在我们寻找最实惠的入门级 3D 打印机的另一站中，我们有机会试用Anycubic的(Anycubic)Kobra 3D打印机。Kobra是一款极简组装套件，在Anycubic的官方网站(Anycubic’s official website)和Ali Express上售价 299.00 美元。或者你可以在亚马逊(buy it on Amazon)上以 319.99 美元的价格购买。
在这篇 3D 打印机评论中，我们将让您了解购买Anycubic Kobra时会得到什么、构建它的感觉以及我们对其质量和可用性的第一印象。
Anycubic 的 Kobra 的特点
Anycubic的Kobra是一款FDM 3D打印机。FDM代表熔融沉积建模(fused deposition modeling)。FDM打印机的打印材料是塑料灯丝。如果您正在考虑购买您的第一台 3D 打印机，您还可以考虑使用树脂打印机(resin printer)，例如Anycubic Photon Mono X、更大的Photon Mono X 6K或 Photon M3。
Kobra 的特点包括：
- 构建(Build)体积为 9.8 x 8.7 x 8.7 英寸（250 x 220 x 220 毫米）
- 机器尺寸为 19.1 x 19.1 x 16.9 英寸（486 x 486 x 430 毫米）
- 使用 1.75mm PLA , ABS / PETG & TPU长丝
- Ø 0.4 mm 可更换喷嘴
- 由PEI(PEI)弹簧钢制成的加热、纹理、可拆卸和灵活的构建平台
- USB 和 microSD 卡端口
- 4.3英寸彩色触摸液晶屏
- 使用 Anycubic 的LeviQ(LeviQ)技术的感应传感器的 25 点自动床调平
Kobra有一个直接驱动的挤出机，这在这个价位的打印机中相对不常见。通常，长丝打印机具有直接驱动挤出机或鲍登挤出机。Bowden挤出机将长丝从远处推入喷嘴，通过特氟龙管引导，而直接驱动挤出机安装在热端的正上方，大大减少了管内的松弛，因为它离喷嘴更近了。
Kobra有一个用于自动调平床的感应式探测传感器。它是一种接近传感器，可以检测附近的金属。它不像BL Touch(BL Touch)那样准确，但价格便宜得多，并且可以为您提供出色的效果。Prusa将这些用于价格两倍的打印机，例如Prusa MK3。
加热床有一个弹簧钢板，可以连接到床上的磁性顶部，非常容易去除您的打印件。只需(Just)取下弹簧钢片并像冰盘一样将其打开。在我们的测试打印中，打印件甚至在冷却时从床上释放出来。此外，床在印刷品的底部留下了很好的纹理。
LCD触摸屏与 Anycubic 的其他一些打印机的屏幕非常相似，例如Anycubic Vyper。它直观、反应灵敏且易于阅读。
打印量也与 Vyper 非常相似，打印床也相同。最后，Kobra具有可选的灯丝耗尽检测功能。您可以通过触摸屏面板打开或关闭该功能。
组装Anycubic Kobra 3D 打印机(Printer)
Kobra是部分组装的——另一个原因是它是 3D 打印初学者的好选择。您将在组装时了解打印机的机械装置是如何工作的，并且不会花费很长时间，因为许多部件已经为您组装好了。
我们花了大约十五分钟来组装Kobra。尽管组装手册中的照片可能更大，但说明相当清楚。没有太多事情要搞砸。电缆管理是您最需要小心的地方。
步进电机已安装。他们只需要使用提供的接线插入即可。
校准
Anycubic建议检查皮带的张力并确保构建板和 x 轴不会摆动。我们不需要对偏心螺母进行任何调整，这些螺母控制滚轮对铝型材的抓紧程度。您不希望它们太紧，也绝对不希望它们太松。如果您确实需要调整它们，这相当简单。您只需转动偏心螺母，直到摇晃停止——不再拧紧。
如果您确实需要调整皮带张力，这很简单。每条皮带都有一个螺旋张紧器。这些螺丝转几圈，你就完成了。
在执行自动床调平后，我们校准了 z 偏移。为此，您将一张纸放在喷嘴下方并调整偏移量，直到它略微夹住纸张。您需要在打印第一层时对其进行微调。我们不得不将 z 偏移提高 0.1 毫米。你的结果会有所不同。
Anycubic Kobra 的构建质量
我们唯一不喜欢的构建质量是 z 轴只有一个导螺杆。尽管如此，x 轴似乎相当稳定。我们没有注意到任何下垂。
冷却风扇有点吵，但如果打印机不是那么安静，我们可能不会注意到。
耗材线轴位于打印机的顶部。我们更喜欢它在底部，因为直接驱动挤出机顶部的任何额外重量都会使打印机震动。另一方面，没有证据表明在我们的打印过程中发生了这种情况。
第一次打印
对于我们的第一次测试打印，我们使用了 SD 卡中包含的测试文件并使用Anycubic PLA灯丝进行打印。我们没有尝试使用ABS灯丝进行打印，因为根据我们的经验，这需要一个外壳才能获得您期望从PLA获得的质量。
我们在第一次打印时没有遇到粘床问题。当床冷却时，打印部分释放，这很好。
如您所见，我们在第一次尝试时得到了很好的打印效果。有最少的穿线（真的，几乎没有）。唯一的大缺陷是我们未能从喷嘴中取出一块塑料造成的。猫头鹰顶部耳朵的打印质量给我们留下了特别深刻的印象 - 打印机经常遇到倾斜且分离的薄部件，需要喷嘴抬起和移动。
