Anycubic Kobra 3 Combo: Honest Review & Step-by-Step Guide - Worth the Hype?

[@Spadez.]

Back again Captain!!!! So what I found from our last talk was that it has the preheat feature on the buttons on the front. You can use the touch pad to go to the settings and click PLA and it will heat the nozzel and the bed. If you let this get to temp you then send over your print via usb or cloud. Then when it does its test at the beginning, the heating bed wont cause expansion and ruin that first layer. I tested this with printing a benchy first with a preheated bed which turned out fine. Then I started another print from a cold bed to heating and it was too low as the expansion caused it rise a bit (barely noticable to anyone but that first layer lol). Moved from the Ender 3 v2 to this and by god it is an improvement....though the color time to switch adds almost triple the print time so I think I am going to print as many individual parts in one color as I can. Thank you again! OHHHHHH 1 more thing. You are SUPPOSED to put the blue clips back on the back after you install the filament tube in the back of the Ace Pro. I just read through it and heard some stories of the back being pulled out if it isn't attached.

[@CaptainCreativity]

Awesome thank you so much for the feedback I think I'll definitely start putting those blue clips on now because it seems that till now I've just been getting lucky but I'd rather be safe than sorry so I'll definitely resume getting them back on. Thanks for keeping me posted on everything and following up.

[@Adamtherealboss]

I finished opening mine today. I agree, it is very easy to assemble. It comes packaged well with everything actually labeled. It is much better from my experience than with creality printers.

[@stefankauerauf4282]

Because I saw it in nearly every assembling video of this printer and ever wondered why all you guys make it so complicated. When assembling the toolhead the upper holes for the screws are cutted out with a reason. You can screw in the screws to the head and hang it in the thwo upper holes and then put in the lower two screws and tighten all four without supporting the head with your hand. That makes assembling as easy as possible without paying attention to avoid the head falling down to the bed. :D

[@CaptainCreativity]

Your 100% right , when following the instructions to the letter it doesn't account for some common sense thinking and that's why so many of us miss it. But that's why I love feedback and this is perfect feedback so that anyone who is going to take on assembly will do as you suggested. Thank you for the feedback/tip and thanks for watching.

[@sheilaolfieway1885]

i enjoy my kobra 3 we've had some minor problems with the ace due to bad filament but it's now fixed.

[@Spadez.]

Sale on the resin printers from AnyCubic right now. I got me a M5s Pro for 299. I literally JUST bought the Kobra 3 Combo with the ace for 369. I needed to upgrade to start selling these prints. So happy to watch your video!

[@oleurgast730]

I mostly use colour changes in the first 3 layers only, to embedd text and logos on the underside (for example on cases or panels, if the underside is the later top). For this the poo is aceptable (6 colour changes for the whole print). Actually I did this manually for years. Rumors are the ACE pro will be usable for other printers in the future. Some tests I made point into this direction. For example, if you started the dryer, you can turn off the Kobra 3 and the dryer still works. If you lose the active bowden, the filament pushes still. but if you stop it by hand, it stops pushing. The moment you let it go, it pushes again. Definitly the ACE feeds filament as needed by the extruder without the printer controlling the process. So pretty sure the printer just tells the ACE pro someling like "load filament x" "unload filament x" (and of course commands to set the dryer), but while the printer is printing, the ACE pro simply delivers as needed. Maybe some status information are also delivered. Quite a difference to the AMS, were the filament buffer is on the printer, so the printer tells the AMS if the feeder has to deliver filament or not every moment. So much less communication needed here. This is a bit like prusas MMU, were the MMU is just told by serial connection what to do. So all whats needed is to find out the type of physical interface used (classic serial, USB Can?) and then listen to the communication. A bit to hard for me, but I am sure someone more skilled will find out. It would be very nice to use the ACE pro on other printers. The amount of waste the colourchange produces is much more then on an Prusa mk4 with MMU3, esp if you use waste2infill or waste2object. Also the Prusa changes filament much faster. The reason is quite simple: Bambulabs and Kobra 3 are printers with high flow nozzle. You can not get a reliable nice filament tip on unload with high-flow nozzles. So cut&poo is needed. As you can not retract cut filament, pooing is mandatory. Prusa uses standard flow nozzles (and print slower). But this mean it can form the filament tip with ramping profiles, wich works very well with integrated nozzle-heatbreak combos (like the Nextruder Nozzle or a Revo). This is one of the main reasons I hope the ACE pro will be connectable to other printers soon(tm). It would be great on an SV08 converted to Revo hotend (The Next Layer showed the mod). For multicolour, a standard revo would allow for fast filament change without cut&poo. This would be much faster over all, even if the printing speed itself is lower due to lower volumetric flow. However, for single colour prints, simply use a high flow Revo nozzle. Imho all theese all-in-one solutions do a bad compromise. For filamentchangers do not do cut&poo (maybe exept for changing only in a few layers). Use a standard-flow hotend and ramping, plus waste2infill or waste2object. You can reduce the waste to a minimum, nearly as low as on an IDEX or toolchanger. Swap to high flow for single colour. Still, in single colour the backup filament mode would work, as the unloaded filament of an empty spool does not need a reloadable filament tip, as it is empty and wouldn´t be loaded again anyway...

