AnkerMake M5 3D Printer - Awesome or just hype?

[@viru52000]

I think this printer makes more sense at maybe the $500 price range. The use of V wheels instead of rails at this price point is kind of silly.

[@michaelhanzal]

Especially with the Sovol SV06 out. I would have bought that over my S1 Pro if it was out when I did.

[@dillpickle7633]

Ironic that some 200 dollar machines come with rails

[@enb3810]

I really hate v rollers, that's just ridiculous in my opinion. Plus $800? I'd rather buy anything else

[@sagichnicht6748]

@@enb3810 You'll get a Prusa MK4 kit for 900 EUR (or 799 USD excl. VAT), still a bed slinger but should be superior to the Anker quite clearly and more robust in the long term (no v wheels of course).

[@Geoff_W]

@@sagichnicht6748 Not...really. Honestly your paying more and receiving less. The MK4 doesn't bring anything to the table the M5 doesn't already have and do better, OTHER then the v-wheels, and it lacks features the M5 already has, not to mention the smaller build volume.

[@AustinDennis]

Hey Angus, just wanted to let you know that all profiles created for other slicers were made 100% by the community (maintained by just-trey). Anker had no involvement outside their own slicer.

[@MakersMuse]

good to know! thanks :)

[@justme12510]

​@@MakersMuse would you be okay if I looked at including some of your profile settings in our community or the official AnkerMake profiles for Prusa Slicer? They do listen to my input.

[@dmag2467]

​@@MakersMuse this is very true... Trey has done a fair amount of work, setting up the profiles and helping everyone in the discord community, especially noobs like me

[@bmickle]

@@justme12510 What a guy! Hope you get a reply!

[@majstor76]

I work at die cast company, that die cast bottom plate is crazy, i have never seen something like that in electronics. That was expensive

[@alexandredevert4935]

Going die-cast, and then ... wheel on vslots. Also, putting the screen on a moving part is an other WTF to me.

[@MrChoklad]

They probably didn't want to have the camera mounted on tha Z axis with more cables moving around (or some other reasone related to the camera), which still is quite silly, but it's the only possible explanation I can think of

[@UncleJessy]

Great review! Ive been using my M5 non stop for my Etsy orders and it is so damn loud but consistent and reliable. Not as fast as my P1P but I tend to run into less print fails with my M5. Def going to take a look at your M5 profile 😊

[@MakersMuse]

Keen for your review of it! My M5 profile definitely isn't perfect haha, open to improvements for sure

[@urgamecshk]

A) why don't you change the fan and b) why don't companies just use better fans

[@Geoff_W]

​@@urgamecshk a) It's a weird fan, there is not a quiet drop-in replacement on the market easily available b) PROBABLY because it's a fan they use in other products so they are able to source the part in bulk? But that's a guess. It's weird.

[@UncleJessy]

@@MakersMuse hahaha yeah my review has been in progress for a few months now… need to get that out already 🤣😂 I did print a huge awesome skull print on it for the video 🤘

[@ShotGunner5609]

​@Julius Jahn whats the point of reviewing a modified product? You gotta let people know aabout all the issues man.

[@ankermake]

Thanks for your comprehensive review of our product and your valuable suggestions and feedback. We appreciate your efforts in evaluating our product! We did want to share some insight on some items mentioned - hope this helps! Regarding Error detection The error detection system is now capable of detecting two common errors( the first layer not sticking and spaghetti). With the new firmware released in March, we have improved the First Layer Not Sticking Detection. We now believe that by ensuring a successful first-layer print, the risk of Extruder Jam can be effectively eliminated. However, the success rate of spaghetti detection is still relatively low. In the mid-April release, we will be updating our algorithm for Spaghetti Monster Detection. Instead of using the image-based modeling comparison method, we will adopt a local deep-learning model. As we collect more materials, the model will become increasingly accurate and intelligent. As for the Filament unload suggestion you mentioned, our engineers will continue to work on making the function better to avoid plugging. Thank you again for all of your feedback and insight!

[@robertzarfas9556]

Every time I watch a Maker's Muse review I just breath a sigh of relief because I know it can be trusted.

[@makcraft]

Wow! I would buy this toolkit! They should sell it separately.

[@whynotbuildit]

THATS WHAT I SAID

[@urgamecshk]

Print your own...

[@AnkerMakeBrandTeam]

Hi! My name is Kiki Chen and I'm part of the AnkerMake Team. Thank you for your feedback and so glad you're loving the toolkit! We'll relay this information to our team!

[@zybch]

The toolkit is great. I'll be keeping mine if/when I upgrade from the amkermake.

[@muthumukesh7872]

@@AnkerMakeBrandTeamit’s nice to know Anker is always keeping an eye out for feedback and improvement 👏🏼 hardcore fan of Anker here for almost all my electronics 🎉

[@johnkim3858]

I used to be a linear rail snob, but the more I put my mind to it, the more v-wheels make sense. First is that a v-wheel is a pre loaded linear mechanism. So when it starts rattling you just have adjust the nut to get rid of slops. It is more quiet than then linear rails in operations. V-wheels would have a lower load ratting, if it was ever specified. However, while in operation the motion system does not have to withstand load of a CNC mill. The only considerable disadvantage I see with v-wheels are the big size to a compatible linear rail, and maybe weight, depending on the design of the v-wheel mount.

[@DoRC]

A year ago maybe this would have made sense but in a world with the 699 P1P I just don't see it. I've been printing for over 4 years just got my P1P a week ago. Literally all I have changed for the six different materials I've used on it has been temperature, flow and pressure advance. I haven't touched a single other setting and I'm getting nearly perfect prints in every single material. I'll never go back.

