Is a Bambu Lab A1 easy to assemble?

Yes, it's basically plug and play: you put a few parts together, tap the screen a few times and it starts printing on its own. You don't need to know anything about 3D printing to get going. My problems didn't come from the machine, they came from rushing and skipping steps in the instructions.

What mistakes does every beginner make in 3D printing?

The classics: not reading the assembly steps (I left a protective plastic under the bed and couldn't fit the screws), printing with the wrong filament profile, rushing the build, and designing parts without thinking about how they'll actually print. Almost all my mistakes came from impatience.

Is a Bambu Lab A1 or A1 mini worth it to start?

If you just want to print things and not fight the machine, yes. Everything (the A1 Combo with AMS and four spools of filament) cost me around €500, and the mini is even cheaper and takes up less space. For a beginner who doesn't want a headache, I think it's the perfect choice.

Do you need to know how to design to 3D print?

Not to start: you download designs made by others on sites like MakerWorld and send them to print. But if you want to solve your own problems, learning to design opens the door. That said, I discovered that designing and designing FOR printing are not the same thing: you have to think about orientation, supports and tolerances.

Projects

My first 3D printer: the rookie mistakes I made (so you don't make them)

I bought my first 3D printer, a Bambu Lab A1 Combo, after weeks of watching videos and dreaming about it. And from the unboxing to my first prints I messed it up in every way possible. I'm an engineer, I'd watched hundreds of tutorials… and still fell into nearly every beginner trap. Here are my mistakes, told without shame, so you can skip them.

Watch the video on YouTube ↗

1. Cutting the bag wrong instead of lifting the printer out

First mistake within two minutes. The box clearly says to lift the bag to take the printer out, and I, going at it carelessly, cut the bag where I shouldn't have. Result: torn bag and a much harder job getting it out. It came out by sheer luck. The lesson: those instructions printed on the packaging are there for a reason, read them before reaching for the knife.

2. The big one: the protective plastic under the hot bed

This is the good one. During assembly there was a protective plastic under the hot bed that I did NOT remove. When it came to fitting the four base screws, two went in and two just wouldn't: no thread, they wouldn't bite. I thought I'd broken it, that it was my fault or the machine's, I even opened a support ticket… and I calibrated and used it like that, with the plastic in place. The next day it hit me: the plastic was still there. With it on, it was impossible to screw anything in. I had to take that part apart and reassemble it. If the screws won't go in, don't force them: check there's no packaging left in the way.

3. Printing with the wrong filament profile

I was printing with Bambu PLA Matte, but in Bambu Studio I left the generic PLA profile and never changed it. The part came out with a few extra strings, probably because of that (or because the flow needed tuning). It sounds trivial, but the profile defines temperatures and speeds tuned for that specific filament. Before hitting print, check that the selected material is exactly the one you've loaded.

4. Rushing: that's where almost every mistake came from

Looking back, almost everything above has the same root cause: I built it in a hurry and far too rushed. I had plans at a set time, I wanted my first print done that night no matter what, and by rushing I skipped steps, left a plastic on and didn't check the profile. 3D printing, especially at the start, rewards going slow. Take the assembly calmly, you only do it once.

5. A cable touching the hot bed

Right after calibrating I noticed a cable rubbing against the hot bed. Bad news: the plastic sheathing could melt and break. For the moment I tied it down crudely with one of those clips that come with the machine so it wouldn't touch, but it left me uneasy. The next day I printed a part of my own to lift and hold the cable properly, and then used a small piece from the toolkit itself to keep the two cables together and away from the bed. The irony: you solve the printer's first problem with the printer itself.

6. Designing my first useful part in Fusion 360

Up to here everything I printed was other people's designs that I downloaded. My goal was to print something I'd designed from scratch that was actually useful: my bathroom only had one towel rail, so I set out to make a double hook to hang more towels. I went to the bathroom, took photos, measured with calipers and modeled it in Fusion 360. And that's where I learned the big lesson: designing and designing FOR printing are not the same. The first version I had to rotate, it needed supports, a little ball peeled off… The only way to learn is by making mistakes. In the end the part actually hung towels in my bathroom, and seeing something that existed only on my computer turned into something real is incredibly satisfying.

My honest take: for starting out, it was a great call

And I say this from total inexperience, it was literally my day one printing. I watched reviews of cheap and expensive brands, and reached one conclusion: I wanted to print things, not fix a printer so I could print things. The brand everyone pointed to as the easiest and most user friendly was Bambu Lab, almost plug and play. I assembled it, gave it a few clicks and it got to work. Everything (the A1 Combo with AMS and four spools of filament) cost me around €500. Even the A1 mini, which is smaller and cheaper, would have suited me just as well for space. For a beginner who just wants to print and not get a headache, either one looks like a great buy to me.

FAQ

Is a Bambu Lab A1 easy to assemble?: Yes, it's basically plug and play: you put a few parts together, tap the screen a few times and it starts printing on its own. You don't need to know anything about 3D printing to get going. My problems didn't come from the machine, they came from rushing and skipping steps in the instructions.
What mistakes does every beginner make in 3D printing?: The classics: not reading the assembly steps (I left a protective plastic under the bed and couldn't fit the screws), printing with the wrong filament profile, rushing the build, and designing parts without thinking about how they'll actually print. Almost all my mistakes came from impatience.
Is a Bambu Lab A1 or A1 mini worth it to start?: If you just want to print things and not fight the machine, yes. Everything (the A1 Combo with AMS and four spools of filament) cost me around €500, and the mini is even cheaper and takes up less space. For a beginner who doesn't want a headache, I think it's the perfect choice.
Do you need to know how to design to 3D print?: Not to start: you download designs made by others on sites like MakerWorld and send them to print. But if you want to solve your own problems, learning to design opens the door. That said, I discovered that designing and designing FOR printing are not the same thing: you have to think about orientation, supports and tolerances.

After your first machine? Check the best 3D printer for beginners guide, why your print won't stick to the bed, or compare models in the printer comparator. All my designs are free on my MakerWorld profile.