advanced 3D printer with camera, cloud storage of models and auto-tuning

Disclaimer! This post is a personal experience from a newbie. There will be no discussions about complex settings, features of plastic and cunning life hacks. I am writing for the same beginners, as well as for professionals who want to share their experience and tell me where I went wrong.

What kind of device

On the manufacturer's websiteAnker's company, says the model is designed with a focus on printing speed and accuracy. So, AnkerMake 5M can print at speeds of up to 500 mm/s. The printer has automatic calibration, so it doesn't take long to set it up and get it ready to print. It also has a built-in camera that allows you to remotely monitor the printing process via an application on your smartphone or PC.

Specifications:

maximum operating speed: up to 500 mm/s;
positioning accuracy: ±0.1 mm;
print area size: 235 × 235 × 250 mm;
nozzle diameter: 0.4 mm (can be replaced with other sizes);
extruder temperature: up to 260 °C;
table temperature: up to 100 °C;
supported materials: PLA, ABS, PETG, TPU and others;
automatic calibration system: There is;
cloud integration: There is. There are about 800 thousand different models in the cloud storage;
Print monitoring camera: built-in, with the possibility of remote control via the application;
connection interfaces: Wi-Fi, USB, SD card;
control screen: touch display;
Layers support: from 0.05 mm;
software: compatibility with various slicers (Cura, PrusaSlicer, etc.).

Why did I order this one? It captivated me not only with its characteristics, because they were also excellent in the previous model. There are several other factors – for example, lighter weight than QIDI TECH X-PLUS3: 12.5 kg instead of 20 kg. Plus an open desktop, while the QIDI TECH X-PLUS3 has a closed camera. Moreover, at the beginning of each printing process, a warning appeared on the screen of the QIDI model that it is better to print with the lid and door open.

As far as I know, the camera is good when printing with ABS plastic, when microclimate stability, so to speak, is important. But in my case (and I used PLA), there was no point in it. And the printer is quite big: it took up half the table, and it’s impossible to place anything else nearby. It turns out that the case didn’t have much meaning for me personally, but it took up a fair amount of space.

Plus, when checking the nozzle, running plastic into the extruder and other operations, it was not very convenient to select the necessary modules. Therefore, now I prefer an open camera and a slightly smaller device. I must say, I haven’t regretted it yet: the desk is much freer, and it’s easier to work with the printer. The print area of the QIDI model is 280 × 280 × 270 mm, and that of the Anker device is 235 × 235 × 250 mm. It's not critical for me, I'm not going to print anything too big.

AnkerMake 5M is equipped with a webcam, but for QIDI it had to be purchased additionally. The camera greatly simplifies monitoring the printed part: the process can be controlled both from a phone and via a PC. If it’s dark, click the light bulb icon and the backlight turns on. Very convenient, really!

Printer contents:

Actually, he himself is the main block with an installed extruder and nozzle.
Filament spool (PLA). There is very little plastic – enough for a couple of more or less voluminous parts and that’s it. No holiday.
Filament spool holder.
Power cables and connections.
USB flash drive or SD card (for transferring print files).
A set of maintenance tools: a spatula, a needle for cleaning the nozzle, a screwdriver, and attachments for it.
The assembly and operating instructions are very clear, although minimalistic.
Fastening elements: bolts, screws for assembling the printer. Everything is done with the user in mind – there are exactly one more screws than needed. The developers understand that we are all human and something can get lost.

Unboxing and Setup

This time I didn’t wait a week, but immediately began the installation. Everything is assembled very well, the packaging is reliable. Just like QIDI, in fact.

The printer is packed in layers to save space.

QIDI had a whole spool of plastic, but here the spool is only for printing a test model, and there is still a little left over later.

There is a box of tools. One of them is a metal screwdriver (wrench?) with magnetized tips. The screws are magnetized, there is little chance of losing them. Everything is somehow very rational. With QIDI everything was fine too, but even then it seemed that they were assembled a little chaotically, the instructions were also somewhat fragmentary. Some points required reaching out on your own and thinking. But I wanted to collect everything quickly. Here the steps are chewed down to the smallest detail.

There are two cables at once - for UK and EU standards — There are two cables at once – for UK and EU standards

And the lower one – you can see the grooves where to insert the upper one, so far everything is going well. By the way, to connect both parts you need foam rubber pads from the packaging – I have never seen anything like this, to be honest, although I have unpacked and assembled many devices. Unusual.

We took everything out of the box and proceed to install it. You need to place one part on the foam pad and insert it into the grooves of the second. Then there’s the line of cables.

I positioned the upper part as indicated in the instructions above, now it’s time to fasten the lower part with 8 screws. As he said, the manufacturer added one more screw of each type.

Next you need to connect two cables and two cables with USB-C connectors. A special panel snaps off at the bottom of the printer for this purpose. USB cables are marked – left and right:

Let's print!

