ANYCUBIC KOBRA GO 3D Printer,25-point Precise Auto Leveling DIY Assembly Upgrade Economical FDM 3D Printers with Removable Magnetic Platform and Resume Printing for Beginners Print Size 220x220x250mm

I bought this 3D printer as my first foray into 3D printing, after building it I tried the owl included on the SD card, it layer shifted at the top, so I looked for information about setup on Youtube, but this was confusing. I tried loosening the guide wheels until they were just able to spin, but that did not alter the results. I tried tightening, but this was worse.I was getting annoyed, but I reloosened, then I found the sweet spot. It turns out that the correct tightness is just tight enough to not spin the wheels, but not anymore. Then drive belt tightness is next, but these should not be too tight or too loose as this affects the size of your prints, use 20mm cube from thingiverse, I found this to be loose enough to fit spanner between belt and axis, but you will need to check by reprinting cube until you get the correct size.I also had to reflash firmware after a problem with the screen freezing, but that was easy, just download from website place in root of SD card, turn off printer, insert SD card and turn on printer, when complete remove SD card and turn printer off and on again.

The printer kit arrived on time and very well packaged, an English manual is included, which is well written and guides you through the whole assembly process through to creating your first prints. Everything you need is included for the Assembly, which is very straightforward, consisting of connecting the two main parts together and plugging in the cables. It’s really well explained in the manual and should only take about 10 to 15 minutes after unboxing and laying the pieces out. I took a bit longer as I first went online and watched a few videos and read up a bit to make sure there were no gotchas that previous users had come across. I also checked the tightness of all the bolts that were already fastened to ensure nothing had been missed at the factory.Following assembly you need to level the bed ready for the first test print. This took about another 10 minutes and is a little bit fiddly to be honest, as when I worked my way around the 4 corner adjusters and checked the centre, then checked the first corner again, I found it was now out. Not a problem really, you just have to go round the process a few times until it’s as level as you can get it.The first test print of the pair of owls came out perfectly. And every subsequent PLA print has worked flawlessly also, notwithstanding design issues that is, and those mostly with my own designs. The design side of 3D printing has quite a steep learning curve but there is tons of information and software out there and I can’t believe how much I’ve learned in a couple of months. I’m already doing 3D scans with an old Xbox 360 Kinect I got on eBay for about £12 (Make sure you get one with the mains adapter if you have a go at this.)Because I’d read quite a few comments comparing the AnyCubic S to the AnyCubic M along the lines of how much better the ‘S’ was for other filaments I bought the upgrade kit at the same time as the printer. I’ve only ever printed with PLA before the upgrade so unfortunately, I can’t comment on whether the upgrade made printing anything other than PLA any better and it was a while after the upgrade before I got any different filaments. First I tried TPU. This prints like a dream (I use the basic settings for Generic TPU from the Cura menu.) Next, I tried ABS as I know I’m going to need the extra strength this gives you over PLA for some of my upcoming prints. Unfortunately, although I’ve tried a few different bed and extruder temperatures I’ve not managed to get a completed ABS print so far. However, I don’t believe this is a problem with the printer per se as everything I read tells me you will not get ABS to print successfully unless you have an enclosure for your printer so that’s a project for another day.This is my first and so far only 3D printer so I can’t do any direct comparisons but from reading about some of the issues some users have with other 3D printers I can at least comment on that a little. Firstly, it appears to be very well made, with a sturdy metal frame that doesn’t flex/move. There are no issues with alignment or rollers being too tight/loose etc. as this is already set up before you get it. Secondly, the one problem that seems to crop up more than any other when you research 3D printers is prints not adhering to the bed. So far, with the Ultrabase hotbed on the Anycubic I have not had a single problem in this area. The prints stick really well to the bed and once the print has finished and the bed has cooled they pull off with ease. I’ve never used any tapes or glues and to clean it, all I do is scratch any bits of remaining plastic off with a fingernail and rub it over with a paper towel now and again.I thoroughly recommend this printer, particularly for a first foray into 3D printing but also for anyone who wants a good, reliable printer that can be up and running, turning out great prints in under an hour from receipt. I have also found the after sales support to be excellent, I’ve contacted them a couple of times over email, once relating to the upgrade, and I’ve been replied to within 24 hours and my questions answered successfully.Update. For reasons unknown to me, my photos have appeared in a completely random order rather than the order I put them in. I'll try a few edits (slow process due to approvals) but the descriptions should be enough to identify the right photo anyway.Pictures:00 This is the kit after unboxing.01 Owl test print. It’s actually a pair but I’ve misplaced the other.02 Same figure but in black PLA and expanded in size in Cura.03 I brewed some beer before Christmas and had lost my crown capper that I needed for the last 4 bottles (The rest had gone in Kilner clip-top bottles.) Quick bit of measuring and a quickish print, then with the help of a mallet I got my four bottles securely capped.04 A Raspberry Pi Zero case, printed in one go with working hinges. Everyone is amazed at this one.05 A small plastic connector on My daughter-in-Law’s novelty Santa hat broke. It took me 10 minutes to design a replacement and 10 minutes to print.06 My 2 years old grandson’s new bed had to be situated such that the mains double socket was a little too accessible and although plug caps are readily available, we also needed to ensure he wouldn’t switch off the side that is in use so I designed this cover, which also covers the on/off switches. Unfortunately, as you can see there are no prongs on it as they broke off. I’ve since learned that it’s much better to embed the prongs (or anything similar) into the body of the piece as this makes it much stronger.07 This is the working version of the socket cover. I’ve also learned that you can have different parts of a design printed a different densities. So, whilst the main part has an infill of 30%, the prongs are solid.

