Things have been relatively quiet at Bambu Lab since the recall controversy, but an important update was just provided by the company.
The recall was for an issue discovered with the A1 desktop 3D printer’s heat bed. The heat bed connects with the rest of the system through a thick electrical cable. This cable carries sufficient current to heat the bed, which is more than the low-voltage signal cables elsewhere in the machine. It’s therefore important to protect that thick cable.
Bambu Lab tested the cable extensively during A1 product development: this cable is bent slightly over and over during print operations, and it’s designed to withstand that work.
However, what Bambu Lab didn’t plan on was operators turning their machine on its side, with this cable bending severely under the weight of the machine. This action could cause damage the cable, and in some rare cases resulting in electrical short circuits. That’s definitely not good.
After a brief analysis, Bambu Lab issued a recall on the A1 because of this issue. They offered refunds and replacements. However, as this was a new problem unknown to the company, they had to develop and certify a hardware solution.
Some A1 operators opted to wait for the repair kit and not use their A1 in the interim. Others required 3D printing capability and instead acquired alternative machines, often one of Bambu Lab’s other models.
But what about the promised repair kit? This presumably would be a heat bed replacement with an upgraded cable and guard system. Bambu Lab originally indicated this would appear sometime in March.
Now we know a lot more after a brief announcement from Bambu Lab. They explained:
“We would like to let our customers know that our new and improved A1 heatbed is under production and will be shipped by air towards our global warehouses by the end of the month, according to schedule.
Once it arrives, we will contact every A1 owner who opened a ticket and chose to replace the heatbed individually, to arrange the shipping gradually according to the order of submitted tickets.
The guidance for how to perform the replacement has been completed, to help assist you with this process. Our CS team is also ready to assist with this process, should you have any questions.”
It appears that shipment of the repair kits are imminent, but the company doesn’t have a specific date for shipment. More than likely there are a large number to ship, so it would take a while to process them all.
This is quite a feat: detecting a problem and determining the cause within a week, designing a production solution, mass manufacturing that solution, preparing instructions for operators, support staff and resellers, organizing the database of A1 customers and keeping everyone informed along the way.
The presence of the design problem was definitely not good, but the manner in which Bambu Lab has handled the situation is commendable.
Via Reddit/Bambu Lab
