Anycubic Kobra 3 ACE Pro 3D Printer Review – Good multi-material alternative with Klipper or worse copy?

1 - Introduction and technical data 2 - Assembling the printer 3 - Commissioning and first run 4 - Hardware and features 5 - Test prints 6 - Summary and conclusion

Summary and conclusion

I operated the Kobra 3 mostly with firmware version 2.3.3.1, the ACE with version 1.3.80. Shortly before the end of my test period, updates to 2.3.3.2 and 1.3.82 were released, which actually fixed some bugs. I have already removed these in the following collection of anomalies and previously unmentioned points:

• To open the hotend cladding, pressure must be applied to the side at certain points
• The heating bed is quite thin and not insulated
• Placing the ejector on the right-hand side was more practical for me, but can also be a problem
• Account required to make full use of all functions
• Video feed in the slicer sometimes breaks off
• Slicer aligned preferably on X-axis
• There is no “Generic PLA” profile, but there is one for other filaments
• Temperatures in the dashboard are sometimes 1-2°C different to those displayed on the printer itself
• No camera is installed ex works
• Auto-Bed-Leveling is quite slow, but with Auto-Z-Offset by using the Nozzle
• Automatic change when a filament roll runs empty happens without further notice
• The print surface is PEI-coated on both sides, but only one side is printed with the design
• Print bed is easy to position thanks to plastic parts on the back
• There is an automatically starting wizard for loading the filament rolls, but none for rolling back
• The only lighting is an LED on the print head
• The Z-axis is guided on both sides and driven by a motor synchronized via a belt
• Switching the relays in the ACE is sometimes quite loud
• An LED flashes in front of the filament currently in use
• Only being able to connect the ACE cable at the front makes cable management difficult
• No external SD card is required for the firmware update
• Each color change including Prime Tower takes about 1 minute 15 seconds
• An existing update is only displayed when you tap “About Machine” in the settings

The Kobra 3 requires 205 watts for printing with PLA (230/65°C), 29.6 watts in standby mode with the motors switched on and finally 19.9 watts in idle mode. I measured 398 watts at the peak when heating up the nozzle and print bed at the same time. Incidentally, the nozzle reaches the target temperature of 210°C after 1 minute and 29 seconds, while the print bed takes 2 minutes 38 seconds to reach 60°C. The ACE requires between 300-350 watts to heat up and is quite loud at 53.4 dB(A). However, this is hardly noticeable, as the printer itself is even louder when printing at 61.8 dB(A) and is a real noisemaker even when idle at 50.1 dB(A).

So you can probably only close your “peace” with this model after replacing the fan. However, this shows once again why I didn’t quite figure out the Kobra 3 until the end. Because the print bed adhesion is great here.

While nothing worked with the next job. But it doesn’t really work elsewhere either, the start sequence or the underlying macros from Klipper are not really well coordinated. For example, the PLA preheat preset sets the nozzle to 210°C, but then waits for it to cool down to 170°C before starting again. Only to heat up again shortly afterwards.

With the code “NNNDE09061” there is a 25 Euro discount in the German shop of Geekbuying, for the international site it is the code “NNNIT08191”. This is a referral link, but I do not accept any commissions offered by the manufacturer. Neither I nor IgorsLab earn money by using the voucher code provided.

• Geekbuying (Germany)
• Geekbuying (International)

I think where the “inspiration” for many things on this printer came from is quite obvious. Be it the similar design on the print bed, RFID tags in Anycubic filament rolls and compatible reader in the ACE or the in-house STL website MakerOnline. The guidance on metal rolls and rods is great and the Input Shaper is also a modern feature. If only it weren’t for the constant problems with bed adhesion. If you look at the user reports on Reddit, I’m not alone with this problem. Adjusting the Z-offset manually on the printer every time, when the built-in load cell should actually do all the work, quickly becomes as annoying as the fan noise in “idle mode”.

At the time of testing, the Kobra 3 in combination with ACE and using the above-mentioned code is offered for 359 euros, at the same time the “Super Sale 2024” is still running at Geekbuying. Its direct competitor is clearly the Bambu Lab A1 with AMS, currently available for 499 euros. A good third more expensive, but significantly more sophisticated. Although I can see that Anycubic is actively working on the Kobra 3 and that noticeable progress is regularly made via firmware updates, I cannot make any recommendations for improvements that may still be made. The Kobra 3 delivers decent results when it wants to. But there is still a lack of maturity and reliability.

The test sample was provided by Geekbuying without obligation. There was and is no influence on the tests and results. There was also no compensation for expenses and no obligation to publish.