[@TheDiskdaddy]

Your dedication to remaining consistently unbiased is the absolute best. Keep up the good work! You're welcome in Ottawa, Canada any time :)

[@Dimitris1963]

2023. AnkerMake discovers the VSlots together with NV rollers and that for only 849 euros... Rating: Ridiculous!

[@MetalheadAndNerd]

At least they deliver a product and not an incomplete box of parts and an assembly video on KZbin.

[@billallen6109]

​@@MetalheadAndNerd that's becoming pretty common with multiple printers only needing the gantry installed with a couple screws

[@MetalheadAndNerd]

@@billallen6109 I was referring to the printers usually mentioned when someone claims that he can get something much better for the same price. Rat Rig is especially annoying since their packages only contain 2/3 of the parts AND require a week worth of assembly time. But their fanboys are in one league with those of Apple and Tesla.

[@billallen6109]

@@MetalheadAndNerd well if you're trying to compare rat rig to this that's were you're making a mistake. That's like comparing a new car off the lot to a restoration car. They aren't even for the same purpose. Rat rig is all about tinkering, customizability, performance, and most importantly being open source so anyone has access to build one. The only printer on the market that has comparable speed and acceleration to the rat rig is bamboo labs printers which are in the same price range as the ankor for their lower model and it's shipped built as well

[@Dimitris1963]

@@MetalheadAndNerd The only thing I mentioned was "V-Slots along with NV-Rolls", which I think is a source of error(s). I didn't make comparisons with other printers, but you probably wanted to read this and you read it...

[@Founders4]

The Prusa i3 MK4 kit and the Bambu Lab P1P both come in at a similar price point. the AnkerMake M5 wouldn't even be a consideration for me personally. Pom wheels on V-slots is just wrong at this price point. Pom wheels wear down, develop flat spots, and introduce artifacts in your prints over time. Perhaps Anker was hyper focused on the appearance and they ran out of funding to develop a proper kinematics system for a printer at this price point.

[@smashedintopieces000]

thanks for the ultrawide feedback such a huge gripe of mine as well!

[@MakersMuse]

It's awesome for productivity but still so dodgy for a lot of software!

[@woltervandenberg]

I got the M5 in the kickstarter campaign and I just don't get all the hate towards this printer. Received mine in december and it has been printing almost non-stop since then without any major issues. As a newbie to 3d-printing this printer made the journey very pleasant. For complicated designs it's definately better to use a different slicer with slightly lower speeds but for most prints the default settings in the Ankermake slicer produce reasonable results. I don't doubt that the Bambulab printers are great and sure, the AI sucks. But despite all that I love this printer for it's ease of use. Imo this is as close to a plug and play printer as you can get at this moment and I highly recommend it especially for people that are just getting started with 3d printing.

[@phantomapprentice6749]

The hate seems to come from them being an established company with big name who are using a platform catering to indie developers projects. I get why they do it since 3d printing is a new market for them and maybe this project wouldn't have been approved without proving that they can get a return on investment, however it can detract from support towards true indie projects on Kickstarter since the average person can only back so many projects. Also the V wheels

[@woltervandenberg]

@@phantomapprentice6749 I don't believe that's the case. I never backed a project on kickstarter before this one, not because there weren't any interesting projects, but the fact that it was mostly indie developers made it too high of a risk for me. The fact that Anker was behind this is the only reason I was comfortable backing it. I already backed the kickstarter for the M5 last year when the BambuLab X1 was announced on kickstarter so it wasn't an option back then, but to be honest I don't think I would have backed it even if I hadn't already backed the M5. Only because of the fact that they didn't have that established company behind them. So I don't think it detracts support from "true" indie projects (I don't think you can call the BambuLab X1 a true indie project btw). Instead it attracts a new and different kind of backer.

[@AnkerMakeBrandTeam]

Hi! My name is Kiki Chen and I'm part of the AnkerMake team! We're so glad to hear that you've been enjoying your experience printing with the M5! Thank you for all of your support and for the in-depth review. We'd love to see some of your next 3D prints!

[@DeviPotato]

thanks for the very comprehensive review! the ankermake seems to be a step in the right direction as far as getting 3d printing further into the "mainstream", with "friendlier" designs and ease of use for newcomers being prioritized. i love my mk3s, but i'm also completely aware of how many less tinker-prone people i know would struggle with the assembly and interface. even with the ankermake's flaws, it's nice to see companies wanting to make the hobby more approachable, and i hope we see more like it in the coming years!

[@Basement_CNC]

well with that prictag dobt think its "beginner friendly" , yust get a machanicly sound printer and learn the basics, its not that hard

[@AnkerMakeBrandTeam]

Hi! My name is Kiki Chen and I'm part of the AnkerMake team. Thank you for your transparent feedback and kind words! When developing the M5, it was our goal to be as user-friendly as possible for all skill levels. Please let us know if you have any questions about the M5. Happy printing!

[@geekdomo]

I was just running one of my Ender 3 with hotrod upgrades and I was remarking at just how silent it is from a stock Ender one. This one you're showing is loud AF. I hope it can be upgraded to be more quiet.

[@MakersMuse]

The fans are super loud but the hot end is pretty custom. It might be possible to change but not as easy as modding an ender 3.

[@geekdomo]

@@MakersMuse maybe we can get a noctua fan mod ;) Thanks Angus

[@Geoff_W]

@@geekdomo Noctua fans don't push enough air for that, but the discord community has a part cooling fan mod that is well tested and nearly silent already.

[@Mobile_Dom]

You echo my thoughts perfectly, I've had it for a few months, and the change from then to now is gargantuan. One thing, aside from the slicer I want them to fix, is the firmware update changelogs, actually tell us what changed goddamnit!

