Anycubic has unveiled two new 3D printers, the Photon Mono M7 Pro resin printer, and the one I'm most excited about – the Anycubic Kobra 3 Combo package. This FDM printer comes combined with the all-new Anycubic Color Engine Pro (ACE Pro) attachment, allowing for multicolour printing (and simultaneous filament drying) for the first time ever. Watch out Bambu Lab.
These new products will no doubt join the ranks of the best 3D printers on the market, but this announcement is a pretty big deal for a fair few reasons. Anycubic's collaboration with Pantone to create exclusive filament colours is a highlight, as well as the incorporation of new features that should solve some key issues for beginners to 3D printing.
I've not long had my Anycubic Kobra 2 that I purchased back in November, my first-ever 3D printer and (little did I know) gateway into an extremely addictive and fulfilling creative hobby. The Kobra 2 has been a great beginner 3D printer and allowed me to learn a lot, like how to make a HueForge print and level up my game room with 3D hexagon shelves. With that said, I think I'm ready for something better. And this multicolour printer package from Anycubic has me super-pumped. Here's why.
Price and availability
We finally have the details on price and availability, with the Kobra 3 Combo package (including the ACE Pro) expected to cost $549 / £549 at launch, although the early bird discounted price is yet to be revealed. Anycubic has confirmed that early bird orders will receive 4 gifts (worth $89) including 1kg of PLA filament, free models, an exclusive camera for monitoring prints, and a mystery box. You just need to place your order between 7 May and 31 May to redeem.
While the price of the Kobra 3 might not be the most budget-friendly, it certainly offers a lot for your money. If the ACE Pro package doesn't sound like something you want or need, there is the option to purchase the Anycubic Kobra 3 singularly and not as a combo, although we don't have any indication on price for this just yet.
The Photon Mono M7 Pro resin printer will have a retail price of approximately $669 / £619 – although an early bird pre-sale offer live right now brings the price down to $499 / £469 if you pay a $30 deposit before 6 May, and on top of this you can get 4 free gifts worth $99 if you complete your payment between 7 May and 9 May. These gifts are said to include high-speed resin and a limited mystery box.
Anycubic Kobra 3 Combo
Let's talk about the Kobra 3. This new printer combined with the ACE Pro is set to be the first product from Anycubic to offer multicolour printing, in a four-colour print system (up to eight spools supported) that looks mighty enough to rival even the impressive Automated Material System (AMS) that you would typically find on premium Bambu Lab printers.
This opens up more options for creators to experiment with multi-colour printing without having to change their entire workflow and slicer with it. Previously, Bambu printers have been dominating the charge in this area (and these printers aren't cheap!) so it's refreshing that Anycubic is offering some competition, and could hopefully pave the way for other brands like Creality to follow with the Ender series.
But that's not all. The Anycubic Kobra 3 will be the only 3D printer on the market to combine active filament drying with multi-colour printing capabilities, which is very cool. A lot of people with 3D printers complain about wet filament, a common issue that can lead to problems like stringing, poor layer adhesion, and general print defects – as I experienced during my first 3 weeks with a 3D printer.
Wet filament can be a problem even if your spool has arrived vacuum-sealed from the manufacturer, and is usually solved by storing your filament correctly, or investing in a costly filament dryer to reduce moisture. Thankfully, the Anycubic Kobra 3 has seemingly offered the all-in-one solution to this with the ACE Pro chamber that can dry your filament spools while you print. Amazing!
The ACE Pro promises to maintain filament dryness using the intelligent side-drying feature, even during extended print sessions, and lasting up to 24 hours. Anycubic has also confirmed that the ACE Pro can support simultaneous printing with two linked boxes, which means it can accommodate up to eight colours at once. I don't know who needs to print that many colours, but it's great to have the option.
Another interesting feature of the ACE Pro is the added feature of an RFID reader for Anycubic filaments, which will allow it to adapt printing settings based on what’s loaded, as well as track the run-out or consumption per spool. I think the ACE Pro is designed beautifully, and doubles as an excellent storage solution for filament too.
I'm really excited to (hopefully) try out the ACE Pro and get my hands on this colourful new addition to the Kobra family at some stage. I love the whimsical marketing approach that Anycubic has taken in promoting it too (just see the ad below and you'll know what I mean).
Pantone collaboration
Another first in 3D printing history is Anycubic's clever collaboration with Pantone Color Institute, in the creation of industry-certified consumable Pantone Color filaments: Peach Fuzz, Interstellar Violet, Tropical Turquoise, and Spring Leaf.
These unique and true-to-life filament colours can offer vibrancy and depth to your prints, with hues that you won't get anywhere else. I've recently been obsessed with printing HueForge paintings, so it would be very interesting to see how these new colours would match up with the existing filament library and what kind of transmission distances they offer.
While I love the idea and concept of this collaboration between Anycubic and Pantone, I can't imagine that Pantone-certified filament would be very budget-friendly. These colours are gorgeous and I'm already planning what I'd love to print with them (my own magnetic monstera plant), however, I anticipate a premium price per spool for these colours. I'd hate to feel pressured to make my creations count with these filaments too, should that be the case, and hope to avoid waste as much as possible.
New features and upgrades
If I'm planning to upgrade my Anycubic Kobra 2 printer, then the Kobra 3 Combo had better be worth it. I'm loving what I'm hearing so far, but what else does this printer have to offer that makes it a worthy step up?
For starters, the Kobra 3 boasts a maximum speed of 600 mm/s for single-colour printing (compared with the 250mm/s on the Kobra 2) and has a build volume of 250 x 250 x 260mm for larger-scale prints, which is also a whopping 34% increase compared with its predecessor, although still compact compared to the Kobra 2 Max model with a massive build volume of around 420 x 420 x 500mm.
The Kobra 3 printer will also feature an intelligent colour change function, allowing filament waste to be kept to a minimum, and anti-tangling protection has been embedded for smooth and hassle-free colour switching. The built-in accelerometer module is said to offer improved print quality by making intelligent adjustments to motion control, the X/Y axis, vibration compensators, and flow control mechanisms, in turn reducing the irritating banding and ringing often found on prints.
One thing that's not super clear is whether the same hotend is used for the multiple colour extrusion, or if the filament first needs to be retracted or extruded out to carry out the colour change. It would be impressive if the mechanics allowed for double colour to be extruded at once, for experimenting with a blend of hues. Although, this could get ugly pretty fast with muddy colours.
Anycubic has confirmed that the Kobra 3 will continue to run Kobra OS firmware, with significant upgrades expected, and the Anycubic App and Slicer are proposed to be getting large upgrades as well with improved after-sales service.
But the most exciting advancement seems to be the new Anycubic community platform, Makeronline, which proposes to help users share their model files, find inspiration, compete in design competitions for prizes (and money), and access key information. I tend to use Printables as my go-to platform, but Makeronline has a pretty user-friendly appeal that I could get used to.
Well, that's everything I know so far about the impressive Anycubic Kobra 3 Combo, and I guess we'll just have to wait until 7 May for more announcements and preorder links to go live. Will you be buying one of these new models? I've gathered some of the top deals and best prices below on the Anycubic Kobra 2 series, in your region, if you're not fussed about owning the latest model.
