Anet A6 Review – Kit 3D printers have been gaining popularity in the 3D printing industry for a very long period of time. But many of us who are new in the 3D printing industry don’t know about Kit 3D printers.
Kit Printers are basically those printers which are delivered to their customers in divided parts. It comes as a DIY kit and the customer has to assemble the delivered parts into the fully-functioning printer.
There are multiple reasons because of which the Kit 3D printers have gained this popularity. The most important reason is that the user gets to know about all the inner mechanisms of the printer.
Meaning, when the user has to assemble all the parts the inner wire management, or the movement of the parts or even the positioning of the parts becomes visible to the user.
This helps to sort out issues which anyone might face during the regular and consecutive printer use. As an extra benefit, it also allows the user to build his printer right from scratch.
This feeling of building the machine right from the scratch, helps the user to grow a sense of creativity. Don’t we all love that?
We would give you a complete review of Anet A6 3D printer, which is also a Kit Printer. It is the rightful successor of Anet A8 and is great choice for the Beginners of 3D printing industry.
We would definitely not say that Printer is the best for everyone since not all of us like their products to be delivered in bits and pieces. We would recommend those users to consider a different product.
Although for those like me who want to feel like a creator for even the slightest moments, Anet A6 wouldn’t leave out any single thing that you would need to make it a fully functional one.
It pretty much delivers you anything and everything that you would require while building it. From the necessary build parts to the SD card and free slicing software, Anet A6 delivers you with all of it.
They also provide you with loads of documentation which include the builder guide, the user guide and loads of test prints. Now isn’t that great?
Now that you have got an overview of what you are going to deal with, let us move forward with the features which it has to offer.
Key Features of Anet A6:
1. Fully Functional Build Area –
One of the most important features of Anet A6 is that it comes with an awesome build area and its fully usable.
Since the build platform of a 3D printer determines a lot about the quality of the prints produced, Anet A6 gives you a great advantage on that.
It again proves that it is a successful upgrade of the Anet A8. The A6 offers you a build area of 8.6” x 8.6” x 9.85”. These figures are really hard to achieve when you are looking for budget-friendly 3D printer.
Generally in this price range, the maximum someone gets is 6”x6”x6”.
But the A6 becomes top of the line when you consider the building Area on offer.
These small differences might not seem a lot for those who are new to this industry. But trust me on this guys, it would seem a lot when you practically start your prints.
2. Renovated Design –
The new A6 is the modified version of the A8, thus it inherits the same acrylic frame from its predecessor. Although its larger and better than the older version.
On practical usage, you would find that the printer is much sturdier and remains completely stable while printing.
The exposed metal structures give it a robust look, and when to put together this budget-friendly printer gives you an exceptional deal for the price you are paying.
This amazingly low priced 3D printer also offers you a heated print bed to help you accomplish your prints in a better way.
The newly added control Knob for the menu settings helps you easily glide over the controls which are necessary for your printing process.
This new knob has been the most likeable improvement for the users since it has made the whole control system completely user friendly. With all these specifications the newly renovated design has been a Hit.
3. Open Source –
Although, having an open-source is not appreciated by all and many stay away from this option, yet we consider it to be a boon for this machine.
Having an open-source means that the user would have the capability and freedom to fully customize the software and hardware of this machine.
That surely is considered as a boon because you can pretty much replace everything that doesn’t seem to suit your purposes.
If any hardware part like the extruder or your build plate is not suiting your printing purposes, you can simply switch it with something else.
Or if you are facing issues with your slicing software, then you can easily add some tweaks to it following online sources.
This customization freedom makes the users extremely happy since they can pretty much sort out any issue they are facing.
Have a Look at This List of Key Specs Which the Anet A6 Has to Offer:
- Build Volume – 8.6” x 8.6” x 9.85”
- Filaments Supported – PLA, ABS, PP, Nylon PVA, Wood, Luminescent.
- Print Speed – 100 mm per second.
- of Extruders – One.
- Resolution of Layers – 100 to 300 microns.
- Diameter of the Nozzels – 0.4 mm
- System Source – Open Source.
- Warranty Provided – None.
Like any other machine in this market, the Anet A6 also comes with a list of Pros and Cons.
We have covered all the Pros and Cons of Anet A6 in this article in details so that you can have a clear idea about what you would be dealing with.
Pros:
1. Value for Money –
While buying anything from the market this is the first thing that comes to anyone’s mind. Just like its predecessor the Anet A6 has been offering a great deal to its customers for the bucks they pay.
