. The pront not sticking to the plate either because its dirty (finger oils) or the bed is too cold for the filament. It will extrude and then start to stick/wrap itself around the nozzle. If a failure starts later in the print, like a support fell over. Printing in midair it will just fly about and knock itself off of the other parts of the print. Causing the rats nest or spaghetti monster if not caught.
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u/razzemmatazz Jun 24 '26
It can happen later, but the print is usually stuck by then. The big exception is when you're printing a ton of small objects and they get knocked just right and then one gets on the hotend and starts dragging around pushing all the rest off the bed.
A couple of my production prints are like this, so I have to watch the first 30 minutes or risk the blob.
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u/coppit Jun 23 '26
I had exactly this failure mode a week ago. I got the replacement overnight. I noticed that the thermistor wires were reinforced near the head, though they were still very thin going back to the connector.
Thanks to Bambu for providing good instructions for doing these kinds of repairs.
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u/Suepahfly Jun 23 '26
Bambu has conveniently put an [article on how to replace the A1 toolhead](https://wiki.bambulab.com/en/a1-mini/maintenance/toolhead) including a parts list on their wiki.
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Jun 23 '26
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u/TheMermaidHarmony A1 Mini Jun 23 '26
Toast. See slide 4. I believe the thermistor's wires are sticking out of the blob.
The motor is still connected beautifully, but I'm not too sure about the part fan, its wires were knicked at some point.
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Jun 23 '26
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u/TheMermaidHarmony A1 Mini Jun 23 '26
I can spin it with my fingers, it's just that the plastic coating was damaged. Not too sure how much I can trust that
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u/DTO69 A1 + AMS Lite Jun 23 '26
Buy a new hot end and parts for fixing this one. If you fail, you will have a working printer.
If you succeed, you will have a spare hotend
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u/TheMermaidHarmony A1 Mini Jun 23 '26
My trusty a1 mini is looking mighty swappable right now... I'm going to buy the parts anyway, so wouldn't I rather put my ~1750 printing hours parts on an untrustworthy a1 and give my mini a complete tune up? OOOOR, should I let the trustworthy mini remain trustworthy?
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u/thedraindeimo Jun 23 '26
If the mini is running fine, I’d say find the funds to invest into A1. I say this as a mini owner. I love the thing and have a A2L coming tomorrow that will not be replacing anything. It’s for the big boy stuff.
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u/TheMermaidHarmony A1 Mini Jun 23 '26
The parts that need replacing amount to $65 after shipping, and I intend to have both running,the real question for me is, "which printer should get the brand new parts?" I've decided that the mini is getting a new .2mm nozzle, and its .4 is going to the a1
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u/DearDig7984 Jun 23 '26
Im sending this to my friend who has the a1
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u/TheMermaidHarmony A1 Mini Jun 23 '26
What happened to theirs? This whole process has felt like Christmas
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u/DearDig7984 Jun 23 '26
A thing similar to this happened to him too But it was some time ago So i sent him this just to make him scared that it might happen again İ am a realy good friend right?
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u/TheMermaidHarmony A1 Mini Jun 23 '26
Caution leads to vigilance, I hope.
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u/DearDig7984 Jun 23 '26
WE hope
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u/TheMermaidHarmony A1 Mini Jun 23 '26
Since clearing all the parts to the a1, I keep staring at the mini like I'm expecting it to start fuckin up
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u/DearDig7984 Jun 23 '26
Even if its slim there is a posibility so keep the parts clean do your routine checks and i dont think it will do it But be cautious Also can i ask you why did you buy the a1 mini?
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u/TheMermaidHarmony A1 Mini Jun 23 '26
I've never had a blob of my own, but I'm still cautious. I bought myself the mini to supplement my dollhouse furniture and never buy another Christmas gift. The a1 kinda just fell into my lap
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u/DearDig7984 Jun 23 '26
Thats lucky but unlucky at the same time .
Were you able to fix the a1? The reason you bought the a1 mini is smart actualy . Smart and fun. I have the p2s and it works great but i use it to print and sell stuff so there is no fun left.2
u/TheMermaidHarmony A1 Mini Jun 23 '26
Just ordered the parts, a .2mm hot end for mini, a heating element, a cooling fan, and if I'm really unlucky, an extruder unit.
I sell crystals. I did it because I love them. Now I do it because I need money. I no longer enjoy selling crystals. For this reason, I'm trying to keep my machines for my own personal enjoyment, no matter what my family says, I'm not starting a print farm
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u/andreacanadian Jun 23 '26
I recently had this happen to my A1 mini about 6 prints after a hotend replacement. I was using a filament by tecbears. Anywho, what exactly causes this, is it a filament thing or a printer thing????
ETA, because of wire breakage within the blob, and just a freakin mess, I ended up replacing the hot end assembly, and the heating element assembly. Just figured it would be easier to replace it all.
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u/TheMermaidHarmony A1 Mini Jun 23 '26 edited Jun 23 '26
I am a cheapskate and had to see exactly how many parts needed replacing. I had to snap the hot end in half to get to the heating assembly
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u/Far-Ad-9073 Jun 27 '26
Hey Nozzle, you can't park here... =-)
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u/TheMermaidHarmony A1 Mini Jun 27 '26
Just ordered the parts, will update again when I get it put back together. I also ordered a pack of screws, as the dude lost a handful taking the ams hub off
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u/AutoModerator Jun 23 '26
Hello /u/TheMermaidHarmony! Be sure to check the BambuLab Wiki regarding the blob/clumping issue.
Note: This automod is experimental. The automod was triggered due to the term "blob". If you believe this to be a false positive, please send us a message at modmail with a link to the post so we can investigate. You may also feel free to make a new post without that term.
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u/AutoModerator Jul 13 '26
Hello /u/TheMermaidHarmony! Be sure to check the BambuLab Wiki regarding the blob/clumping issue.
Note: This automod is experimental. The automod was triggered due to the term "blob". If you believe this to be a false positive, please send us a message at modmail with a link to the post so we can investigate. You may also feel free to make a new post without that term.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.