[@smashedintopieces000]

I agree they should make the changes more openly available, if you goto the discord they have a release notes section that tells you the firmware update changes. First changelog post was in beginning of march

[@UncleJessy]

The slicer is easily the worst part of the printing experience I’ve had with it so far. At least the app notifications have cooled off a bit ;)

[@Mobile_Dom]

@@UncleJessy they said theyre relaunching the slicer based off of prusaslicer soon, and they have ankermake profiles in prusaslicer nowm, which is dine, but i cant believe just how poor the ankermake slicer has been since November or whenever i got this thing. for the longest time it would rack the gantry every time is homed, only in the last update or two did it enable gantry leveling as part of the start gcode, its absolutely maddening. it prints beautifully, it prints fast, but my god is it loud.

[@albertdavis1882]

As always. You’re a great resource of information for everything 3D printing! Thanks man. Saved me hours maybe days.

[@SpoonOfDoom]

I'm one of the Kickstarter backers. Judging by my own experience and from what I've seen in the discord, it seems to be a bit of a dice roll whether you get a good working unit or not. Personally, my experience has been less than stellar. It started out okay (apart from little things mentioned in this video), but got progressively worse, until I stopped using it because it just wasn't fun anymore. There is a *lot* of drooping during pre-heat (compared to my Ender 5 at least), so much so that it almost always forms a blob on the nozzle which has more than once caused the print to fail. The bed doesn't seem to be perfectly flat, which shouldn't be an issue thanks to the automatic bed levelling, but somehow the first layer still looks very different on some parts of the bed than on others. And since there's no way to manually adjust the bed, there's basically nothing you can do about it except fiddling with z-offset and putting paper or tinfoil under specific parts of the print surface (which is something I've seen people do and recommend on the discord, haven't tried that myself yet). Then when the included spool of filament ran out, is when things really went downhill - I'm not saying it's because I started using non-Anker filament, because I'm pretty sure the machine has no way of knowing that, but ever since then things have been making trouble. For starters, the switching of filament itself is a pain. I don't know if that's a thing that's different from unit to unit, but I have trouble properly feeding the filament in. You can push until there's some kind of resistance, and you think you're at the nozzle, but there must be some kind of second opening to hit there (can't see because the part is enclosed) and most of the time it doesn't go in properly. At first I thought my nozzle was blocked, until I tried and suddenly could push a bit further than before and felt some kind of "slotting in". And that kind of thing keeps happening whenever I change filament, I have to try umpteen times until I can properly get the filament in. I have tried cutting it at all kinds of different angles to see if it makes a difference, but - not really. Ever since that first filament switch, I've had extreme problems with the first layer. Basically, it extrudes the priming line at the edge of the bed, but then goes through the skirt and part of the first layer without extruding anything at all, and I have no idea why. I managed to make it come out early enough by fiddling with temperature, flow rate and a few other parameters so that now at least for simple prints, it works 50% of the time by sheer luck, when whatever is there doesn't get ripped off and we're basically printing in the air for layer 2 in some parts. Then, sometimes, it's enough to kind of stay structurally sound enough to finish the print. The last project I did were 4 simple parts, which each should have taken about 15 minutes. I think I was fiddling with it for at least 4, maybe 5 hours until I finally had the things in my hand. The printer then telling me after each piece that I saved 45 minutes compared to other printers then felt like a slap in the face. There are more nitpicks I have, but I've already written too much. I do want to mention that during printing, even with the same PLA filament, the smell is somehow worse than with my Ender 5 - no idea why that could be. Maybe because it's faster and thus melting more filament in the same time? There's also been numerous reports of beds not being tightened properly and similar kinds of stuff that ended up in an FAQ list, which is the usual for 3D printers, but feels kind of weird for a machine that basically has the selling point of "it just works". In fairness, when it does work, it's very fast and the prints look and feel great. Now I want to reiterate that I was a kickstarter backer - maybe they've ironed out the baby problems now with newer units. And maybe they've fixed some things with firmware updates - I couldn't tell, I haven't used mine in a while now tbh because it's not the fire&forget machine I hoped it would be. For me, at least, it requires at least as much fiddling and restarting to get a print to start properly as my aging Ender 5 and its sagging bed, which is entirely not what I bought this machine for, and especially not at this price point.

[@yoyofargo]

Considering Anker is their parent company, and how horribly they lied to people about their home surveillance systems, that's gonna be a pass from me dawg. (also it's a bedslinger so it was doa already)

[@radiantthought]

Yep, even if it was the perfect open source bambulabs clone, I'd say no b/c of that screwup with their eufy brand. Anker has always made reasonably solid products but they pretty much lost me forever after that. I can excuse a little fibbing in advertising, but doubling and tripling down and literally never once actually owning that they lied was what did it for me. full clarity - I own a eufy doorbell that I got specifically b/c of their claims.

[@darkwaveatheist]

My initial thought was "is that the same Anker?", so yes, hell no with napalm.

[@MetalheadAndNerd]

Did I miss something?

[@radiantthought]

@@MetalheadAndNerd kzbin.info/www/bejne/aKTWfoSqgKaAr6M

[@narutouzumaki4710]

Grow up, saying "dawg" just shows you definitely don't own one of their home surveillance systems to know anything about the problem. You sound like the feminist of the tech world.

[@Akegata42]

This printer really got steamrolled by Bambu Labs. Everyone was talking about this as the new next big thing a year ago, haven't even heard anyone mention it between the X1 release and today..

[@enb3810]

Yeah... He barely mentioned the p1p. I'd take that over this 100% of the time.

[@meikgeik]

Some of us have doubts about BambuLabs as a company, and the p1p and X1 use a lot of proprietary parts. If they run out of business, the printers in the wild will be operating on borrowed time. The way their company has treated some of the community should give everyone pause. It'd be different if they were using less proprietary hardware maybe.

