What I've Printed So Far on the A1 Mini
A follow-up to my first impressions post on the Bambu Lab A1 Mini — I’ve moved past calibration cubes and benchies now, so here’s a look at the first useful things I’ve actually printed with it.
First up is a phone stand, printed in blue — one I designed myself. Nothing fancy, but it’s exactly the kind of small, practical thing that makes owning a printer worth it, and there’s something extra satisfying about it being your own design rather than someone else’s model. There’s now a permanent stand sat by the printer holding my phone up at a useful angle.
Next, a little shelf in green, also my own design — this one’s sized to hold a Raspberry Pi SBC. This was a good first lesson in supports: it needed them on one side, and pulling them off cleanly took a bit more care than I expected.
I also printed a freestanding pegboard, IKEA Skådis style — this is a good test piece for the printer, with a lot of fine detail and repeated small holes across a wide, thin panel. It came out clean with no warping, which I wasn’t fully expecting from something this size on the Mini’s small bed.
And finally, a small hinged storage box in red — handy for screws, filament samples, or whatever else needs a home. The hinge printed in place and works first time, no assembly required, which still feels a bit like magic.
Five prints in, and it’s a nice mix already — some designed myself, some other people’s models — and all of it proving genuinely useful around the house. More to come as I keep working through both.