Anycubic表示，Kobra 的打印速度比竞争对手快 167%。虽然打印速度不是我们见过的最快的，但我们已经预料到了。使用直驱式挤出机而不是鲍登式挤出机是一种权衡。在我们看来，直接驱动挤出机的响应能力是一个可以接受的折衷方案，以换取稍慢的打印速度。
切入正题
几乎每台入门级 3D 打印机都与Ender 3进行了比较。在这种情况下，Kobra在以下方面胜过 Ender 3(Ender 3)：
- 采用直驱式挤出机，减少拉丝
- 配有磁性床，便于去除打印件
- 无 x 轴下垂
- 非常出色的触摸屏
使用Kobra，您将以低于 300 美元的价格获得高质量的打印件。如果您对构建体积更大的类似打印机感兴趣，(much )请留意我们即将对Anycubic Kobra Max的评测，这是一款我们非常喜欢的怪物FDM 3D打印机。
*特别感谢FormerLurker帮助审查Anycubic 的Kobra 3D打印机。
Review of Anycubic’s Kobra 3D Printer
In yet another stop along our journey to fіnd the best affordable entry-level 3D printers, we had a chanсe to try out the Kоbrа 3D printеr from Anycubic. The Kobra is a minimal-assembly kit that costѕ US $299.00 on Anycubic’s official website and on Ali Express. Or you can buy it on Amazon for $319.99.
In this 3D printer review, we’ll let you know what you get when you buy an Anycubic Kobra, what it’s like to build it, and our first impressions about its quality and usability.
Features of the Kobra by Anycubic
The Kobra by Anycubic is an FDM 3D printer. FDM stands for fused deposition modeling. The print material for FDM printers is plastic filament. If you’re considering buying your first 3D printer, you could also consider a resin printer like the Anycubic Photon Mono X, the larger Photon Mono X 6K, or the Photon M3.
The Kobra’s features include:
- Build volume of 9.8 x 8.7 x 8.7 in. (250 x 220 x 220 mm)
- Machine dimensions of 19.1 x 19.1 x 16.9 in. (486 x 486 x 430 mm)
- Uses 1.75mm PLA, ABS / PETG & TPU filaments
- Ø 0.4 mm replaceable nozzle
- A heated, textured, removable, and flexible build platform made of PEI spring steel
- Ports for USB and microSD card
- 4.3″ color touchscreen LCD
- 25-point auto bed leveling with an inductive sensor using Anycubic’s LeviQ technology
The Kobra has a direct-drive extruder, which is relatively uncommon among printers at this price point. In general, filament printers have either a direct-drive extruder or a bowden extruder. Bowden extruders push the filament into the nozzle from a distance, guided through a teflon tube, whereas direct drive extruders are mounted right above the hot end, greatly reducing the slack inside the tube because it’s so much closer to the nozzle.