With amazing features and specifications that are provided by the $1000 printers in the market, the Anet A6 gives it for less than $300.
You cannot have a single point where you can say that they have charged you more for what they have offered.
2. Do It Yourself (DIY) –
This DIY feature is one of the most highlighted pros of this product. The Printer comes in Bits and Pieces and requires its user to assemble it with their own hands.
Due to this, the user gets to know about all the parts of this printer and also acquires the required knowledge about its functionalities.
If during your printing process anything goes wrong, you could save your time and hassle to call a professional and do it all by yourself. Any necessary customization is allowed by its manufacturers.
So you can change any part if you think that it’s not that useful for you. A simple Google search would clearly define you about all the customization knowledge that you require.
With these Google Searches, you would also come to know about innumerable customization options which would help you increase your Printers productivity according to your usage.
3. Huge Online Community –
The Anet A6 is one of the most popular 3D printers in the market has a huge user base.
Due to this reason the customers have formed huge online communities over various online forums like Facebook, Youtube, Reddit, Quora etc.
If any user is facing any problem with this printer and needs to find a solution to it, it would be a piece of cake.
With countless Active users of this machine on online forums, troubleshooting or installing upgrades wouldn’t be an issue for any user.
This online forum is definitely one of the most important Pros of the Anet A6.
Well, that was all about the benefits which you get from Anet A6. But to be honest, this product isn’t made in heaven and does come with its flaws too. So let us have a look at what cons are there on offer for this product.
The Cons of Anet A6:
1. Reports of Faulty and Missing Parts –
Whenever you order any DIY kit, there is always a chance of this particular problem. This goes the same for Anet A6. The printer is based on the design of another printer with only a part of the previous price.
This makes the obvious impression that the manufacturing will have its issues. There have multiple reports from customers and users from around the world, of missing parts or even faulty ones.
The issues can be of various types, like missing hinges or screws or faulty screws are provided. Not only that but the Acrylic frame cannot handle too much pressure while the assembly is being done.
You should have this in your mind that while you are tightening your screws, you shouldn’t apply too much of pressure or you might break the frame.
Although these issues are there with the Anet A6, yet we can’t say that its a big downside for this product.
Considering the price range, the freedom of customization and the strong online community, all these issues can be sorted out with a breeze.
The only thing which you need to do is asking for help to through the online forums. There is a high probability that you wouldn’t be the first to face a particular type of problem.
2. There is No Warranty on offer –
This Kit 3D Printer doesn’t come with a warranty from its manufactures. If there is a major fault of issue with the printer then its manufactures won’t have any responsibility for that.
Although considering its price range and customization features on offer, this cannot be considered a major Con for this product, yet as customers, we never hope for anything less.
This issue has the same solution as before. One can easily contact the online forums and sort out any issue they face regarding this printer. The manufacturers allow customization with this printer on any and every level.
That was all for the disadvantages of this Kit 3D printer. As you saw that being an awesome printer for less than $300, these aren’t that big issues.
If compared with the benefits and features of this printer the list of disadvantages seems to be nominal. That’s the sole reason for the popularity of this printer.
There isn’t a better deal on offer in the market than this.
As previously mentioned the Anet A6 allows you with customization on almost every level.
We did a thorough research online about all the customization that most of its users have done and found a few that might help all its users to create better Prints.
List of Easy Upgrades for the Anet A6:
- You can install a frame brace to ensure that the acrylic frame is unharmed during your daily work procedures.
- You can add a circular fan duct which will ensure better cooling for your prints.
- You can install an auto-levelling feature which will ensure that your prints are built with better quality. There is a lot of online help which you can get to build its setup.
Final Verdict:
The Anet A6 is an efficient Kit 3D printer which comes within an incredibly low price range. The features that it offers to compete with a lot of higher range premium 3D printers.
It being a bigger and better version of its predecessor, is more efficient too. Eventually, there is a high chance that it would outrun the A8 and thus the prices might drop too.
If anyone who has a budget of $300 and wishes to buy a DIY 3D printer, we would definitely suggest them to go for this product. Considering those who are a little unhappy buying this printer, we say don’t worry.
There is no need to scared if you have invested your money on this printer and have been stuck due to some issues. Be calm and google your problems.
Its huge online community would be more than enough to sort out any issue which you are facing. We wish you a happy printing journey. and that’s It for Anet A6 review.
