
The Budget-Friendly 3D Printer I Like Best Is $50 Off Right Now
If you're already immersed in the 3D printing world, you may find the Mini too small for you, but if you're new to 3D printing or you know someone who's been thinking about getting into the hobby, this is one you'll definitely want to consider. That's especially true when you can find it at a discount. Right now Bambu is offering the A1 Mini for $249, a $50 discount.
I've been using the Mini since it first came out in 2023, and it's such a simple machine to use. It's the one I fire up when I want something quickly and easily. The bed is small, just 180 by 180 millimeters, so you can't print giant things like helmets or masks, but you can make smaller pieces like sculptures or detailed miniatures for your Dungeons & Dragons game.
It prints speedily, too, with a max print speed of 500mm/s, meaning you can print little jobs nice and fast. It also comes with a four-color system called the AMS lite that will feed four different materials into the printer so you can make full-color models like what's in the image below.
A1 Mini Combo specifications
undefined Build volume 180x180x180 Hot end Swappable Extruder type Direct Drive AMS (color system) Nozzle diameter 0.4mm Nozzle max temperature 300C Build plate max temperature 80C Official max speed 500mm/s Supported material PLA, PETG, TPU, PVA Auto bed leveling Yes Filament run out sensor Yes Connectivity Wi-Fi, app enabled Time-lapse camera Yes Slicer Bambu slicer
Read more: A1 Mini Combo review
My colleague recently asked me which 3D printer she should get for her 13-year-old son, and this is the one I suggested. It will fit on a normal desk, even with the AMS color system. It's pretty quiet, and, as long as you have a bucket to catch the waste, clean to have in your home. If you're using it inside, I would recommend using safe materials like PLA or PETG, especially in a bedroom. Ideally, you would want it to be in a spare room or garage if possible.
Even better, consider opting for the A1 Mini Combo, which includes the AMS Lite for multi-color printing and is currently discounted to $399. That opens up even more fun printing options as you get up and running.
This cute little pumpkin is practically perfect and printed all in one piece.
James Bricknell/CNET
There are many options for your first 3D printer, and I've seen many people on Threads and Reddit recommend the A1 Mini. They agree that the A1 Mini is a great starting place, though you may need something bigger as you advance in the craft.
Why this deal matters
3D printing can be an expensive hobby. A new 3D printer is a big-ticket item and the cost of filament adds up over time too, so any savings you can find are important. The A1 Mini Combo is also excellently priced to be a gift for someone you know who wants to jump into the world of 3D printing -- or to try it out yourself without making a huge investment. At $399, it comes with the AMS Lite for multicolor printing, which means you'll be able to do more with the machine over time.
What other expenses come from owning a 3D printer?
After the initial layout, you'll need to buy a few 3D printing accessories and some materials to get the most out of your 3D printer. If the printer doesn't come with a roll of filament, I would suggest grabbing some from Overture. Its PLA is excellent and comes in plenty of fun colors. Start with PLA, as it is the easiest and cheapest material.
The accessories are all optional, as your 3D printer will come with every tool you need, as well as fun projects to print some of those tools. Eventually, you'll probably want to replace your nozzle, but Bambu makes that incredibly simple and cost-effective. You won't need a new one for a long time, so don't worry.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
10 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Hackers leak user data from thousands on Tea app, a safe space for women to chat about men
Hackers have leaked the details of thousands of users of an app billed as a safe space for women to chat about men. Administrators of the Tea App, which is designed to help women 'date safely' and reportedly boasts over four million users as of this week, confirmed the breach Friday. Tea allows users to upload photos of men and search for them by name, with others then able to leave comments, describing specific men as a 'red flag' or 'green flag,' and sharing other information about them. It recently topped the free app charts on the Apple App Store. Sign-up for the app required selfies to prove users were legitimate. The cyber attack occurred at around 6.45 a.m. PT, when the app's legacy storage system was compromised and hackers gained access to all user data prior to February 2024. Approximately 72,000 images, including around 13,000 selfies and photo identification submitted by users during account verification, and around 59,000 images publicly viewable in the app from posts, comments and direct messages, were accessed. Tea said that no email addresses or phone numbers were accessed and only those users who signed up before February 2024 were affected. 'We are working around the clock with internal security teams and third-party experts to secure our systems,' the company said in a statement. 'At this time, we have no evidence that any additional or current user data has been accessed.' It added: 'Your data privacy is of the utmost importance to us. We are taking all necessary measures to strengthen our security posture and ensure that no further data is exposed.' 'Thank you for your trust—and for your patience as we address this with the urgency it deserves.' According to 404 Media, first to report on the incident, the breach may have been prompted by men on the anonymous, right-wing troll message board 4Chan, after users called for a 'hack and leak' campaign. On Friday morning a 4Chan user allegedly posted a link that allowed others to download the database of stolen images and other identifying information about Tea users – some of which have been shared online. The Independent has not been able to verify the authenticity of some of the images and information posted to 4Chan. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
10 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Here Is What You Need To Know Before Investing In PDD Holdings Inc. (PDD)