Initially the printer printed ok, but these were just small objects. When we started printing larger object that covered more of the printbed area, we started noticing issues with the leveling. There was a gap of 1mm between the printerhead and the bed at the front of the bed compared to the back of the bed. So larger objects failed and we couldn't get it corrected. Support only sent us instruction video's as responds, which didn't help. About 50% of the prints would fail one way of another, it was not reliable and we eventually sent it back.

Bought on a lighting deal, this was my first foray into 3d printing. Well packaged anc clearly brand new, worries of getting a reconditioned unit had gone. Assemply was easy - all the tools are propvided and it really is only a case of bolting two parts together. Be warned, the red power lead is tucked away behind a stepper motor - don't be shy in rooting it out.After a trivially easy build an levelling of the print bed I had two days of frustration as prints quickly became ragged and eventually the printer stoppped laying down any new material. It just didn't work. I ran through all the diagnostics and nozzle cleaning processes but nothing worked. Online research led me to the the conclusion that the stepper motor used for feeding the filament simply wasn't up to the job. I even found the Anycubic support videos on YouTube that claimed to deal with this exact problem (tighten the grub screws on the brass "gear" that grips the filament in the extruder unit). But this ditn't solve the problem.The solution was to order the upgrade kit to the "Mega S". This comes with a new extruder that has much higher gearing and is up to the job of pushing the filament through the hot end. It also comes with a nice spool holder for your PLA. The upgrade was simply to fit - a 5 minute job despite there not being any instructions supplied. A quick upgrade of the firmware to the "S" version using Cura and the latest firmware downloaded from the Anycubic website and it was ready to go. (Be warned, the device info screen doesn't report the upgraded firmware, your only cue that something has happened is the printer playing the "power on jingle" after the firmware upgrade has finished)With the upgraded extruder motor, things worked perfectly from the outset and the demon "owl pair" print completed in 73 minutes, with excellent results.In giving this printer a rating I'm torn between 1 and 4 stars. As supplied, it deserves 1 star as it simply didn't work. With the upgrade kit it's a really competent printer that's well put together, straight forward to use and gives good results. But you really shouldn't have to spend an additional £20 on an "upgrade" just to get it to work.