Filamora Studios › Choosing a 3D printer

Bambu Lab A1 mini

A first printer for small things: keyrings, clickers, name tags and gifts.

Build size: 180 × 180 × 180 mm
Body: Open frame
Colours: Up to 4 colours with the AMS lite (the Combo)
Price: about £149 (UK)

Our take

Bambu Lab’s smallest printer, and the one most people start with: it calibrates itself, prints well straight out of the box, and with the AMS lite (the Combo) prints in four colours. Its 180 mm plate is the limit: perfect for keyrings, clickers, badges and gifts, too small for big organisers.

What’s good

Sets itself up: levelling, vibration and flow calibration are automatic
Quiet, light and small enough for a desk or shelf
Four colours with the AMS lite, which sits beside it
Cheap to buy and cheap to run

Worth knowing

A 180 mm plate: bigger templates have to be scaled down or printed in parts
Open frame: PLA, PETG and TPU, not ABS or ASA
The bed moves back and forth, so it needs a little room in front and behind

What you can make on it

It prints 103 of our 117 customisable 3D templates in one piece.

Compare it with

Bambu Lab A1: A first printer with room for bigger things: organisers, lamps and signs.
Creality Ender-3 V3 SE: The cheapest way into 3D printing from a known brand: an open printer that levels its own bed, on a 220 mm plate.
Flashforge Adventurer 5M: A fast, open CoreXY printer at a low price, with quick-swap nozzles and automatic levelling, on a 220 mm plate..

Questions

What can I print on the Bambu Lab A1 mini?

Its build size is 180 × 180 × 180 mm, which prints 103 of our 117 customisable 3D templates in one piece at their default size. Most of the rest can be made smaller in the designer, or are printed in parts.

Is the Bambu Lab A1 mini enclosed?

No, it’s an open frame. That’s fine for PLA and PETG, which is most of what people print; for ABS and ASA you want an enclosed printer.

How much is the Bambu Lab A1 mini?

About £149 on the maker’s UK store when we checked (26 October 2026). Prices change often, especially in sales, so see the shop for today’s.

Is the A1 mini big enough?

For small things, yes: keyrings, clickers, magnets, name tags and badges all fit. For organisers, lamps and signs, the A1’s 256 mm plate is the safer choice.

Choosing a 3D printer