[@BRUXXUS]

@@meikgeik I've been seriously looking into an X1C for my business, but there are all those things about a closed system that make me feel a little yucky. Although, there's already a lot of 3rd party parts out there. Still, software/firmware being locked down is scary.

[@meikgeik]

@@BRUXXUS that's why I'm sticking with prusa tbh. They have a proven track record

[@samirasheed9486]

@@enb3810 from user reviews it seems like this one is more reliable, I'm a noob buying my first printer and ordered the Anker but it's not too late to cancel, why should I go for Bambu?

[@shALKE]

They did announce they will be switching their own slicer to PrusaSlicer in the future.

[@justinfritz8796]

I own this printer and after coming from an elegoo Neptune 2s I can say while not perfect in I love this printer and highly recommend it

[@henninghoefer]

I almost backed this, but then reminded myself that I shouldn't put that much money into a Kickstarter campaign. (And later I totally broke my very own principle and backed a Bambulab X1CC anyway). Today I think I made the right choice.

[@aqua_sakura5021]

CONGRATS ON 1MIL SUBS

[@dark88reaper78]

Best printer ive had so far is my Voron 0. After that I would not go back to a bed slinger. And why the rollers at such a price. I think the Bambulab or the new Prusa would be a far better choise. I would rather spend more money on a Machine/tool so that it will just work without me tinkering all the time (Ive had that with my Anycubic Chiron until I switched to a different mainboard)

[@enb3810]

Or buy an old used prusa even. Anker missed the mark in my opinion

[@thatonebelgian]

@@enb3810 lmao the MK3S is not that great

[@aronseptianto8142]

yeah, if the argument is about user friendliness, you don't need it to be slick and shiny to be beginner friendly which i guess anker does win points in that regard. Though it's still cheaper with not much less feature than a mk4, so like i guess there's a very small argument for it?

[@Geoff_W]

​@@aronseptianto8142it's also more then twice as fast as the MK4's top (unreleased) speed...

[@Ev0sphere]

They are making a new slicer based on the open-source PursaSlicer (public beta testing soon - maybe a a good video?). Which I can't wait for. My main irritation with the slicer (which there are many for my M5) is the orbiting the 3D model. But the price as I got an early bird Kickstarter, was around £450, was a great deal. And this is a massive upgrade from my old XYZ Da Vinci Jr 1.0.

[@enb3810]

YES!! anker review. Too bad I'm not buying anker after the EUFY crap Edit: and I'm definitely not buying it with v rollers, gross.

[@timnerenberg]

I think we should not ignore the fact that Anker recently had a huge data protection disaster with the eufy cameras. And dealing with that was pretty much the worst thing a big company can do. From lies to downplay, everything was there. The problem has not really been solved to this day. Just bypassed. I don't know if I really want to support such a company...

[@starfleet42]

Can't help but want to make comparisons with the Prusa i3 Mk4 since the price is so close (at least for the Mk4 kit). If you want a printer that can grow with you, and not only a plug-and-play one, get a Prusa kit and build it yourself!

[@nccyr1]

The cat model looks so smooth. I am impressed with the print quality !

[@Bronnenheim]

Awesome! I've been looking forward to this review! I love mine but I wanted to hear your opinion!

[@AnkerMakeBrandTeam]

Glad you're loving your M5! Let us know if you have any questions! - Kiki Chen

[@sagichnicht6748]

To be honest, I'd rather get a Bambulab X1, ok for a more comparable price I guess it would have to be a P1P (which is only 659 EUR). It is still quite superior in many ways, other than blinky big screen controls. I also like how the turned a bug into a featur by suggesting quite prominently to print your personalized enclosure tiles (and also helping with suggestions in that)

[@aronseptianto8142]

yeah if both printer end up being loud, you may as well go with the well built gimmick free bambulab one

[@stijnnowee1234]

Big misconception. Bambulab posts their price without VAT. The p1p is actually ~850 euro in moest european countries.

[@sagichnicht6748]

@@stijnnowee1234 Sorry, totally forgot about that. So the P1P is not cheaper, but comparable to the M5. Still a better deal in my opinion. It is a bare minimum high quality printer. So they cut down everything that is not necessary for the print performance and invested the money into the rest. So the mechanic design comes without compromises unlike the M5.

[@sagichnicht6748]

@@aronseptianto8142 According to Nero the Mk4 is less noisy than a Mk3 and the Mk3 is one of the most silent 3D printers I know without an enclosure. But that will need some further verification, at higher speeds the Mk4 should also get noisier of course.

[@kazolar]

It's written using QT UI, which I've some experience with (been managing a QT based project for the last few months), and snapping is something UI devs can implement, it's pretty simple, especially on windows, it's just crap testing if they didn't.

[@mothballz99]

wait my filament creating plugs in the PTFE tube is because my retraction is too slow?? I wish I had found that information months ago

[@AehreWemAereGebuehrt]

For that money I would definitely opt for a Prusa MK4.

[@BeefIngot]

About your snap issue, I think you might be delighted to look into power toys fancy zones. It's an official Microsoft addon that might just fix your issue.

[@MakersMuse]

Ooh, i'll definitely check that out thanks !

[@cleio81]

Thank you for this review. I've heard good things but i wanted to wait to see what you thought before I started recommending it.

[@AnkerMakeBrandTeam]

We're happy to help answer any questions as well! We hope to welcome you to the AnkerMake family! - Kiki Chen

[@thePavuk]

Voron: I must grind off all unnecessary atoms from moving mass. AnkerMaker M5: Everything MUST move! Mass is power! Next time we must put spool directly on extruder.

[@winner6719]

lol I love how they put the touchscreen on the moving z axis

[@ScytheNoire]

I appreciate that Anker is trying to do a consumer-level product, but don't appreciate misleading marketing, and while they cheaped out on some areas, the price is not cheap.

