Consumer Electronics, Gadgets & Accessories

Anycubic Kobra Max in test – scope for big projects and ideas

3D printer enthusiasts take note: Sooner or later, we all have a project where the print area for the 3D model is no longer sufficient. Then you ask yourself whether a somewhat larger printer with more installation space is worthwhile. For this case, Anycubic now offers a new FDM printer called Anycubic Kobra Max.  With a build envelope of 400 x 400 x 450 mm, the Kobra Max offers plenty of room for new ideas. Whether the technology also allows this and how well the 3D printer does in the practical test, you will now find out in the following test report.

Specifications

Anycubic Kobra Max
Printer Technology: FDM
Dimensions installation space (L x W x H): 400 x 400 x 450 mm
Extruder: Single, 0.4 mm
Maximum printing speed: Up to 90 mm/s
Supported filaments: PLA, TPU, PETG, ABS, Wood, TPU
Leveling: Automatic (LeviQ 25 point process)
Material Nozzle: brass
max. temperature Nozzle: 260 °C
max. temperature heating bed: 110 °C
Slicing Software: Cura ; Output format: GCode
Compatible input formats: STL, OBJ, AMF
Connectors: SD card, USB-B cable
Dimensions – Total (H x W x L): 720 x 715 x 665 mm
Features: Auto-Leveling LeviQ (25 points), 4.3″ touch screen, filament mount, glass printing plate with carbon-s coating
Price: $569
Anycubic cobra
Dimensions installation space (L x W x H): 220 x 220 x 250 mm
Dimensions – Total (H x W x L): 486 x 486 x 430 mm
Features: Auto-Leveling LeviQ (25 points), 4.3″ touch screen, filament mount
Price: $299
€ 569.00
N/A
Buy now* AliExpress

Scope of delivery

Large in width and quite flat in height, the Kobra Max is delivered. Here, the individual elements are separated from each other in black, solid foam, so that no damage can occur during delivery. In our case, this also worked wonderfully! Once everything has been freed from the box, we can take a look at the entire scope of delivery. Aside from the printer frame itself, the package includes a USB-B cable, scratcher, pinch scissors, Allen wrench, and grease. There’s also 10 meters of PLA to get you started on your first test print.

Assembly

Seasoned hands in the 3D printer cosmos know the hassle of assembling a 3D printer after delivery. In the case of the Anycubic Kobra Max, this is not as elaborate as one would assume based on its size. The base, on which the printing plate is located, has two holes on the sides. Two long screws are then screwed through from below and attached to the Z-axis mount. Once this is done, the 3D printer is almost ready. The next step is to attach the display to the side as well as the holder for the PLA, which is a bit wobbly, but still serves its purpose. For safety reasons, the cables for the controller have already been pre-assembled in cable trays, but not yet plugged into the connectors at the respective locations.

Also, the moving parts of the Cobra Max have been attached with cable ties, which must be removed first. The last thing to do is to fix the crossbars for stabilization with four screws per bar. All that’s missing now is the glass pressure plate, which is attached to the heating plate with the six clamps provided. Now it’s time to plug it in and get started!

First impression

Before we start the first print, let’s take a closer look at Anycubic’s 3D printer by looking at the workmanship and what’s new compared to the old models. Basically, the design of the Kobra Max is based on the Anycubic Vyper. The axis frame has only become slightly larger. The print head, display, and PLA holder, on the other hand, have been adopted.

To be able to move the platen, there is still only one motor, but it now has a drive rod connected to two belts. This makes the raceway on the 400 x 400 mm printing plate more uniform. The small version of the Cobra serves with an installation space of 220 x 220 mm. In addition, the height axis is equipped with two motors, one on each side. To the full height of 450 mm (or 250 mm) in total, you can print easily thanks to the motors and the crossbars for more stability.

Lastly, there are a few special new features that we don’t want to forget. We don’t mean the new fancy looking red plastic covers! These are wheels for retensioning the belts. With older 3D printers, this is an annoying maintenance task that is usually not particularly easy to accomplish. The Kobra Max makes this easier and more manageable, even inexperienced users can easily readjust the 3D printer to ensure the best quality print. In addition, the printing plate itself has been renewed. Instead of a magnetic plate with a metallic support, it is now made of glass and has a rough black surface.