PDD Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:PDD) is among the 13 Best Global Stocks to Buy Right Now. The multinational commerce group owns and operates a portfolio of businesses. Photo by Pascal Bernardon on Unsplash The Temu-owner reported a 10% year-over-year increase in revenue for the first quarter of fiscal 2025. However, net income declined 47%, driven by intense local competition and ongoing global trade uncertainties. MScience analyst Vinci Zhang said the bottom-line miss was a result of weaker-than-anticipated operating margin, likely impacted by U.S. tariffs. Slowing domestic spending and a prolonged property crisis in China have also pressured PDD Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:PDD)'s Pinduoduo, which generally tends to outperform competitors due to its low-price focus. The Chinese e-commerce giant also made substantial investments in its platform ecosystem to support consumers and merchants. PDD Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:PDD)'s Chairman and Co-CEO Lei Chen said that while these investments weighed on near-term profitability, they have strengthened the long-term health of the platform. Despite the dip in profitability during the first quarter, the market sentiment on PDD Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:PDD) remains bullish, with year-to-date returns of 22% as of the close of business on July 22. Wall Street analysts have a consensus Buy rating for the stock, with a one-year average price target of $127, representing a 10% upside potential. While we acknowledge the potential of PDD as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. READ NEXT: 10 Best Small Cap Defense Stocks to Buy According to Hedge Funds and 13 Best Booming Stocks to Buy Now. Disclosure: None. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
10 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Mark Cuban talks education with Gov. Jared Polis, says AI can transform teaching
COLORADO SPRINGS – All in on AI. That was the message billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban delivered July 25 about how to improve America's education system. Speaking to the National Governors Association in an onstage discussion with Colorado Gov. Jared Polis at The Broadmoor about Polis' 'Let's Get Ready! Educating All Students for Success' initiative, Cuban urged the governors to think outside the box. Instead of identifying ways to incorporate artificial intelligence into our current education model, which he argues has changed little since the 1880s, he believes educators should unlock the full potential of AI. 'Why wouldn't you, A) first make the determination for what you want your kids to learn, whether it's your own kids you're home-schooling or kids at school,' Cuban said. 'Is it just reading, writing, 'rithmetic so that they could do well on tests? Or is it logical thinking. Is it critical thinking, in addition to reading, writing and 'rithmetic? 'And wouldn't it be better to customize using AI to set up quizzes and training sessions that not only did the training but also took the responses and analyzed them against all the other responses to look for shortcomings or acceleration so that it knows that this student is going to need help.' More: State program eases career change for former CSU employee now teaching special education Polis, who is completing his term as president of the National Governors Association, opened the door to the discussion of AI with his first question. 'Let's start with AI, in two ways. One, kind of globally how is this changing the world we live in for better or worse, macro level? And then drilling down, what does it mean in our schools and what kids should learn?' Cuban took it from there. He said he fed questions about how to improve our education system into multiple AI systems himself before coming to the July 25 session, acknowledging that each — ChatGPT, Grok, Perplexity, OpenAI, etc. — have their individual strengths and weaknesses. His comments, Cuban said, were developed using a consensus of responses from multiple AI platforms. AI can customize problems, lessons and quizzes for individual students in a way that no teacher ever could, Cuban said, personalizing the delivery and pace based on their responses. That way, both the best and worst students in all schools are given an equal opportunity to increase their knowledge in whatever areas the educators setting up the program deem important. With AI's knowledge base, every student with an internet-connected device has access to the work of doctors, mentors, nearly every book in every library, research published by researchers and professors and so on, Cuban said. 'There's nothing that they don't have access to,' Cuban said. 'Every governor in this room, your assistants are using ChatGPT and now your 4-year-old gets access to the same information? When did that ever happen in the history of the world before? 'That is the ultimate democratization, egalitarian use of knowledge. It's incredible.' U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon participated in an earlier question-and-answer session led by Polis and also advocated for the expanded use of AI in classrooms. She spoke highly of the individualized learning she witnessed in a mathematics classroom at a school in Austin, Texas, where each student was working on a problem on their own individual screens while the teacher monitored all 25. When the teacher saw a student struggling, McMahon said, she went to their desk to help. Cuban said the eight or nine biggest AI companies are spending tens of billions of dollars annually, maybe more than $100 billion per year, in hopes of becoming the dominant force globally in artificial intelligence. That competition, Cuban said, has them all competing for information to be able to train the models. As they try to 'silo' that information so that it's only available to their models and not those of their competitors, Cuban said governors should have no trouble getting them on board to provide free or low-cost access to their systems in exchange for the AI model's access to the questions and responses of tens of thousands or even millions of their students. Not to mention getting students familiar with a system they might keep on using well beyond school. States and educators can and should build some guardrails into whatever systems they choose to use, he said, to ensure students don't stray too far off topic and complete their assignments. And, he urged the governors to make sure any AI providers maintain text files of all queries and responses of users under the age of 18 that can be easily accessed by parents or guardians. Recalling that he often sat his own children, now ages 15, 18 and 21, in front of an iPad to watch "Scooby-Doo" to entertain them when they were young, Cuban said he'd use AI now, plugging in some questions that could get them started on inquiries that would peak their curiosity and provide him with more insight into their interests and learning style at a younger age. Parents of older children who worry their kids don't like to read, he said, should simply get them started on AI exploration of whatever it was they hoped their children would learn from those books. Let their natural curiosity lead the way, Cuban said. At home and in the classroom. 'We have this unique tool that's never existed before,' Cuban said. 'We have to use that for a way to teach that's never been done before.' Reporter Kelly Lyell covers education, breaking news, some sports and other topics of interest for the Coloradoan. Contact him at kellylyell@ and This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Mark Cuban talks with Colorado Gov. Jared Polis about AI and education Solve the daily Crossword