[@Geoff_W]

Have you not seen their other products? 🤣

[@ScytheNoire]

@@Geoff_W I own quite a few of their products, and overall, they've been very well made, much better than some much more expensive ones. Mophie portable battery pack died, but my Anker is still going strong. Samsung wireless charger died, but my four Ankers are still going strong. Lenovo laptop hub died, but my Anker is still going strong. Apple cables fell apart, but my Anker USB-C are still going strong. So not sure what's funny about products that cost less, but are high quality, well-made, and last.

[@Geoff_W]

@@ScytheNoire I think there's a misunderstanding. I do not believe Anker's products are inexpensive. I believe their price point is FIRMLY in the high-end product range, and you are supposed to be paying a premium for quality and that is what Anker generally delivers. My comment was more to your comment of saying it's not a cheap printer. NOTHING they make is cheap. I can get a USBc cabl on amazon for $5, or the same cable from Anker for $20 with the same capability...but I buy the Anker cable because I know it will actually MEET the specs they advertised, and I can't say the same for the $5 no-name. All of that said to say this: Their marketing for this product isn't NEARLY as bad as it is for other products. Angus is right to call it out, it IS misleading, but it's also...not that bad. They back it up with REAL numbers being posted alongside those 5x claims, and in the end it's more of a headline grabber then anything else. The only thing I dislike about my M5 (and I do have one) is the v-wheels. For the price point, it should have been linear rails or at LEAST rods. V-Wheels are the biggest cause of problems on this printer, and Anker absolutely shot themselves in the foot with it.

[@christurner4799]

I just got an AnkerMake M5 for the school district I work for and so far, coming from strictly MakerBots, I love it. The speed is quite phenomenal, the accuracy has been pretty good, although I've had a few issues that adjusting the speed down to 100mm/s solved, but by far the worst part is the slicer. I've tried to use PrusaSlicer and then bring that over to the AnkerMake slicer but it shouldn't be so difficult to make a decent slicer in 2023

[@Frozen_Sherbet]

I got this printer from the Kickstarter and I've had nothing but problems with the software. I had to spend a month for them to update bed leveling so it stopped grinding the nozzle sideways into the print bed.

[@ailivac]

That was my first thought after seeing their half-baked slicer and phone app. I'll never use a printer that's not fully supported by fully open source slicing and host software as well as firmware, and I don't think anyone else should either.

[@achannelhasnoname5182]

It's still a bit difficult to justify the price compared to an Ender 3. Automatic Leveling is great and all, but in my experience you dial it in once and it stays like that forever, as long as you don't swap nozzles.

[@viru52000]

Ender 3 isn't even in the same tier as this speed wise and feature wise.

[@durschfalltv7505]

@@viru52000 yeah but imo what i did is buy a neptune 2 for 107 euros and now i buy 300€ in china upgrades. True dual z, bltouch, v6 hotend, bmg, klipper, cooling mods. This will print as fast as a bed slinger physically can. Well with the proper cooling atleast.

[@viru52000]

@@durschfalltv7505 Neptune 2 is an Ender 3 clone. V wheels on the Z (unlike the Anker). Your upgrades are less than what the Anker runs, as it runs a load sensor for probing (BL Touch isn't a comparison), high flow hotend (almost double the flow of a V6), camera, etc. I do think the Anker is a bit outside of it's price point (even on sale for $120 off for $680) and should be more around $500 to compete with the Prusa MK4 and Bambu Lab P1P.

[@achannelhasnoname5182]

@@viru52000 why? Even if this printer has double the speed, it's not gonna make a difference for most users.

[@thesledgehammerblog]

I could never get my Ender 3 dialed in, nor could I get it to stay dialed in on the rare occasions I could get it to actually complete a first layer. I had it for two years and could probably count the number of successful prints on one hand.

[@cviiiik]

1 mil subscribers deserves stable desk for review.

[@whynotbuildit]

The case gets pretty hot

[@noeneonmusic]

Mine never worked when it arrived in December, the (gantry nozzle hotend whatever it's called) never moved, it always made a loud jittering noise and shook around. I ended up getting a refund after 3 months of back and forth emails to support. I still have it in my room, not working feeling wasted. Can you assist please, can someone read this and acknowledge my problem.

[@AnkerMakeBrandTeam]

Hi! My name is Kiki Chen from the AnkerMake Team! We're so sorry about your experience and would love to assist you further. Can you send us an Instagram or Facebook DM with your name, email address, and ticket number so we can get an agent in touch with you and come to a resolution?

[@threemar3]

It is only $350 for Best Buy members right now. Definitely going to order one and try it out. Fortunately their return policy is very generous, so if it ends up having some issues people have complained of, I will return it.

[@ElectraFlarefire]

I'm now extremely curious how loud the Prusa Mk4 will be init's high speed(Input Shaping) mode compared to these machines as quiet printing is one of their sales points.

[@bjornce6]

OMG, he mentioned Wingspan

[@penpal6490]

I'm glad I'm not tempted to break my promise not to buy yet another bedslinger, I gave me after x1😅

[@JustinBuildsThings]

Surprised you reviewed this when Tom and Stefan passed and had a whole discussion on their podcast about it due to the ridiculous restrictions they wanted to go along with the review units. Did they change the contract terms for you? Your review does seem honest on criticisms fwiw I just remember there being a lot of hubbub about this a few months ago, more a criticism of anker

[@MakersMuse]

I sent them my review terms which they had to agree to, the only thing I did allow was clarification of any spec mistakes hence the clarification about the KS version vs retail. I honestly was expecting more of a fuss but they were pretty chill.