[@CaptainCreativity]

Thanks so much for watching the video and for your detailed comment! I love your observations and insights. I agree with you completely - it would be amazing to see the ACE Pro being used with other 3D printers. Your points about the independent operation of the ACE Pro and the potential for reduced waste are spot on.When it comes to the physical connection, I'm pretty sure one could create an adapter that allows it to go from the back of the ACE Pro directly into a USB port, which tends to be the common interface of choice among 3D printers. The question is, do they want to keep it proprietary, or will they see more of a benefit in selling the ACE Pro independently and allowing people using other third-party printers to take full advantage of it. I also wonder whether or not they encrypt the commands to keep things proprietary so while there may not be a buffer on the printer I would only hope that the commands can be learned and understood if someone were to try to capture them. Assuming they are not encrypted it would be fantastic to see this adopted into popular slicers like Orca. Also, I completely agree with your thoughts on minimizing waste and improving efficiency. Innovations like these could truly elevate the 3D printing experience for many users.Anyway, excellent comment, love your feedback, and thanks again for watching!

[@oleurgast730]

@@CaptainCreativity Actually some KZbinr said he asked and Anycubic said they plan to open up the ACE for other printers. Imho this would make a lot of sense. Many people interesting in 3d printing already have a 3d printer (or two or about 32 if I look in my storage room...). So it is hard to sell new printers, competing not just with other companys but also all of the existing printers people already own. A company can make much more money by selling accessorys than by selling the printers itself. Not a very new concept - like 2d ink-jet printer manufactorers make their money with the ink, not with selling printers. Same now in the 3d market: Bambulab with their filament (with NFC-tag to automaticly been recogniced by the printer), now anycubic doing the same. An if you look at the project kits: Yes, selling the electrical parts to be combined with 3d prints is nice. But if you see you get a complete wireless mouse from china for much less money (typical about $2), the kit for the diy mouse produces definitly more revenue for bambulab. If you look at the prices, selling the ACE pro seperately makes a lot of sense. Both the Kobra 3 and the ACE pro cost each 300€ seperatly. As combo they cost 450€. People might even buy the combo if they realy only want an ACE pro - as for just 150€ more the printer is a real deal. Even if you already have more printers as you need. But a hobby do not have to be logical... Still for more logical thinking people a 300€ ACE would still make sense, if you compare it to Prusas MMU3. Anycubic might even designing an "adapter box" so you could connect the ACE to Prusas MMU interface connector. Definitly an market of it´s own. Also Anycubic can´t realy lock down hacking the ACE pro. It´s not realy a secret how the filament buffers work (have not dissassembled the ACE pro one, but Bambulabs): The buffer contains the slider and a spring. The position of the slider is detected (bambulab uses a magnet and a hall-effect sensor to do so, have not dissassembled the ACE yet). Depending of the position of the slider filament is pushed from the ACE into the tube - or not. Not a very complicated logic. Some drivers for the motors, heater output and thermistor input for the dryer part. Nothing you might not find on any 3d-printer controll board, even the oldest ones. So no sense to encrypt communication, if you simply could swap the pcb and change it to self written software.

