As a car engineer and a huge rotary engine fan, I wanted to make something for my Bambu Lab A1 / A1 Mini that brings a bit of JDM culture into my setup.

So I designed this Rotary Front Cover.

The idea was simple: not just making the toolhead look rotary-inspired, but actually making it feel alive. The part I’m happiest with is that the design uses the A1 extruder shaft to turn the rotor, so when the printer is extruding, it looks like the rotary is revving. That was the whole vision from the start.
 

Getting there took way more work than it might seem. I 3D scanned the area of the toolhead and went through countless iterations to get the fit, proportions, and overall look right. I wanted it to feel clean on the printer, but still instantly recognizable to anyone who loves rotary engines and JDM styling.
 

I personally really like the grey version because it gives it a clean OEM-style look, but printing it in silk PLA gives it a much more metallic, “real engine part” kind of vibe, which also suits the design really well.
 

This is definitely a small mod, but it adds a lot of character to the printer, especially if you’re into cars and want something a bit different from the usual accessories.

Any rotary fans here?