The A1 Combo is the multicolor bedslinger in Bambu’s lineup — the choice when you want AMS Lite-based color printing without the cost of a P1S or X1C. The AMS Lite handles four spools and works well for PLA multicolor projects. The open frame means you’re committing to PLA-class materials; there’s no practical path to ABS or ASA multicolor without an enclosure.
What It Does Well
The AMS Lite multicolor workflow in Bambu Studio is the most polished in this price class. Color assignment, purge tower settings, and spool management are handled automatically. A first-time multicolor print on the A1 Combo typically works without manual profile tweaking. This is the biggest advantage over the Anycubic Kobra 3 Combo at a similar price.
The vibration-based automatic calibration (flow calibration, bed leveling, resonance tuning) runs before each print by default. First layer consistency is high — bed leveling failures are rare.
At 500mm/s, PLA print times are fast. Multicolor adds time for the purge tower, but the base print speed compensates. A 4-color PLA project that takes 8 hours on a slower machine completes in 4–5 hours here.
Where It Falls Short
AMS Lite feeds filament from a remote hub to the print head through a PTFE path. TPU does not run through the AMS Lite reliably — the flex causes feed issues in the multi-spool path. TPU must be loaded directly to the extruder (bypassing AMS), limiting you to single-color TPU printing.
100°C max bed temperature limits high-temperature material options. With no enclosure, the practical ceiling is PETG. ABS multicolor is theoretically possible but warping on the open frame will ruin large multicolor prints.
The purge tower wastes filament proportional to the number of colors and part height. For highly complex multicolor prints with many color transitions, filament waste becomes significant. Bambu Studio’s purge optimization helps but doesn’t eliminate it.
Materials for Multicolor
PLA and PLA+: The designed use case. 215–220°C, 60°C bed. Purge tower: 60mm³ per transition is a reasonable starting point. Reduce if colors bleed; increase if contamination persists.
Silk PLA: 220–225°C. The glossy surface shows color boundaries dramatically. Silk PLA oozes more than matte during color change — increase purge volume to 80mm³.
PETG: Single-color reliable. Multicolor works but requires higher purge volume (90–100mm³) due to stringing. Reduce print speed on the purge tower to 30mm/s to minimize contamination.
TPU: Load directly (bypassing AMS Lite). 220°C, 25mm/s, retraction disabled. Single color only.
vs. the Competition
Anycubic Kobra 3 Combo ($399): Less expensive, larger 250mm build plate, less polished multicolor software. The $160 premium for the A1 Combo buys software maturity and ecosystem.
Bambu A1 (solo, $399): Same printer, no AMS Lite. If multicolor isn’t a current priority, save $160 and add AMS Lite later ($199 separately) if needed.
Bambu P1S ($699): Enclosed, handles ABS/ASA, AMS compatible. If you want engineering materials multicolor, the P1S is the step up.