AnkerMake M5 3D Printer, High-Speed, Speed Upgraded to 500
AnkerMake M5 3D Printer, High-Speed, Speed Upgraded to 500 mm/s, Fast Mode, Smooth Detail, Easy to Use for Beginners, Error Detection with AI Camera, Auto-Leveling, Integrated Die-Cast Aluminum Alloy
From the brand
This 3d printer is fun to use specially for a beginner, making many things. The only issue is sometimes things don’t stick on the pad even if it’s clean and sometimes the nozzle plastic green part will catch on the thing you make and break your model.
The little toolbox I printed twice as the first one worked but had a few issues. So I just changed the nozzle temperature up and the second one was so much better.
Bought for my son. Had a 3d printer before but not really good, took hours to print off anything. This kne is amazing!! Prints in much less time, very quiet and has and If you download the app to your phone it shows you how far along the point is (bit like a ring doorbell) my son loves it. Would definitely recommend!!
This is my first venture into 3 D printing. Other reviews swayed me and I have not been disappointed. I have seen other printers in action, but this one is in a class by itself. The quality of the construction is fantastic, stable and robust. The speed at which it prints is fantastic. I understand that it is more expensive than others on the market, but if you are able to purchase one of these, then it will be very worthwhile. I am not being flippant, but the niggling, slow performance of lesser machine will be a continual irritation, but the extra money spent on this machine will soon be forgotten as money well spent.
Would I recommend it ? Absolutely this printer is so much better than I expected and it’s speed and build size means I can try ideas, prototype and modify an item without wasting days. With my old printer I might leave something printing for 12 hrs only to have it fail or fall over on the build plate in the last few layers. So far the M5 has functioned perfectly, with no failures even when printing much more complex items than I have ever tried before.
I have been looking for a new 3d printer for a long time. Ive also been printing a long time. I’ve had a few printers over the years. Several different brands and done days and hours of research. The Ankermake M5 is the printer of the moment and in my opinion nothing comes close. with Auto bed levelling, wifi, camera, magnetic print bed, touch screen, app to control it or Mac/windows software and speed its an awesome bit of kit for the beginner to semi. the slicer needs work but it works fine if you don’t know to much about slicing. its incredibly sleek and very well engineered and built with quality materials. I can’t believe it’s not a 1000+ machine. only downside its quite loud compared with a Prusa. it has to powerful cooling fans and the noise is funnelled into to an outlet Shute’s at force to cool your print. overall I can handle a bit of noise for the pure speed of the machine. very happy with my new machine.
Ok update ANKERMAKE have been in touch and sorted this out for me with a very generous discount on a new unit so looking forward to getting going again printing and see if all goes well and it was simply a bad unit.. have now adjusted the star rating to reflect their support and engagement.
Upon booting up the M5, it takes you through a clear step-by-step process and connecting it to your WiFi and inserting filament; from here you can download the AnkerMake app on your smart device or get the slicer for your desktop/laptop.
The app has a limited amount of models to print but is a good way of getting started; just click on the print you want and wirelessly send the command to the printer and away it goes. The app has a brilliant feature which allows you to check in on your print progress, change settings or even see it live! So I can be at my work and check in on it.
The slicer software for your desktop allows you to import ‘stl’ files from various websites and of course customise many different settings through the expert mode, alternatively stick with easy for the basic settings. I must say though, I do currently prefer Creality’s Slicer over AnkerMake’s. The M5 doesn’t have an SD card slot like many other 3D printers do, however there is a USB-C slot so you may just need to adapter; alternatively just send your print to the M5 wirelessly just like you can with the app; it saves so much time and it frees up disk space!
Printing can be SUPER FAST but that does come with some disadvantages, especially when dealing with the finer details and just overall accuracy, so pick and choose whether you want your print to be more refined or whether you want it done quickly. The printing speed can be adjusted either in the ‘Expert’ mode within the slicer or on the printer itself during the print.
One downside I need to point out is this printer is rather loud; I have this stationed in my bedroom and I think it’s going to be a bit hard to sleep whilst it’s operating in the background (Creality’s Ender 3 Max Neo I was able to deal with).
The flexi magnetic base seems to do a decent job at adhesion but also makes removing models off with little effort, though realigning it can be tricky as the magnets are very strong!
Another positive about the M5 is how easy it is to update the firmware; it tells you when there is one and you just click update (make sure this is the first thing you do after connecting it to your WiFi).
Overall though, it’s a super easy 3D printer to deal with (ideal for beginners), it has some great features and it does have the ability to print some good quality prints. Just bare in mind that like all 3D printers, the M5 will also need nozzle replacements and some maintenance overtime.
Pros:
Simple Set-up, making it also Ideal for beginner users.
The WiFi features are brilliant (wirelessly sending print orders & remote monitoring).
Print times are accurately displayed.
The magnetic flexi base provides a good level of adhesion whilst making it easy to remove prints.
Can support various filaments, not just AnkerMake’s own (unless you want to use very high-speeds).
Able to produce decent quality prints (better on the slower settings).
Easy firmware updates.
Neutral:
AnkerMake’s filament cost is not very competitive when it comes to price and at the time of review, they don’t have a wide variety of colours available. Hopefully this will change as times goes by.
No SD card slot (may bother some).
Cons:
Fastest print speed can degrade the quality of some prints and can cause a wobble effect in thinner parts.
Its quite loud when printing (especially the fans as they are high-pitched); with the Creality Ender 3 Max Neo, I was able to fall asleep with it in the room; the AnkerMake M5, not a chance.
The printer is everything it claims to be, easy to use and super fast.
The first unit I ordered stopped working after the first print, but one of the advantages of this brand is the discord community who was able to guide me on how to troubleshoot the issue. Unfortunately that didn’t work and discord users pointed me to Anker Support.
I spoke to Jack @ support and must admit I rarely have had someone so helpful, reviewed the issue, and when he saw that I wasn’t able to fix it, a replacement was sent with 2 days!
A product is only as good as the backing from its company and in that case, I have to say well done Anker.