[@skyeblackledge2068]

Myself and others are in communication with the ankermake team and we are trying to help them be more "open" in regards to the community as a whole and they are making progress they often take note of points raised in the official discord now. They do still however have to play by Ankers rule book

[@JustinBuildsThings]

@@MakersMuse thanks for the response! I think your terms from your site are very fair and if they were willing to match that, its reasonable to me. And I think you were more than sufficiently critical. Looks like they chilled out quite a bit since the release then, as earlier terms were allegedly very restrictive and mandated from them and they were pretty blackballed by the community at the time. Theres an interesting new paradigm where everyones advertising speed, but what matters is speed at quality, and the only way that works is with really rigid gantry, lightweight toolheads, and highflow hotends. Not even voron kits ship configured for speedrunning particularly well, and I think understanding how to unpack that all to normies is gonna be the new hurdle. Appreciate you. Cheers, XGZ

[@WittyDroog]

I recently set this printer up and I think the firmware update certainly helped a lot. I've been getting some very complicated prints out of it and so far out of about 50ish prints and 5 spools worth of filament I've only had two failures: One was due to a tangle in the spool so can't fault the printer too much and the other was just a weird hiccup where the hot end turned off so it cooled down and stopped extruding (I have not been able to replicate this bug and even trying the exact same gcode it ran fine). The speed is killer and what's more is its accuracy AT that speed that gives it a nice wow factor, I do run it at 150mm rather than the full 250mm as it's a good balance of speed and fine detail. It's really true that this is a really cool product for people who just want to print neat things, while it lacks a lot of finer control (I'd kill for custom supports) for simple drag and drop prints it really shines. I REALLY hope Anker fixes the fans because while I can barely tolerate it while it's running they also run 100% when it's NOT printing at idle, they really need to give the fans a sleep function. I have it on a smart plug so I can remotely turn it off and on as I like using the wifi controls for the printer itself. I usually jump back and forth from using Cura 5.3 which has the profiles baked in now and the Ankermake software as the majority of the time it's good enough but for power users certainly you'll want to use Slicer or Cura, that said I have noticed that prints using just Ankermake natively (so long as it doesn't need a lot of supports) tend to be more accurate and clean which is curious. The REAL problem for the M5 now is that the Prusa Mk4 was just announced, and of course I watched the video for it shortly after setting up the M5 (which I bought as a secondary to my Prusa Mk3). I think if you're going to have just one printer the Mk4 looks to blow it out of the water for price but I don't regret buying the M5 overall.

[@woltervandenberg]

I was wondering. Did you pause and extrude during the failed print where the nozzle cooled down? I had this happen during a paused print for changing filament. I was able to recreate this issue but only when I extruded during the pause.

[@WittyDroog]

@Wolter van den Berg no not during that one at least. Last night I did have a power outtage where the printer was able to resume but so far so good on that one. I wonder if doing a mid print change will make the bug appear

[@skyeblackledge2068]

@Maker'sMuse AnkerMake have confimed that the slicer is getting a full overhaul in coming months and moving to be based on Prusaslicer

[@MakersMuse]

Yep, the profiles are already in the 2.6.X alpha

[@skyeblackledge2068]

@@MakersMuse but also thanks for a in depth review not many outlets have done a period of time later review on the M5

[@justme12510]

​@@MakersMuse they are actially planning to fork PrusaSlicer and should have an early beta late this month. I believe the plan is to not have to switch to their slicer to send the files.

[@thurahtein7064]

I'm surprised that there are mostly good reviews. As an early Kickstarter backer the one I got was a mess. Printed horribly out of the box following their instructions. First layer was poor, bed adhesion was non-existent, and layer adhesion wasn't good either. Troubleshooting it found that the screws holding the bed down were loose, and all the belt tensions were loose too. It's printing better now but no way would I recommend it for a 1st timer (this was my 4th FDM 3d printer and I had decent experience putting them together and tweaking them)

[@AnkerMakeBrandTeam]

Hi Thura! My name is Kiki Chen and I'm part of the AnkerMake team. We're glad to hear that your M5 is printing your designs a lot better now but we are sad to read about your initial experience. We appreciate the honest feedback and are forwarding this to our team. If there's any way we can better assist you please feel free to let us know!

[@tonykyle2655]

Thank you for the review. I'm waiting to see what you think of the new Prusa Mk4 released I think last week. Take care,

[@bruceyoung1343]

Sweet printer. Very NIIIICE. HAPPY EASTER 🐰🐇🐣

[@NexGen-3D]

Great machine for those that just want a plug and play machine, but totally agree with the Vee Wheels, that should have used MGN9 or MGN12 rails, but I love how well built it is.

[@MyklCarlton]

Nice review! Wondering if you might get different results on a solid platform instead of the standing desk?

[@MiDnYTe25]

Interesting machine, thanks for the review! Looks like the Bambu P1P knocks it out of the park minus the display, and for cheaper.

[@Geoff_W]

Honestly I get better quality prints from my M5 then the p1p. It's way more stable because of the massive aluminum base, so it vibrates way less and that translates into better part quality. Same speeds, M5 has a better camera (tho a much worse angle)...but the p1p has rails and is CoreXY. Wifi transfers to the M5 can be done locally without a cloud and WAY faster... There's definitely tradeoffs, but I honestly don't think it's as clear a win as it would seem.

[@miket3445]

I was an early Kickstarter backer (first time) and a little apprehensive……got mine last December here in Aus…….it has been working great for me……only issue I have is feeding in filament……I have to lift the Bowden tube up and then goes in ok……..other than that annoyance it has not faulted…… Cheers

[@jeremysutton22]

I actually think usbc port is good. I'd much rather plug in my computer directly than use an external storage. I'd also just like my FF AD3 to just stay connected to my wifi

[@Pablo668]

Good review. Now, Behringer neutron, check, B2600, check, DX7, check and a possible arturia midi controller, check. Looks like you know how to party.