The Kobra has an inductive probing sensor for automatic bed leveling. It’s a proximity sensor that can detect nearby metals. It’s not quite as accurate as something like the BL Touch but it’s dramatically cheaper and can give you excellent results. Prusa uses these on printers that are twice as expensive, like the Prusa MK3.
The heated bed has a spring steel sheet that attaches to a magnetic top on the bed, making it incredibly easy to remove your prints. Just remove the spring steel sheet and crack it like an ice tray. In our test print, the print even released itself from the bed as it cooled. Moreover, the bed leaves a nice texture on the underside of the print.
The LCD touchscreen is quite similar to the screens on some of Anycubic’s other printers, like the Anycubic Vyper. It’s intuitive, responsive, and easy to read.
The print volume is quite similar to the Vyper’s, as well, and the print beds are identical. Lastly, the Kobra has optional filament run-out detection. You can turn that feature on or off via the touchscreen panel.
Assembling the Anycubic Kobra 3D Printer
The Kobra comes partially assembled—another reason it’s a good option for beginners to 3D printing. You’ll learn how the printer’s mechanics work as you assemble it, and it won’t take very long since many of the parts are already put together for you.
It took us about fifteen minutes to assemble the Kobra. The instructions were fairly clear, although the photos in the assembly manual could have been larger. There’s not a whole lot to mess up. The cable management is where you want to be the most careful.
The stepper motors are already mounted. They just needed to be plugged in using the provided wiring.
Calibration
Anycubic recommends checking the tension of the belts and ensuring the build plate and x-axis don’t wobble. We didn’t need to make any adjustments to the eccentric nuts which control how tightly the rollers grip on the aluminum extrusions. You don’t want them too tight, and you definitely don’t want them too loose. If you do need to adjust them, it’s fairly simple. You just turn the eccentric nut until the wobbling stops—and no tighter.
If you do need to adjust the belt tension, it’s straightforward. There’s a screw tensioner for each belt. A couple turns of those screws, and you’re done.
After performing the automatic bed-leveling, we calibrated the z offset. To do that, you put a piece of paper under the nozzle and adjust the offset until it ever-so-slightly grips the paper. You’ll need to fine-tune this as the first layer is being printed. We had to raise the z offset 0.1mm. Your results will vary.
Build Quality of the Anycubic Kobra
The only thing we didn’t like about the build quality is that the z-axis only has one lead screw. Despite that, the x-axis seemed pretty stable. We didn’t notice any sagging.
The cooling fan is a bit noisy, but we probably wouldn’t have noticed if the printer weren’t so quiet.
The filament spool is positioned at the top of the printer. We would have preferred it at the bottom since any extra weight at the top of the direct-drive extruder could make the printer shake. On the other hand, there was no evidence of that happening during our prints.
First Print
For our first test print, we used the test file included on the SD card and printed with Anycubic PLA filament. We didn’t try printing with ABS filament because, in our experience, that requires an enclosure to have any hope of getting the quality you expect from PLA.
We had no problems with bed adhesion on our first print. The print partially released when the bed cooled, which was nice.
As you can see, we got a good print on our first attempt. There was minimal stringing (really, almost none at all). The only large defect was caused by a piece of plastic we failed to remove from the nozzle. We were particularly impressed by the print quality of the ears at the top of the owl—printers often struggle with thin parts that are at a steep angle and are separated, requiring the nozzle to lift and move.
Anycubic says the Kobra’s printing speed is 167% faster than competitors. While the print speed isn’t the fastest we’ve ever seen, we expected that. It’s a trade-off for having a direct-drive extruder instead of a bowden. In our opinion, the responsiveness of a direct-drive extruder is an acceptable tradeoff for the slightly slower print speeds.
Cut to the Chase
Virtually every entry-level 3D printer gets compared to the Ender 3. In this case, the Kobra out-performs the Ender 3 in these areas:
- Less stringing because of the direct-drive extruder
- Comes with a magnetic bed for easy print removal
- No x-axis sagging
- Vastly superior touchscreen
With the Kobra, you’ll get high-quality prints for under $300. If you’re interested in a similar printer with a much larger build volume, keep an eye out for our upcoming review of the Anycubic Kobra Max, a monster FDM 3D printer we simply loved.
*Special thanks to FormerLurker for help in reviewing Anycubic’s Kobra 3D printer.
