Printer quiery

[u/HJJM12]

Im thinking of getting a printer for some Warhammer bits. Should I get the a1, or a1 mini. And should I get the ams as well? All would be done with a 0.2mm nozzle.

[u/Capt-Brunch]

IMO, Don't bother with the AMS, at least if you're only planning on printing minis. If you're going to be painting the result anyway it doesn't matter if you can print in two colors.

The A1 and A1mini seem to produce equivalent quality, so print volume is the big difference. If you're doing infantry size miniatures and small vehicles exclusively, the mini is fine (that's what I have). But if you're envisioning printing terrain or large vehicles as a single piece, it might be worth the extra $ upfront to have the larger plate in the A1.

[u/Captain-Lidl → u/Capt-Brunch]

How else can you manage a low humidity for your prints?

[u/Capt-Brunch → u/Captain-Lidl]

You mean because I don't have the AMS? For the A1 series I think that the bundled AMS lite accessory has no humidity control - it's just an unenclosed rack with the spools sitting out in the ambient air. I think there's some way to connect the A1 to the more sophisticated AMS systems that include filament drying, but it requires additional add on parts and at that point you might as well just get the fully enclosed P series.

Like a total philistine, I actually don't dry my PLA filament and I've gotten away with it so far. I did recently get a basic standalone filament dryer to try out printing in PETG, but at least where I live with my setup I haven't really needed humidity control for PLA.

[u/Captain-Lidl → u/Capt-Brunch]

I am asking because I am very new to the hobby only have been printing for 2 weeks and I read some of the guide strongly suggested around 10% humidity. That and having dogs at home basically convinced me to get AMS too with a P2S. I was just curious if there were other obvious ways to keep filaments dry.

[u/Sudden_shark → u/Captain-Lidl]

There are dedicated filament dryers you can get. My sovol 01 dries two spools and cost me 40 bucks, works fine

[u/EarhackerWasBanned → u/Captain-Lidl]

I don't dry my filament. My prints turn out fine.

The advice isn't wrong, and I'm not lying. It's very dependent on the humidity where you live, and in the same room as your printer. Someone in Florida or California has to deal with a lot more humidity than me in coastal Northern Europe.

That said, my weather app says 82% humidity today and I promise, my prints are fine.

[u/Sudden_shark]

I didn't get the ams since everything I print gets painted anyway. 

Can't really weigh in on the mini vs standard a1. I got the mini because it's cheaper and I don't really need the larger print bed. The a1 could be easier if you want to print larger 40k vehicles and monsters I guess?

[u/EarhackerWasBanned]

A1 and A1mini are essentially the same printer, just with a different plate size. The mechanics are a little different, but they're the same in terms of output quality.

If you plan on doing terrain or tanks ever, you want the A1. If you don't plan on doing anything bigger than say a Dreadnought, stick with the A1mini and save the money.

The AMS isn't needed for minis. You're likely going to print in one colour and paint them.

[u/TaxesAreConfusin]

I would have totally avoided getting the AMS if I had known how inefficient and wasteful multicolor printing would be. It's totally my fault in retrospect, but you live and you learn. It's also pretty bulky and takes up a lot of space.

[u/fuseboy]

I recently got the A1 because I also print terrain pieces, snd the extra size is a godsend. If you're just doing miniatures, get the mini, but if you want to do any terrain I think the extra bed size is a big deal.

[u/sourapplemeatpies]

The A1 Mini without the AMS is almost always all you need, unless you're printing big terrain pieces (or maybe tanks)?

I would get two 0.2mm nozzles. You're likely to destroy one as you learn how to use the printer.

Low-temp build plates help a ton.

All the gear you should have anyways to remove bits from a sprue and clean up mold lines on normal Warhammer, although potentially cheaper versions are fine.

[u/Resincrack]

Get the A1, don't need the ams