Anker isn’t usually a name that comes to mind when talking about 3D printing. The company is better known for portable chargers, cables and all sorts of accessories for smartphones and computers. However, its AnkerMake line of 3D printers has started to put 3D printer makers like Prusa and Ender on alert.
The $399 AnkerMake M5C is the company’s newest printer, and it’s a slightly smaller but more affordable and nearly as capable version of the AnkerMake M5 that was released last year.
My kids and I have been printing and testing the M5C for the last few weeks, and it’s seriously one impressive piece of kit that’s proven reliable and easy to use.
If you’re looking for a printer for someone who’s just getting into 3D printing, the AnkerMake M5C is a great option.
What we liked about it
15 minutes from boxed up to printing
A couple of years ago, I purchased a Prusa Mini+ kit that required the complete assembly of the printer once it arrived. It took roughly 15 hours to put together what felt like an extreme Lego kit. I still use the printer, and it works like a champ. I learned a ton along the way, and appreciate the personal investment and confidence in repairing it should anything break. But, that experience isn’t for everyone.
The AnkerMake M5C comes almost entirely put together, and the steps required to get it up and running require installing a handful of screws and connecting a couple of cables. It took me, maybe, 10 minutes from the time I opened the box until I had a printer that was powered up and ready to connect to the internet.
I spent another five minutes connecting it to my Wi-Fi via the AnkerMake mobile app and updating its firmware. After that, it was ready to start printing.
My kids weren’t home when I put the printer together, but I’m confident any of them — ages 15, 13 and 11 — would have been able to complete the assembly in the same amount of time I did.
The entire setup process is designed to take as little time as possible, and it was a vast improvement over the setup process for the bigger M5, which required slightly more assembly.
Fast, high-quality printing
One of the biggest advantages of AnkerMake printers is just how fast they print. The AnkerMake M5C, like the M5 before it, has a maximum print speed of 500mm/s, which is wildly fast for a mass-produced 3D printer. In comparison, Prusa’s lineup of printers prints at 200mm/s. If those numbers don’t mean much, then let me put it another way.
When printing the obligatory Benchy test print on the M5C at its maximum speed, it’ll print in roughly 30 minutes and 57 seconds. However, with the default setting of the Prusa Mini+, that same print would take one hour and 18 minutes.
One concern about increasing the print speed of any 3D printer is that you forfeit the overall quality of the print. In fact, I’ve personally experienced many prints that have failed when I’ve tried to shorten the print time by increasing the speed.
However, Anker’s done a good job at figuring out how to increase speed without sacrificing too much on quality. I experienced some of this with the AnkerMake M5, but with the M5C, it’s better.
Over the last few weeks my kids and I have printed between 20 and 25 different items. Some, like Benchy or Croc charms, were small and took just minutes to print, while others, such as this diorama dice tower, were big and took over 10 hours to print. Out of all those prints, we’ve only had one failure. It was a small Croc charm that didn’t have proper supports and it didn’t adhere to the print bed. It was a teaching moment for my kids, and the next print was successful.
Even more importantly, however, is that all of the prints look good. Not once have I taken a print off the bed and wished it were higher quality. Admittedly, the print quality could be better if I slowed down the printer and made tweaks to the settings, but for the stuff I’ve been printing and I wager most of what everyone prints on a regular basis, the print quality has been fine.
To test how well the M5C prints at full speed, I printed this stress test design that has all kinds of difficult aspects to it, such as overhangs, gaps, shapes and walls. It printed in about an hour and a half. I fully expected some of the gaps and finer details to have imperfections, and after looking at it closely … I can’t find any major flaws.
I’ve long considered my Prusa Mini+ my most reliable 3D printer. I can count on it to print whatever I throw at it, with hardly any issues, even after long periods of time sitting idle. After using the AnkerMake M5C for a few weeks and seeing how it performs, I’d put it in the same category as my Mini+. It just works.
What we didn’t like about it
AnkerMake’s software needs serious improvement
The software experience is a huge part of any 3D printer. It’s what you use to convert STL files into the code (called GCODE files) that tells the printer exactly what to do through a process called slicing. That same software is also what’s used to alter the speed and temperature of a print, ultimately impacting the end quality of a print, or even heat up the printer and adjust the position of the nozzle so you can change filaments.
Cura and PrusaPrint are two of the most popular programs people use to control printers. Both offer polished experiences, giving granular controls over your printer and producing consistent prints.
AnkerMake’s mobile and desktop apps offer the same functionality but are both considered to be beta versions and not full-featured apps. As such, the experience is at times inconsistent and can be frustrating.
For example, I have a computer set up next to the printer so my kids can download designs, slice and print without having to ask me to help them all the time. At least that was my thinking. In reality, they do have to ask for my help every time they want to change the filament color, because the AnkerMake desktop app can’t heat up and move the nozzle. That’s a basic task that the AnkerMake desktop app should have baked in. Instead, my kids have to ask me to use the mobile app to control the printer so they can print in a different color. Frustrating.
In Anker’s defense, the company has released a printer profile for Cura and PrusaPrint that makes it possible to use your preferred app to slice prints for the M5, but the same profiles aren’t yet available for the M5C. But even then, you can’t actually control the printer to change filament from either of those apps.
I wish AnkerMake would speed up the development process of its desktop app in particular and add the core features it so desperately needs. Right now it’s a broken experience.
There wasn’t a roll of test plastic in the box
This is admittedly a small gripe that could very well not be an issue for a lot of users, but I have to say I was disappointed to open the box and realize that Anker didn’t include a small spool of plastic in the box for test prints. The M5C is a printer that’s clearly designed and intended for beginners, most of whom probably haven’t ordered extra spools of PLA or whatever material they plan on using ahead of time.
Meaning, that after they put the printer together and they’re ready to print Benchy or any of the other staple first prints, they literally have nothing to print it with.
Anker includes a very small spool of black PLA with the M5, and that should also be the case with the M5C.
Bottom line
The AnkerMake M5C is a fast, reliable and impressive 3D printer that’s easy enough to use that I can let my kids run wild with it. The software you use to control the printer is a clear weak spot, and one that it appears Anker is slowly trying to fix. I just wish they’d speed it up. If you’re looking for a printer for someone who’s just getting into 3D printing, the AnkerMake M5C is a great option. That said, if you don’t want to mess with the software quirks, the $1,099 Prusa MK4 is one of the best 3D printers money can buy, but it comes at a cost. For a smaller, beginner-friendly printer, I’d also recommend the $459 Prusa Mini+ semi-assembled kit.