[@dmag2467]

I'm not sure if anyone mentioned this, but anker is updating the software to use a modified version of Prusa slicer instead of cura and make it open source

[@davydatwood3158]

I do find it amazing how many people complain that "this is too loud, I couldn't have it in my office while I worked." I, personally, need to use a respirator if I'm in the room while the printer is running, even when printing PLA, or I have noticeable breathing problems. Granted, I have very sensitive lungs, which means that yes, there are things that are problems for me that aren't necessarily problems for others. But still. If you're in the same room as a working 3d printer, you're inhaling volatiles and micro-particles and none of us know what the long-term effects of that will be. But I doubt they'll be good. So, yeah. It baffles me that folks think its okay to spend all day next to one of these machines while it's running. And I figure the whole "it's too loud" thing is actually a *good* trait, especially in a "first printer," because it will push people into setting the machine up in another room and thus be that much safer.

[@ryanonroy]

Angus - Been an avid follower of your work for years at this point, but I think you were not particularly critical of this product. To summarize: Cons - The slicer still needs work - The app still needs work - Its real loud - The LCD screen is on the Z Axis and not pointed up - Change filament settings don't extrude first - The print fail AI doesn't really work - False marketing on print speed - Uses V rollers - Print Bed has no idexing for putting back Pros - Mostly well designed - Looks good - Good packaging - Great 3D printing kit for folks With other options out there, like the MKIII that's on sale now, the MKIV, and the Bambu Labs, you should have been a bit more critical of a machine that is in the price point for getting it perfect out of the box. While I haven't used the new MKIV, I've got tons of time on the Anker M5, MKIII and P1P, and the Anker is by far the weakest of the three - aside from it's industrial design (but if we're going on Ram's principles here, I would argue that machine is not "Honest" or "Unobtrusive"). Combine that with the recent news of Anker sending home security camera footage to unencrypted servers, when they said they were not, and you've got a **VERY** hard sell for this machine. Thoughts? I am way off base here?

[@Festivaljunkie]

what's up with the watermelon swim trunks? lol 😂

[@MakersMuse]

fashion 😆

[@marcfifemusic]

Somebody linked me the printer but I can't stop staring at that JP8080 🤤

[@baitboy3191]

I just wanted a 3d printer that prints, and so far this printer has delivered on that. Constant updates on firmware is great. It is pretty important though to keep this on a stable platform cause when its really hauling ass it can shake the table and possibly affect the print.

[@Tapitus-totalus]

Are you planning to review the Prusa Mk4 too?

[@MakersMuse]

Yep

[@Tapitus-totalus]

Looking forward to that! I've been thinking about you reviewing it since the release announcement dropped

[@FAB1150]

I don't actually hate _the cloud_ used like this. You're not forced to use it, but it adds some quality of life stuff if you want to. And when support inevitably ends, you still have a normal printer.

[@vinny5915]

Given Anker's recent record with the handling of Eufy (their security sub-brand), I am not going to consider buying anything from them that have a built-in camera or connect to the network. So I am puting my bet on the Prusa MK4. Though, I would not buy it until the reviews are out.

[@blakeaynes3284]

same

[@BelviGER]

Any co sideration of buying this fell out the window at the exact same time as all other anker products. When they lied about not uploading security footage And this time around they aren't even making "we do not upload your shit" promises, so you better make sure that nothing you don't want to publish gets seen by the camera

[@the4thj]

Is it the The` Anker Company? they have a good reputation in my book for small electronic devices.

[@seattledoug1342]

Could your shakey table may be why some of your prints were not to tolerance?

[@MakersMuse]

nah, you could hang the machine from rope and it'd print the same it's super rigid.

[@hassosigbjoernson5738]

A great example of competition being good for the customer! It seems like the Vorons and RatRats brought coreXY and Klipper to focus (Bambu Lab) and other companies such as Anker see also a market here! The Bambu Lab P1P is a great example for wakening up the market! *Suddenly Prusa releases a i3 Mk4 machine and Creality comes up with the K1, a fully closed coreXY!* For this price I still would go with the Ender S1 Pro and the Sonic Pad (as an upgrade for more speed) simply *because Creality is better known to me as a 3D printer company. Sorry, Anker!* The Sovol SV06 would also be a great option (also with Klipper in mind for an upgrade if speed is really needed)! So the bed slinger entry still is at 250 - 450 bucks. +Maker's Muse What do you think about the new Creality K1 and the release of the Prusa i3 Mk4 for at least 800 bucks? Is a documentation and support worth like 200+ bucks premium or not? Bambu Labs kinda tries their best to also have a documentation (wiki) out there as well as a quick responding support. Can a new company like Anker hold up to the reputation of Prusa when they're asking for the same price? Greetings from Berlin!

[@Devon7839]

I don't want the printer... but that corgi model is fucking adorable

[@electronic7979]

Nice product

[@BeefIngot]

The thing about the Ankermake is that Bambulab exists with the P1P which surprisingly has more parts available, a steel nozzle available, is faster etc. Furthermore, the X1C and Prusa MK4s both exist as well on top of the V400.

[@TheCyberSpidey]

I think what kills this printer is Ender 3 S1 / S1 Pro running klipper / using sonic pad. It addressed all the tiny flaws and incorporated all the mods people used to do on their Ender 3s and made the definitive i3 styled machine, still on V wheels. Ender 5 S1 is even better (not bed slinger) and therefore better than any anker/prusa/ender 3 variant. P1P goes corexy for the same price as Ankermake M5 and cheaper than i3Mk4 and blows absolutely everything out of the water, and still has a supply of spares and mods you can buy (unlike Ankermake). I'm a bit disappointed with Angus' review because M5 has been a pretty troubled launch if you check the subreddit; @MakersMuse . The spares availability post warranty period is still shaky, and software features that were promoted during the kickstarter campaign were never shipped. I also kinda blame Linus TT for duping people with their promo for this printer, which missed a lot of details.

