A1 AMS: The AMS lite Explained, Limits Included
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The A1 uses the AMS lite, the open four-spool changer, not the sealed AMS from the P1 and X1 series. It is 397 x 208 x 342 mm, weighs 1.6 kg, reads RFID on Bambu filament, and does not dry anything. It will not feed TPU, TPE, wet PVA or BVOH, or any carbon or glass filled filament. Buy the A1 Combo if multi-colour is the plan; the AMS lite bolts on later if it is not.
The A1 is a bed-slinger, so Bambu gave it a different multi-material system from its CoreXY machines. The AMS lite sits beside the printer rather than on top of it, holds its spools on four spring-loaded rotary holders, and has a translucent shell you can see through while it works.
That open design is a genuine trade-off, not a cost cut. Here is what you gain and what you give up.
Where to buy
AMS lite is a different machine from the AMS
The sealed AMS used by the P1S and X1 Carbon is an airtight box with desiccant, designed to be stacked on the printer and chained up to four units. The AMS lite is a single open unit with four rotary spool holders that grip each spool through its centre hole, which is what makes it tolerant of paper and cardboard spools that bind in a sealed path.
Because the shell is translucent and the mechanism exposed, you can see a jam happen and reach it without dismantling anything. On the sealed Gen 1 AMS, clearing snapped filament means removing every spool and undoing two screws, a three-to-five minute job by Bambu’s own description. On the AMS lite it is seconds.
What you give up is enclosure. There is no sealed chamber, no desiccant compartment, and no drying at all. In a humid room, filament in an AMS lite is filament sitting in the open. Our page on drying filament explains what that actually costs you in print quality.
What the AMS lite will and will not run
Supported: PLA, PETG, ASA, PET, PA, PC, dried PVA, dried BVOH, PP, POM, HIPS, and Bambu PLA-CF.
Not recommended: Bambu PLA Glow, Bambu PETG-CF, and generic glow-in-the-dark PLA. These load unreliably and wear the mechanism faster, because glow additives and chopped fibre are abrasive.
Unsupported outright: TPE, TPU, wet PVA, wet BVOH, Bambu PET-CF, PA6-CF, TPU 95A, and any other filament carrying carbon or glass fibre. Anything too soft, too brittle or too abrasive is out.
Spool geometry is a hard constraint as well: 40 to 68 mm wide, with an inner hole diameter of 53 to 58 mm. A spool outside that window will not sit correctly on the rotary holder no matter how good the filament is.
Filament backup, which is the underrated feature
Multi-colour gets the marketing, but filament backup is the feature that quietly saves long prints. Load the same material in two slots and the AMS lite switches to the second spool when the first runs out, so a 30-hour print does not die at hour 28 because a spool ended. It also means you finish partial spools instead of retiring them.
The other practical win is support material. With an AMS lite the A1 can print snap-away or dissolvable support in a second slot, which is the difference between prising supports off a detailed model and having them come away cleanly.
Combo or add it later
The A1 Combo bundles the printer and the AMS lite and works out cheaper than buying them apart. If you are not sure you want multi-colour, the plain A1 is a complete printer and the AMS lite is a later plug-in purchase, so nothing is lost by waiting.
Do check bench width before ordering. The AMS lite stands next to the A1 rather than on it, and at 397 mm wide it is not a small object. If you plan to add an enclosure for ABS or ASA later, look for one sized for the A1 Combo specifically, because the AMS lite has to live either inside it or feed through it.
For the printer itself, see our A1 overview. If you are choosing between the two AMS families, AMS versus AMS lite lays them side by side.
Frequently asked questions
Can the A1 use the sealed AMS? No. The A1 series uses the AMS lite.
Can I chain two AMS lite units on an A1? No. The AMS lite is a single four-slot unit, unlike the sealed AMS which chains to four units on P1 and X1 machines.
Does the AMS lite dry filament? No. It has no heater and no sealed chamber. Dry spools separately before loading.
Will it feed TPU? No, TPU and TPE are unsupported. Run flexibles from an external spool holder.
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