3D Printing Info

Printer comparison

Anycubic Kobra 4 vs Bambu Lab A1 mini

Compare hardware, build volume, printing specifications, dated prices and sources.

Anycubic Kobra 4 guideBambu Lab A1 mini guide

2 selected · all documented properties

Open these two in the interactive comparisonMore Anycubic Kobra 4 comparisonsMore Bambu Lab A1 mini comparisons
Anycubic Kobra 4 vs Bambu Lab A1 mini — documented properties and sources
PropertyAnycubic Kobra 4BEDSLINGERBambu Lab A1 miniBEDSLINGER
Identity
BrandAnycubicBambu Lab
ClassBEDSLINGERBEDSLINGER
Identity & Market
Manufacturer & exact marketed model name (verify the exact product identity first)Anycubic Kobra 4[1]Bambu Lab A1 mini. Store title: "Bambu Lab A1 mini 3D Printer"[2]
Release date (announcement and actual shipping)Listed on the Anycubic store from 29 May 2026 (Shopify publish date)[3]Shipped in the second half of 2023; Tom's Hardware published its A1 mini review on 13 October 2023, ahead of the full-size A1 review of 14 December 2023[4][5]
Street price (USD; dated snapshot per entry)$279.00 with a US plug on store.anycubic.com, Aug 2026, against a compare-at price of $379.00 ($320.90 for the EU plug variant)[3]From $219.00 (base A1 mini) on the Bambu Lab US store, Aug 2026, during an advertised Back-to-School sale; the product page lists A1 mini and A1 mini Combo variants[6][7]
Variants & sibling models — and how to tell them apart (spec-contamination risk)Shares its 260 mm cube volume and its exact machine dimensions (455.4 x 445.3 x 461.3 mm) with the Kobra X, so those two cannot be told apart on size. The difference is multicolour: the Kobra X ships with native 4-colour capability, while the Kobra 4 needs an ACE 2 Pro unit for multicolour and drying. The Kobra 4 also has a smaller 3.5-inch screen where the Kobra 3 and S1 use 4.3-inch panels[1][8][9]Two SKUs: A1 mini and A1 mini Combo (adds the AMS lite). Distinguish from the full-size A1 by build volume (180 vs 256 mm cube), bed ceiling (80 vs 100 C), screen (2.4 vs 3.5 inch), Z drive (single leadscrew with a coupling vs dual leadscrews belt-synced) and weight (5.5 vs 8.3 kg)[2][10][11][12]
Market position: superseded? successor announced?Not documentedStill the entry model in the Bambu Lab US store line-up in Aug 2026 and the cheapest machine listed[6]
Physical & Frame
Build volume X×Y×Z (mm) — advertised vs actually usable260 x 260 x 260 mm[1]180 x 180 x 180 mm (manufacturer figure)[2]
Machine footprint (mm) & clearance needed (cable/spool overhang)455.4 x 445.3 x 461.3 mm for the printer; the optional ACE 2 Pro is a separate 368 x 291.5 x 236.5 mm unit[1]347 x 315 x 365 mm (Bambu tech specs; Tom's Hardware prints 347 x 314 x 365 mm)[2][4]
Net weight (kg)9.9 kg for the printer (ACE 2 Pro 3.7 kg); packaged 12.6 kg bare or 17.5 kg as the Combo[1]5.5 kg net[2]
Frame construction & materialNot documentedSteel plus extruded aluminium chassis[2]
Enclosure: open / enclosed; panel material; door/lidOpen frame, no enclosure[1]Open frame, no enclosure[2]
Kinematics & Motion Hardware
Kinematics (bedslinger i3 / CoreXY / other)Anycubic's table gives the construction as "Gantry system" - a bed-slinger, not CoreXY[1]Cartesian bed-slinger: toolhead on an X guide rail and crossbeam, print platform moving in Y on a guide rail, toolhead carried in Z[11]
X-axis guide type (rods / linear rails / V-wheels; size)Not documentedHorizontal linear guide rail with the printhead on a sliding block; rail size not published[11]
Y-axis guide typeNot documentedHorizontal linear guide rail carrying the print platform, belt-driven in Y[11]
Z-axis: leadscrew count & type, sync mechanism, anti-backlashNot documentedSingle leadscrew with nut, coupling and stepper motor - the motor drives the leadscrew directly through the coupling. This is the clearest hardware difference from the A1, which uses two leadscrews synchronised by a belt[11][12]
Speed & Acceleration
Max print speed (claimed, mm/s)600 mm/s maximum print speed (manufacturer claim), 300 mm/s the default[1]500 mm/s max toolhead speed (manufacturer claim); no independent measurement found[2]
Recommended/typical print speed300 mm/s default print speed (manufacturer figure)[1]Not documented
Max acceleration (claimed, mm/s²)20000 mm/s2 maximum acceleration, 10000 mm/s2 recommended[1]10000 mm/s2 max toolhead acceleration (manufacturer claim)[2]
Max volumetric flow claimed (mm³/s)Not documented28 mm3/s claimed on a 150x150 mm single-wall model in Bambu ABS at 280 C - note this is the ABS figure quoted for a machine whose own spec sheet lists ABS as not recommended[2]
Extruder
Type (direct drive / bowden) & design nameDirect drive ("short distance extrusion")[1]Direct drive with hardened-steel extruder gears; toolhead also holds the cutter unit, filament hub and filament sensor[2][11]
Hotend & Nozzle
Hotend design (proprietary/standard; quick-swap mechanism?)Hardened-steel nozzle, 0.4 mm standard with 0.25, 0.6 and 0.8 mm optional[1]All-metal integrated hotend (nozzle plus heatsink in one unit), quick-swap; stainless-steel nozzle, 0.4 mm included, 0.2/0.6/0.8 mm optional[2][11]
Max nozzle temp claimed AND firmware max temp limit (both values)300 C maximum nozzle temperature[1]300 C claimed max hot-end temperature[2]