[@Spadez.]

After learning a bit from other users. I found this solution to over half of em.....Pre-heat first, once fully up to temp wait about 5 minutes, then start the Auto. Bed. Leveling feature. This gives you a better Z offset and gives you a damn near PERFECT first layer which is KEY to a successful long term print.

[@CaptainCreativity]

@@Spadez. Interesting by any chance is that one of the things that they just recently added to the firmware? I feel like remember something about preheating somewhere in the release notes. Either way thank you for the feedback and thanks for watching

[@Spadez.]

@@CaptainCreativity Anytime! I am not sure as I haven't received mine yet but the combo be comin, lol. I do have an ender 3 v2 and I have a Photon m5s Pro. Love anycubic so giving the Kobra 3 a shot. The Ender has a preheat function that is pretty rad that I can pretty much heat the bed and nozzle and just let it get to temp, then hit start whenever. Not sure if that is in the Kobra stuff, but will check it out in like a week when it arrives.

[@mackg856]

The 2 top screws on the print head should go in part way first, then you can hang the print head and put the remaining bottom screws in. That way you're not holding it all while trying to put the screws in. Great video!

[@CaptainCreativity]

Yup and good catch. It's already on my list of corrections that I need to update the video with. In any case thank you so much for sharing and watching.

[@daveparker862]

you sliced the little guy as a 3D photo, hence the crazy 1 day time lol. - brims are useful for purge tower. make sure your silicone sock isn't knocking on things, most of us have trimmed it back. good luck.

[@daveparker862]

ah, you talk about this right at the end :D

[@CaptainCreativity]

@@daveparker862 yup, I don't know what this defaulted to that setting. I don't recall if that was due to the 3mf file or the application defaults to that setting. I'm so used to other slicers being defaulted .20mm standard and totally missed it at first.

[@CaptainCreativity]

​@RynoDBones awesome , I saw the Sale as well and the day before I rolled the dice for discounts and got $15 off, so I bought another combo for $364.

[@papatomkaraoke]

The error code will go away if you export the 3mf files as separate stl files then you can import them separately to the prepare plate.

[@MultiAnnelore]

thanks alot best video of how to assebling thanks alot

[@CaptainCreativity]

Thank you for watching and your support 😊

[@pickleleatherworkx2218]

I got my Kobra 3 combo from microcenter for $379

[@CaptainCreativity]

Hey, Awesome price ! And awesome you can just pickup locally.

[@st0mper121]

the waste thing is why im waiting for a multitool head solution. But i want multi color and getting tired of waiting... but i think i will be disappointed with this printer for its quality. I have a Max3 and a SV08 now. I seen 2 youtubers come out with a multihead for the SV08. but im not a programmer or a engineer. i got to wait till its idiot proof :)

[@CaptainCreativity]

I definitely hear you. I think that the multi-tool head is definitely the solution to the multi filament color issues that everybody has. Prusa XL does this and it eliminates the waste but also decreases the time dramatically. I'm wondering if the reason why some of the other companies aren't doing this due to patent issues and are unable to do that without violation of a patent. Certainly it could also be that is just more expensive considering you now have multiple extruders. Anyway great feedback and thank you for watching

[@avaviel]

WAIT. The Kobra 3 takes that much assembly? Also, the nozzle can't be changed when the printer is cold. That by itself convinced me to get an A1 mini. Your video helps me see I made the correct choice. I was printing within 20 minutes or so of simple setup.