Well, everything is assembled, insert the panel back and turn on the printer. At this point, the real holiday begins – the LEDs and screen light up, and an invitation to select a language appears.

Then the printer says that you need to set up a wireless connection. This is done using the application. The printer is accessible remotely. Once the network is connected, the device downloads the firmware update and installs it.

It's time to print a test model. After autoleveling, the nozzle and table begin to warm up. The figurine takes a couple of hours. Everything is going smoothly.

Here's the start. If anyone is interested, I posted it YouTube video.

And that's the end.

It turned out very well. There is an opinion, by the way, that the test model was ideally adapted by the manufacturer for this printer, so the printing process is almost flawless. I still have to check this assumption by printing a couple of dozen different models “from the outside.”

After the final, there was also enough plastic to create a stand for soldering iron tips and a test figurine of Link from Zelda without support. The stand turned out great. But it is extremely simple, so there were no problems.

But Link is so-so. Everything is understandable here: for a figure with hanging edges of clothes, arms and protruding ears, the printer made plastic “snot” – no one canceled gravity. Everything was going so badly that I stopped printing.

To be fair, it must be said that the QIDI printer printed the same model much more accurately. True, the plastic was different, also PLA, but from QIDI. The white Link figurine is AnkerMake M5, the black one is QIDI X-PLUS 3. The speed, as far as I remember, was also set differently: half as fast, the printer itself set it when printing.

And now with supports from AnkerMake M5. I removed the excess plastic so that everything was visible. Didn't smooth anything, didn't polish anything. As it is – piping hot.

The printer has its own slicer – with a regular level of settings and an advanced one, where you can change the structure of the support, add a “puddle” of plastic at the base of the figure so that it is better attached to the table covering. The manufacturer claims that when processing the model, AI is used, and each time, in addition to the main data, some kind of AI model is also created (in the screenshot below). But here I have not yet seen a difference in the printing process with printers from other manufacturers.

What about the disadvantages

Of course, it couldn’t have happened without them. Above, I described the new printer in a positive way above, but it also has disadvantages.

He's noisy. It’s not like there was a roar throughout the entire yard; nothing could be heard in the next room. But the nozzle is blown by two fairly large fans, so the noise level is decent. It's possible to focus on code or text when this printer is working nearby, but it takes some getting used to.

Not all models from the cloud are printed with a bang. For example, I took a figure from Fallout, for some reason its legs are at different levels: one shoe fits tightly to the base, and the second “hangs” in the air by a couple of millimeters. On a PC, this is easy to fix in the slicer, but it’s not so easy to do with the AnkerMake mobile app – there aren’t many “adult” settings from the Windows software.

By default, the fast print speed is set to 500 mm/s. And if for models like the sting stand this is ok, then for Link it’s too fast. The same QIDI has an adaptive print speed, and somehow it adjusted everything itself in the process. Here, as far as I understand, you need to do it yourself. Or I haven’t fully figured it out yet, which could also be the case.

It handles fewer materials than QIDI TECH X-PLUS3. But it’s hardly worth reproaching the printer here, since its price is almost a third lower than that of QIDI. And it is positioned by the company as a printer for the home, and not a semi-professional one, like a competitor.

The manufacturer promised that the printer checks the digital model and what is happening on the table. If something goes wrong, printing stops. I didn’t see this, one of the figures was poorly secured, fell off, and the printer littered the desktop with balls of fiber. And no artificial intelligence stopped anything, did not warn me in the application. Bug or feature, I don’t understand yet – I still need to dig into the settings.

What's the verdict

So far I'm happy. I worked with the printer for a couple of days: auto-leveling does not glitch, the plastic melts normally, without clogging the nozzle.

What I especially liked:

The printer takes up little space. Of course, you can’t put it next to your laptop, but it’s still small. Apparently, this is why the manufacturer positions it as “for the home.”
Cool design. LEDs (I know, not everyone likes them), the streamlined shape of the main elements, the stylish coating is a matter of taste, but I liked it.
Value for money. No one promised that a printer for 65,000 rubles would print engines for the Falcon 5. The quality fully meets my expectations.
Detailed instructions for assembly and configuration. It’s simply impossible to make a mistake, everything is chewed up. Just follow the advice in the manual and everything will be fine. The QIDI manual is somewhat torn in terms of the presentation of material. Either in great detail, then figure out for yourself what to do.
From unpacking to the start of printing, it took at most half an hour. And then I was constantly distracted by taking photographs. Everything is quick and simple, even a child can do it.
There is a camerawhereas for the expensive QIDI TECH X-PLUS3 you will have to buy it in addition.
Great mobile app. Plus hundreds of thousands of models – I found everything there that I had ever seen on ThingiVerse and other resources.