Heated Bed & Surface
Max bed temp claimed AND firmware limit100 C maximum hotbed temperature on a PEI spring steel build plate[1]80 C max build-plate temperature - the lowest of the current Bambu range, and the reason ABS/ASA are listed as not recommended[2][11]
Bed surface (material, texture, coating), single/double-sidedNot documentedTextured PEI plate; Smooth PEI and Dual-Texture PEI plates also compatible[2]
Leveling & Z-Offset
Auto bed leveling: probe technology (inductive / strain gauge / load cell / touch probe)LeviQ 3.0 49-point auto-levelling with Z-offset; Anycubic claims levelling repeatability under 0.02 mm and states no manual compensation is needed[1]Nozzle-touch automatic bed levelling and automatic Z-offset; Tom's Hardware confirms the nozzle itself is the probe[4][11]
Filament Handling & Detection
Filament runout sensor (type, location)Filament detection with auto resume, entanglement detection and power-loss resume[1]Yes - run-out sensor, filament odometry and filament-tangle sensor[2]
Multi-material/multi-color capability or official upgrade pathMulticolour and active drying both require the separate ACE 2 Pro unit; Anycubic quotes 4 independent brushless feed motors in that unit[1]Optional AMS lite (A1 mini Combo); AMS / AMS 2 Pro / AMS HT need an AMS HUB (SA013) accessory[7]
Cooling & Air Handling
Part-cooling fan(s): count, size, ducting designNot documentedOne custom 5015 centrifugal part-cooling fan with two opposing outlets; closed-loop control. A separate MC board cooling fan is also fitted[2][11]
Electronics & Power
Mainboard model & MCU (exact chip markings if teardowns exist)Not documentedBambu names the motion controller as a dual-core Cortex-M4; no board model or chip markings published[2]
Total rated power drawNot documented100-240 VAC 50/60 Hz; max power 150 W for the whole machine. Bed heater wattage is not published separately[2]
Firmware & Openness
Firmware base & current version (Klipper fork / Marlin fork / proprietary)Kobra OS with pressure advance and flow calibration; a built-in accelerometer drives vibration compensation[1]Closed-source proprietary firmware - not a Klipper or Marlin derivative, and no printer-firmware source is published. The bambulab GitHub organisation carries 11 repositories (Bambu Studio, wxWidgets/boost/ffmpeg forks, the wiki); none is printer firmware. Updates are delivered over the air via Bambu Studio / Bambu Handy[13]
Connectivity, UI & Camera
Display: size, type, touch?3.5-inch capacitive touchscreen - smaller than the 4.3-inch panels on the Kobra 3 and S1 series[1][9][14]2.4-inch 320x240 IPS touchscreen[2]
On-device UI capabilities (model preview, per-object controls, etc.)Touchscreen plus Anycubic Slicer, the Anycubic app and USB; AI spaghetti detection and object skip supported[1]Touchscreen plus Bambu Handy app and Bambu Studio PC application[2]
WiFi (band/standard), Ethernet, USB ports, SD/flash-driveUSB, Anycubic Slicer and the Anycubic app[1]Wi-Fi 2.4 GHz only (802.11 b/g/n), Bambu-Bus, microSD card. No Ethernet, no USB host[2]
Camera: built-in / optional? Resolution & framerate (verify — marketing often omits real fps)Standard HD camera fitted, 720p[1]Built-in low-rate camera, up to 1080p, timelapse supported[2]
Calibration Routines & QoL
Assembly level & time from unbox to first printAnycubic claims assembly and first print within 15 minutes[1]Arrives mostly pre-assembled - only the filament wiper, spool holder and Bowden tubes to fit[4]
Materials Support
Officially supported filament listPLA, PETG, TPU 95A - and Anycubic notes TPU 95A cannot be used through the ACE 2 Pro[1]Ideal: PLA, PETG, TPU, PVA. Not recommended: ABS, ASA, PC, PA, PET and fibre-reinforced polymers[2]
Noise & Power Consumption
Noise: claimed dB and independently measured dB (distance/method)48 dB or less in standard mode and 45 dB or less in silent print mode - manufacturer figures with no distance or method stated[1]Manufacturer claim only: the US store page claims "49dB Whisper-Quiet Operation" - the identical sentence appears on the A1 page, so treat it as line-level marketing copy rather than a per-model measurement. No independent dB measurement with a stated distance was found[7][15]
Reliability, Support & Ecosystem
Warranty length & support reputation (evidence, not vibes)One year on the complete machine (excluding gifted and second-hand machines), with component warranty periods that vary by part; the period starts on the delivery date and is suspended while a replacement is in transit. Anycubic states it will follow longer local statutory periods where they apply[16]2-year limited warranty for consumers in the US, Canada, the EU, Switzerland, Norway and Iceland; 1 year in the rest of the world. Bambu Lab's own policy records the US/Canada term as a 2026 extension from one year to two[17]
Independently Measured Performance
Benchmark print times (source + settings)Anycubic claims a 14-minute Benchy - a manufacturer figure with no slicer settings published, not an independent measurement[1]Not documented
Review scores from major outlets (list outlet + score + date)Not documentedTom's Hardware: Editor's Choice, rating 4.5 out of 5 in the page's structured data (13 October 2023)[4]