[@paulmilne3038]

Considering the Prusa mk 4 just came out I would be interested how the 2 compare with speed and quality this I would think would be the closest rival price wise apart from the P1P but for this price the Prusa would have to be a kit.

[@blakeaynes3284]

Did you notice the filament sensor is built into the hot end? MK4

[@paulmilne3038]

Can’t say I did it’s not an essential for me. Bed levelling is , it’s a really nice printer

[@shanold7681]

I was lost at vslot and $800 just by a x1 carbon for 200 more or a p1p for basically the same RIP ankermake from the gate.

[@samuelm.7797]

Now that the Prusa MK4 is released, I think more people are likely it rather than the AnkerMake

[@LordDregov]

I'm on the fence about getting a 3d printer. Having to learn how to CAD is intimidating to say the least. But if this thing has an included gallery of sliced models, I am intrigued. I however don't want to give up my 3D pen, so if this thing included to basic shapes like spheres, cones, cylinders, etc... then I can just make basic shapes to cut down production time and assemble using the 3d pen to maintain satisfaction.

[@a178design]

Surprised no one has made a "dumb" printer, one that has none or little on board controls, displays or CPU power, but simply connects to a PC to control it . Would no doubt cut costs dramatically. Also where are the major printing manufacturers in this space HP, Epson and so, surely by now they can see a business opportunity , really surprised we are still getting kick starter companies, even if they are Anker.

[@MakersMuse]

They used to be like that, tethered with serial over usb with the computer sending the gcode line by line. Really great when your computer shuts off 1hr into the print! HP tried to crack the consumer FDM market a long time ago but failed miserably and deleted that from existence. Now they have their MJF process which costs a fortune but makes awesomely strong plastic parts. Kickstarter is nothing more than a marketing tool these days, it disgusts me that established companies are able to use it to raise funds and escape all accountability of shipping anything...

[@a178design]

@@MakersMuse yeh I've got an ender 3 and have connected via USB and had it disconnected during print...fun . Occurred to me why can't I send the entire print job via USB to the SD card or on board memory before print starts, not line by line as printing.

[@jaanikaapa6925]

Angus, are you going to check out the Prusa 4?

[@TroyRudd574]

Well... it's a year later. Can currently get this at Best Buy for $399. Have many, if not all, of the "cons" been addressed / fixed?

[@vanderfleet-martin]

Please review the MK4 especially the upgrades from the MK3

[@MeppyMan]

Try PowerToys Fancy Zones for the window snapping. Might solve it for you (and it’s freaking awesome compared to the windows defaults).

[@vyvrnc]

That doesn't work either I tried.

[@dlvega]

@@vyvrnc Does hotkey snapping work compared to just mouse? Win + Arrow keys?

[@Chad.The.Flornadian]

Hey Angus, how come you didn't do your usual sign-off "Bye Guys"?

[@MakersMuse]

audio cut off and I figured most people already click off by then :)

[@thevrboi]

Try make another review, they added so many updates last time you reviewed

[@JustSteve85]

Wife got me the M5C for an early Xmas present. First 3d printer. Opened it, assembled it - easy - and followed the set up guide included. It shit the bed immediately, spent three days trying to unclog a nozzle before I started receiving errors about the heater not working. Packed it up and sent it back. Trash.

[@pauls635]

I noticed it uses a modified Prusa Slicer as its primary software. Trying to get perfectly round items. So far the only slicer I notice was from FlashForge. Is there one that does better? Cura is ok, but not always good.

[@pileofstuff]

Can it be remotely controlled with anything other than their proprietary app? octoprint, or something like that?

[@rpals5412]

No no ;) ... usb-c is not annoying! I already switched over 100% and I find it annoying that certain (very few) items still only come with an old fashioned usb-a.... both my laptop and my phone ONLY has usb-c so the sooner everyting else such as thumbdrives etc also tranistions the better, I like that they are pushing this shift.

[@stuttgartbatman3788]

I love these shorts!

[@eXaiix]

I backed this printer on kickstarter, completely forgot about it, then received it in December. After printing with it nonstop since then, I think at this point I’d rather spend some extra money for the Bambu lab x1 or the new Prusa mk4. It’s not a bad printer, but the proprietary nozzle and the inability to buy replacement parts when it was first released really annoys me

[@ashleys3dprintshop]

That is a similar experience I had. Backed on KS, but I also backed Bambu Lab X1CC. Received BL in AUG and received Ankermake in Dec. non stop printing on the former. I haven't opened my M5 yet as I am still waiting on the V6 color engine(mid 2023). The X1C has been fantastic so far. I think by the time I'm ready to use the M5 all of the major bugs would have been ironed out. I had an MK3s+ and the Mk4 didn't exactly excite me but time will tell.

[@hrmny_]

bambu lab unfortunately also has a proprietary hotend + nozzle

[@alv1n383]

@@hrmny_ thats true but they also sell it on their store for very nice price and we already have modified version of the hotend on aliexpress that can use traditional v6 nozzles

[@Geoff_W]

You know bambu didn't have spare parts available at first either right? 🤣They have the spares now.

[@eXaiix]

@@Geoff_W yeah but even now the Ankermake only has .4 mm brass nozzles available and I have to go to some sketch 3rd party aliexpress for anything else while bambu lab has everything in stock

[@FKHTrump2024]

How do I get files from the internet on to this machine using ankermakes slicer?

[@dreamsc4pe197]

Do you know how to change input shaper on the ankermake?

[@dylanlasky2389]

Seems to me like a p1p but you sacrifice some speed for more features. Mostly glad to see some competition. It's great for us!

[@joev178]

Just enough topic, but if you're running an ultra-wide monitor, you should use Display Fusion instead of Windows built in snap