[@CaptainCreativity]

I totally agree the Bambu A1 Mini was a much faster setup. However the key differences to note is the size and the inclusion of the dryer which added some more steps. There are definitely pros and cons. I own both and I put them to work equally. I typically do single color printing but I do like that the ACE Pro allows me to have 4 colors ready to go and acting as a dryer box. Loading filament for kids using the ACE Pro is a lot friendlier than the regular AMS but equal to the AMS lite. Anyway thanks for watching and I am so glad that the video was able to solidify your 3D printing purchase decision. All the best

[@chandlervoit4630]

A1 and A1 mini can only support 4 colors. P1s and x1 can handle 16

[@CaptainCreativity]

Excellent point, I always assumed Bambu treated all their AMS solutions the same across their 3D printers. That's definitely my oversight and so glad you brought that to my attention. I have a few corrections and notes to add to the video and I'll definitely include this. Thanks for watching and sharing.

[@SylvainDuford]

I agree that this system for color printing is insane. Way too much time and waste, it's not practical or economical. I really only need two colours for my use case, so I really want an IDEX printer.

[@CaptainCreativity]

Thank you so much for your feedback and thanks for watching. One thing I would definitely say is that there are other companies who have attacked multicolor printing in a different way that is more economical as well as faster. For example Prusa while they are expensive has a superior system where they have a different extruder for each color and we definitely have seen this on some idex solutions as well. The XL has this capability but it is more expensive but it definitely solves the issue on waste and it dramatically improves speed. Thanks again for watching

[@sorehammer]

the top 2 for the tool head are ment to be inserted first in to the head it's not a top tip.

[@CaptainCreativity]

Thanks for the correction I'm shortly going to be adjusting the video to add in some keynotes and tips that I've gone from others through the comments. Thank you for the contribution and definitely thank you for watching.

[@JKrisO]

but how loud is it??? its one thing all you reviewers do not show!

[@CaptainCreativity]

Its actually pretty quiet in my opinion, but you make a very good point, I am going to start including a decibel meter reading in my videos. Thank you so much for the suggestion and thank you for watching. I will also post a follow up on Instagram @inventorsassemble with an audio reading on the Kobra 3 so stay tuned.

[@bigtex806]

I watched someone do a review and didn’t reach above 55 decibels

[@CaptainCreativity]

​@@bigtex806thank you for the feedback. So I think we could all agree 55 is pretty good right? From what I've seen on a lot of other printers I feel like that's a good place to be in. Obviously let me know if you disagree. Thanks so much for following up on this and again thanks for watching

[@tulio3dprint]

41:39 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@jamestryon4561]

I had that problem with my eSun PLA+ yellow also. I think it is wet possibly and became brittle. I had this happen on my A1, and it broke inside the tube for the AMS Lite.

[@RynoDBones]

I was kinda pumped when they first announced this. I tested out a Kobra several years back and it was pretty…meh…Was hoping by now they would have gotten things sorted, but it seems more of the same. Tons of features that individually are great ideas, but put together are mediocre at best.

[@CaptainCreativity]

Hey thanks for watching. I do think the printer is a pretty good contender. There are definitely some great pluses. I have been using it a lot in the past week. It's been pretty reliable so I am happy with it. I don't know if I would say it's mediocre but I definitely agree it's not the best. I will say it's Good. I use it primarily for single color prints but I really like the simplicity of the ACE Pro for loading and I like the fact it's an active dryer. But overall I am putting this guy to work and so far I have been happy with the results. I will be doing soon a speed test comparing the Kobra 3 to the A1 to A1 Mini to P1P so be sure your subscribed and stay tuned, and again thanks so much for watching and contributing.

[@RynoDBones]

@@CaptainCreativity Right now I’m having the most fun with the Ankermake M5C. It’s nice to send a file and it just works. Had one failed print out of 30 so far, and it was because my dog opened the door to the office and the AC caused it to pop off the build plate. Honestly, the only printer I’ve owned that I didn’t like was a Creality Halot One. The Kobra had a lot going for it, but it didn’t impress me as much as some of the other printers being sent to me around the same time.