Printing profile

Anycubic supplies a USB adapter along with an 8 GB mSD card with the Kobra Max. There is a manual on it, which is available in English and Chinese. Here you will find the necessary information to configure the printer (manually for the time being) into a slicer. There is also a test file for the first print on the mSD card, which we will print in the next chapter. But first something about the printer profile:

The Kobra Max is delivered with a standard 0.4 mm Nozzel. Anycubic thus recommends a layer thickness of 0.2 mm for PLA and a thickness of the first layer of 0.3 mm. Three wall lines with a thickness of 1.2 mm are used for the first printing of the test file.

One feature in particular caught our eye, and that is the recommended print speed. Anycubic recommends a speed of 80 mm/s, which is significantly faster than older 3D printers. Other than that, there’s not much exciting to say about the settings. It’s best to try it out for yourself or look on the Internet to find the right settings for the file you’re printing.

Practical experience

Before you can start the first print, you have to calibrate the Kobra Max of course. In the Prepare menu you will find an auto leveling option (LeviQ) for this purpose. The Nozzel and the print board first heat up, then the print head moves to a total of 25 points on the printing plate. At each point, the printing plate is then automatically adjusted. This process takes about 5 minutes and saves a lot of nerve-racking time during calibration. We already noticed the 3D printer’s low noise level here, the fans are quiet and the respective movements are hardly or not at all audible. Once you have the first run behind you, the first print can also start!

For the first print, we used the 10 meters of white PLA supplied and printed out the test file that Anycubic had already provided. This was an owl sitting on half of a tree trunk. With this you can get an impression of the print quality based on small details. After about an hour of waiting, the owl was ready. In our case, the finished product already looks very neat. The individual layers are evenly placed on top of each other and the auto leveling has served its purpose perfectly at this point.

Our second print became a 3D Benchy – the classic small boat. With the improved print speed, we were able to print the boat in a total of 50 minutes. What is noticeable here is also a flawless print quality. In our case, we could have only screwed a bit on the temperature, since threads were drawn in the interior. If you look at the critical areas, such as the top of the boat, the underside with the lettering, the pipe on the roof or the individual holes in the doors and windows, everything looks almost perfect. Especially the individual holes on the boat have been printed sturdy and clean.

3D-Benchy boat

As a final test print, we decided to go with a Star Wars Mandalorian helmet. This one is quite large, so it fills up the printing plate quite nicely and can be printed efficiently and quickly with a few handy settings in the slicer. In our case, we managed to get the helmet printed with around 300g PLA and a print time of 16 hours. The quality in the fineness of the lines had to suffer a bit more as a result, but it is not particularly tragic for large models. The only thing that was a bit of a shame for us was the choice of material, as the PLA was quite lumpy, which we couldn’t see in our previous prints. Nevertheless, this kind of printing was a lot of fun and allows you and us in the future to print large models with a comparatively very fast printing speed without having to compromise on quality.

Conclusion

So we come to the end of our review and the question: is an Anycubic Kobra Max 3D printer worth it if you’re aiming for big projects and ideas? In our eyes, definitely! With this 3D printer, Anycubic really makes a statement to every other manufacturer. The quality of the 3D printer has improved on many points. Visually, the Kobra Max makes quite a bit more of an impact, and the hardware hasn’t been forgotten either. The new LeviQ auto-leveling system with 25 points does a good job of delivering perfect print quality. The glass plate with carbon coating provides hold during printing, yet allows for easy release after cooling. Even simple maintenance tasks, such as belt tensioning, are quickly accomplished with simple set screws at each point.

The Kobra series offers an easy entry into 3D printing. Currently, the Kobra Max is offered for $569 and the Kobra for $299, which is a more than fair price. So in the end, we give this 3D printer a well-intentioned recommendation and kudos to Anycubic for a job well done!

Anycubic Kobra Max

Usability
Assembly
Noise level
Print quality
Value for money

95/100

Lots of space with a super quality in the printing as well as in the material of the 3D printer. The Kobra Max is handy and accessible for every person!

€ 569.00
N/A
Buy now* AliExpress

Simon Lüthje

I am co-founder of this blog and am very interested in everything that has to do with technology, but I also like to play games. I was born in Hamburg, but now I live in Bad Segeberg.

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3D printer enthusiasts take note: Sooner or later, we all have a project where the print area for the 3D model is no longer sufficient. Then you ask yourself whether a somewhat larger printer with more installation space is worthwhile. For this case, Anycubic now offers a new FDM printer called Anycubic Kobra Max. With … (Weiterlesen...)

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