AnkerMake M5 3D Printer, Powerboost, High Speed Upgraded to 500 mm/s, Fast Mode, Smooth Detail, Intuitive Control, Error Detection with AI Camera, Auto-Leveling, Integrated Die-Cast Aluminum Alloy

UPDATE 4/34: I now have four M5 printers. I wrote a grant and was able to purchase two more M5's for my classroom (I actually got to take the original ones I bought out of pocket home). They run every day. I honestly think these are the best printers out there for the money. I started with zero knowledge or experience, but have had nothing but great prints on each of the four M5's I've bought. Not a single one was a lemon.... four out of four amazing machines. As I said, two were purchased for my classroom and have seen some brutal treatment... but still run like champs. I have no idea how anybody is giving these any negative reviews, but I am aware that there are people out there who could literally screw up trying to use a pencil. Great printer... period.This is a second update after the first purchase (mentioned below). I went ahead and purchased a second M5 dedicated for my classroom. I can't say enough about these printers. My original one has already gone through dozens of 1kg rolls-mainly PLA+, but also PETG and TPU. The only thing I've done is replace the original nozzle as proactive maintenance. After my experience with the Ender, I am SO GLAD I didn't settle for it. I love the fact that when I'm at school, I can check prints going on at home, and the same when I'm home, I can check my students' prints at school. My students love designing in Tinkercad and are usually able to take the items off the printer before the end of the school day. I bought an enclosure for my home printer, but haven't needed it as I haven't tried ABS yet. It prints TPU and PETG flawlessly without the enclosure. It's about six months since my first M5 purchase and I'm still in love. Owning two of the same printer I can tell you they are both a dream to use.Original Review:Story starts with an Ender 3s1pro: After much research, I ordered the Ender 3s1 pro, even though it had a smaller bed than I was looking for. Out of the box, I leveled it and successfully printed the test model. Great! The next day, I leveled the bed again but noticed that the z offset was way too high during the print. Three hours later, I discovered that I could level the bed, but the offset would absolutely not stay put. I boxed it up and sent it back.My M5: I ordered the AnkerMake M5 hoping that it wouldn't be such a pain to level. No manual leveling or fiddling with screws. It did it's auto level, and let her rip. I was dumbfounded at how great this thing was out of the box. I haven't had any issues with loading filament, or the AI (two things that people have posted about). Oh, and talk about fast.... the test print came out in about an hour (compared to the 5 hour wait on the Ender test print). I'll post an update if anything goes south, but I love it. **UPDATE** Had this for 5 months now. This printer runs EVERY DAY, for hours and hours at a time. I've printed in TPU, PET-G, PLA, PLA+, and silk PLA. The only maintenance I've done is replace the nozzle. I am buying a second one for my classroom. No regrets!

This is my first 3D printer and I've been following AnkerMake since it was on Kickstarter. I could kick myself for not investing when it was on Kickstarter. This unit is pretty awesome to say the least. However, I can't really give comparison with any other brand since this is my first printer. However, I will give my pros and cons for the unit and software itself.Upon arrival, box and pieces within were excellent. Packing quality is solid. I was afraid it would have been damage since I saw boot prints on the outside as if it was used for a stepping stool.Pros:- Unit comes almost fully assembled and took about 10 mins or less to build.- Set up through the app was quick and it found the printer instantly- Low Power consumption (not sure if this is the same for all 3D printers?)- Loading filament was super easy and straight forward- Does a timelapse automatically of your project (yes it has a 1080p camera with a light and night vision)- Speed (it prints wicked fast, but I found great quality and speed at about 150mm/s)- Can watch your project live with the camera away from home- Has some pre installed samples to test- Have not have 1 error with a print yet, which is saying something for a first time user. lol- Great size printing plate- Strong magnetCons:- It is very loud (the fans that is).- I found that mine if printing on fast, when the unit moves up and down it makes a terrible noise. Probably needs some grease in the gear column- The app doesn't let you choose F and is stuck on C.- AnkerMake Slicer is awful. Its okay to just print and set your settings. You'll see as you use it. I use PrusaSlicer as its much better in terms of options and smooth operation.- Camera is 1080p and can be grainy at timesNow I just need to remember how to use CAD and I can get some new products out for my business. Overall, this is a great unit and I would recommend it. I will update my review as I always do, as time goes on within the warranty timeframe. I'm not sure how long a 3D printer lasts, but I hope it lasts me some time.Update #1: 1.5 weeks later the filament clogged, but I found out that was my error for not retracting the filament correctly. However, upon following the "Stuck?" prompt on the machine, I found out all but 1 screw were stripped or not grabbing well. It took longer to fix because I had to find a way to get these screws out! Luckily my Torx screw driver for my Mac was able to get all of the screws out. So, keep a Torx driver around just in case. I believe it was a T9 that was used. On a separate note, Ankermake personally reached out regarding some low ratings I had given because the slicer software is quite buggy. Good to know they are responsive and willing to make a solid product! Thats a plus for me.Update #2: I purchased a second unit which arrived damaged. Ankermake got back to me within a few hours with tracking information for the replacement part. USPS delivered a damaged package to me so another replacement had to be sent. The 2nd replacement worked and a step by step video was sent to show how to fix it. Great CS.