[@CaptainCreativity]

@@RynoDBones I hear great things about the Ankermate , I haven't gotten a chance to get hands on with one but I would like to. I think Creality has a lot of work to do in the Resin 3D world but they are making good progress in the K1 Max and K1C, it was a slightly bumpy first run but now it's pretty stable and I'm hoping that the K2 Plus will be good but time will tell. I would however like to see Anycubic try and get into the CoreXY space as well.

[@RynoDBones]

@@CaptainCreativity Big sale for the Anycubic 9th Anniversary. I went ahead and picked up the Kobra 3 Combo with camera and eight rolls of filament for $418. After seeing they've actually put out some updates to firmware and software...Figure now was the time go grab one up. I've got my fingers crossed they will continue with more support on this machine..

[@FrogWizard224]

I don't like the multicolor prints on one nozzle, i feel like its asking for failures on top of being wasteful. Multi extruder prints should be done on multi nozzle printers.

[@CaptainCreativity]

That's why I love was the Prusa XL does with multiple heads but the price is what gets in the way of me getting one.

[@germancernohous6550]

​@@CaptainCreativitythats where this one and the a1 combo wins, im from argentina and here the anycubic combo is 1.2 million(ARS) and the prusa xl cost 8.5 million(ARS). So for what it put in the table for that price the kobra 3 its a monster.

[@drewbombs7059]

Your gantry does not look square.

[@CaptainCreativity]

I double checked it. But note that mess up was my fault. I had the wrong setting , I mention it in the video but just in case you missed it. The Gantry wasn't the issue. Thanks for watching

[@drewbombs7059]

@@CaptainCreativity I was not referring to the mess-up just noticed it was a bit crooked, a lot of people don't know you have to square and level the machines when you get them even if they come mostly assembled, the auto leveling is nice, but it is never 100% and even if it is close a non square and leveled frame will throw it off greatly if you square it and level it your prints will 100% come out soooo much better. Great vid.

[@CaptainCreativity]

​@@drewbombs7059Ah I see , I'm going to double check, thanks again.

[@3DATHENS-qi1tu]

Multi color macaroni 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 it's a bed slinger even the babuus A1and mini are bed slingers no mach to core xy inclosed printers and a 4 colors vs hand acrylic painting you see what a waste the AMS system is

[@CaptainCreativity]

@@3DATHENS-qi1tu I definitely love my Bambu P1P, it's a workhorse. I will say however that I believe Anycubic did create a better multi filament solution. Due to the active dryer , the ease of loading the prints and ability to clear breakages. The AMS from Bambu drives me nuts. The AMS lite is much better but not enclosure for the filament. In the end, I really like it for having multiple colors ready to go, and the backup filament. Totally agree that I won't be doing much multi color printing.

[@lawrencepereira2008]

Could you donate this printer to India?

[@CaptainCreativity]

I would love to Right now the donations that I do are in the United States but I would very much like to one day be able to go beyond. Thank you so much for watching and your feedback

[@maculike]

Errr you need to slice it NOT AS A PHOTO…..wow you are supposed to know what you doing?😢 I suggest you do your video again…after you have read up on the slicer and retract your statements of time to print…..it’s a problem in chair not in printer moment 😂.

[@CaptainCreativity]

@@maculike hey thanks for watching. I'm not sure if you watched the whole video but I actually discuss this in the conclusion that this was what the issue was. For some strange reason the App or the 3MF file defaulted to this setting. But definitely check out the end. I do in fact recognize this error and you are correct it was absolutely the guy in the chair that was the problem.

[@garyr19841]

I did this same error on a print and it messed up as well. Don’t like how it’s automatically set for 3D photo for First time users. Easy fix though and my next normal print came out flawless

[@CaptainCreativity]

@@garyr19841 Glad I am not alone 😀And same for me ....the next print was 8 hours instead of a day and it came out great. I've actually been pretty happy with it's performance. I've been sticking with single color anyway due to waste and duration but I do like loading up 4 colors into the box and drying and having it ready to go.