Manufacturer claims, independent measurements, packages and test conditions retain their source wording. FDM linear speed and resin vertical speed use different units and are not directly comparable. Unknown values are marked “Not documented”. Prices and source dates remain historical snapshots; check the linked guide for product details. Differences highlight text, not a universal winner.

Sources for this comparison

  1. Anycubic Kobra 4 product page (Specifications table) store.anycubic.com · 2026-08 · vendor
  2. Bambu Lab A1 mini - Technical Specifications bambulab.com · 2026-08 · vendor
  3. Anycubic Kobra 4 Shopify product JSON (variant prices and store publish date) store.anycubic.com · 2026-08 · vendor
  4. Tom's Hardware - Bambu Lab A1 Mini Review, 13 October 2023 tomshardware.com · 2026-08 · review
  5. Tom's Hardware - Bambu Lab A1 Review, Denise Bertacchi, 14 December 2023 tomshardware.com · 2026-08 · review
  6. Bambu Lab US Store - 3D Printers collection listing (base prices, Aug 2026) us.store.bambulab.com · 2026-08 · vendor
  7. Bambu Lab A1 mini store page (A1 mini / A1 mini Combo variants) us.store.bambulab.com · 2026-08 · vendor
  8. Anycubic Kobra X product page (Specifications table) store.anycubic.com · 2026-08 · vendor
  9. Anycubic Kobra 3 Combo product page (Specifications table) store.anycubic.com · 2026-08 · vendor
  10. Bambu Lab A1 - Technical Specifications bambulab.com · 2026-08 · vendor
  11. Bambu Lab Wiki - A1 mini introduction wiki.bambulab.com · 2026-08 · doc
  12. Bambu Lab Wiki - A1 introduction wiki.bambulab.com · 2026-08 · doc
  13. GitHub - bambulab organisation repository list (11 repos, checked Aug 2026) github.com · 2026-08 · doc
  14. Anycubic Kobra S1 product page (Specifications table) store.anycubic.com · 2026-08 · vendor
  15. Bambu Lab A1 store page (A1 / A1 Combo variants) us.store.bambulab.com · 2026-08 · vendor
  16. Anycubic refund and warranty policy store.anycubic.com · 2026-08 · vendor
  17. Bambu Lab Warranty Policy bambulab.com · 2026-08 · vendor