In its own phoenixial fashion, the Anet A8 is back again. Earlier in July this year, Anet announced with little flair that a V2 version of the Anet A8 is going on sale, and you can buy one right now; the question is just whether or not you should.
Not a huge deal has been revealed about this printer so far, with information on the machine patchy at best and poorly presented. The Anet A8 is a well-known name in the 3D printing community, though, having been a highly affordable 3D printer kit back in the day.
The A8 didn’t have a stellar reputation, however, being the culprit for a number of fires that were, at the time, heavily documented across the web. It was also a pain to build, with substandard instructions on how to assemble the kit causing more than a few headaches for those new to 3D printing. It wasn’t all downsides with the machine, though.
Once assembled, it could print fairly well, and many used the base of the original A8 (a rough copy of an Original Prusa i3 MK2) as a starting point from which to begin a journey of modification, as the printer was ideal for this sort of adventure. It had a learning curve of severe steepness, but there was, in actual fact, a printer of some quality in the complex, cheap machine.
That brings us to the new A8 V2, announced earlier in the summer of this year. At first glance, there’s little to really get excited about. There’s a 32-bit mainboard, open-source firmware, Bowden extruder, and a 220 x 220 x 250 mm build volume to play with.
Unfortunately, you’ll only be printing with PLA, however, as this machine is about as basic as they come. No temperatures regarding the hot end or the print bed appear to have been revealed, but PLA has been confirmed as the only material, and Anet’s product page mysteriously lists a “working temp.” of 0-40 °C. Read into that what you will. What’s more, the print bed appears to be a “simple” glass plate. Not the worst, not the best we’ve seen either – expect heavy use of adhesives.
The product page itself is not particularly helpful for prospective customers either, with a heavy focus on marketing and advertising benefits seemingly targeting retailers rather than potential consumers interested in this machine.
So, for now, we really can’t say too much on this machine, or if it’ll be worth considering. Anet promises a sub-$200 price tag (it’s currently offered for $179 directly from Anet), but for that, you don’t really get any enormous benefits – you’ll even have to 3D print the casing for the mainboard and the bracket for its 2.8 inch LCD screen.
With more than a couple of very impressive 3D printers now available for under the $200 mark (shout out to the Voxelab Aquila and, of course, the Creality Ender 3) it’s difficult to see how the Anet A8 V2 can make an impact.
When we finally get our hands on one, we’ll let you know what it’s really like. But, for now, why don’t you tell us what you think of the new Anet A8 V2 in the comment section below? We’re keen to know how you see this one.
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