Announced today via an update on its Kickstarter campaign page, AnkerMake’s news comes hot on the heels of a succession of delays and tradeshow-floor appearances (we saw it as recently as November at Formnext).
Billed as a superior multi-filament, multicolor add-on to augment the company’s Kickstarter-funded M5 3D printer, the V6 Color Engine promised printing with up to six spools of filament in a single print job, along with automatic material detection, intelligent spool changing functionality, humidity control and protection for the filament, plus filament usage tracking. All that, and a solution to the purge wastage that often comes with desktop multicolor 3D printing.
The V6 was first revealed in 2022 as an add-on for backers of AnkerMake’s M5 3D printer, with an initial delivery date pegged at early 2023. Despite the disappointing news that the V6 has been dropped, AnkerMake is making good with a refund scheme that fully reimburses those who pledged, plus 10% of the value on top – a move to keep what we expect may be a mutinous audience sweet.
In the announcement, AnkerMake outlines two refund paths open to backers. Firstly, there is a full refund of the V6’s $299 price tag, plus 10% ($30). The 10% refund top-up also applies to backers who have already canceled and been reimbursed for their orders.
Those who purchased the accompanying six-spool filament bundle will also get their $145 back, plus 10% ($15).
Alternatively, the company offers a “patience” reward of $600 store credit for use exclusively on its next, yet-to-be-announced 3D printer. The “patience reward” is only available to backers in the US, Canada, the UK, and the EU. The company says this is due to logistical reasons. We have no ETA for the new printer, with AnkerMake telling us that it’s not in a position to share anything yet.
Backers opting for the patience reward can change their minds as late as March 31, 2024, after which their choice will lock-in.
What Happened to the V6 Color Engine?
A statement given to All3DP ahead of the announcement indicates that the V6 wasn’t good enough to launch and, reading between the lines, seemingly at a dead end in its current form. “We have not been able to reach the desired printing quality and finished rate, pivotal aspects for consistent 3D printing results. Unfortunately, the current hardware technical and software solution has not met our expectations.”
A summary of notes from the beta testing, also seen by All3DP, suggests that two core areas of multiple points of concern lay in the system’s handling of the filament between the V6 unit and print head in matters of consistency and flow, and also in the custom print head itself. Its most recent form uses six independent mechanically actuated hot ends crammed inside a slightly oversized print head. This could give the system a lot of material flexibility and efficiency against purge waste but also dramatically increases the calibration effort, something AnkerMake has been unable to wrestle enough control over to ship in a product.
Beyond the nitty-gritty from beta testing, we’d add that there’s also the prospect of the device not fulfilling one of its initial big promises – eliminating purge towers. Material waste is a hot topic, and the definitive solution initially offered to M5 users would not have been forthcoming.
AnkerMake has been proactive in sharing its progress and the challenges of developing the V6, from backer updates on its Kickstarter page to dedicated channels on social media for its users to discuss and give direct feedback. Offering full refunds plus interest to backers on a platform that only compels the company to make its best efforts at compensation seems a decent way to part ways with the V6.
Head over to the AnkerMake M5 campaign page for more and the means to claim a refund.
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License: The text of "AnkerMake Pulls Plug on V6 Multicolor Add-on, to Refund Backers" by All3DP is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.