Bambu Lab A1 Print Quality Improvement: Small overhang refinement and transition bulges
Last December, I designed a candle with two parts. It was my contribution to a Printables contest. The bottom portion of the candle printed decently. The top portion was problematic. I reprinted it a few times and not any of the prints were good, but I put up the photos anyway.
I tried printing the part again, days later, with different filament. The prints were better than the previous ones, but there was still a bulge around the transition area from floor to wall. It was not until today that I realized I should have printed the part upside down with supports, as the interior will be covered with a candle at all times. In my defense, my objective was to print without any supports and not have a textured top layer.
I bought a smooth plate from Microcenter a couple of weeks ago, removing the problem of a rough top layer. I have already made a video showing the part printed with various settings.
The part prints well in the upside down position, without bulging at the transition point. The slot measures 9mm square in both model prints. However, the part fits loosely on the bottom candle due to the missing material from printing right side up without supports.
Although I solved the problem of getting a good print of the candle top, I have not solved the problem of bulging or receding at the transition layers on prints that should not be reoriented. Bulging at transition points was never an issue with Cura. The photos show drawers printed on a CR10 mini and Bambu Lab A1. There is no transition bulge or retraction on the Cura sliced model. So far, no Cura profile exists for Bambu Lab machines.
I tried changing a few settings in OrcaSlicer to address the bulge and all attempts presented the same results (see the photos below). I did not think that a slicer would make such a difference, but I see now that slicer options are almost as important as the printer itself. I’m hoping to purchase a machine with a large bed this year. The slicer that comes with it will definitely be a large part of my final decision.
| Wall Generator | Walls and Surfaces | Wall Number | Infill | Infill Type | |
| 1| | Classic | inner/ outer | 2 | 15% | aligned rectilinear |
| 2| | Classic | inner/ outer | 3 | 0% | monotonic |
| 3| | Arachne | inner/ outer | 2 | 15% | aligned rectilinear |
| 4| | Classic | outer/ inner | 3 | 0% | monotonic |
| 5| | Classic | outer/ inner | 3 | 0% | motonic – “Precise wall” checked |
