{"id":5173,"date":"2024-01-24T00:54:47","date_gmt":"2024-01-23T23:54:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pevly.com\/?p=5173---8a08161c-b3cc-4a77-b324-bee862a69c88"},"modified":"2024-03-09T10:57:48","modified_gmt":"2024-03-09T09:57:48","slug":"anet-a6-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pevly.com\/anet-a6-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Anet A6 Review \u2013 Detailed look at cheap 3D printer"},"content":{"rendered":"

I was introduced to 3D printing 3 years ago at work. They have a 3D printer which cost over $60,000. I was in awe and figured I would never get the chance to own one myself. Then last year I decided to do some research into 3D printing. To my surprise there was actual 3D printers almost within reach of my $500 budget. Those printers were the Anet series printers<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What can you do with a 3D printer? Well the common thought is they are only good for printing trinkets and not much else. I’m here to say that is not true. They are useful for printing things from household items like replacement knobs to educational props and even custom and affordable prosthetic for amputees.<\/p>\n

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What did I want one for? I wanted one for printing cosplay props and costumes and yes – trinkets and toys. So after talking my wife into getting one for the house, I decided to choose the Anet A8 <\/a>which was the cheapest printer at the time. It’s cheap because it is a kit and you need to assemble it yourself. After using the A8 for a while and learning a lot, I was asked if I would like to review the Anet A6.<\/strong> The A6 is the bigger brother to the A8. And of course I said yes.<\/p>\n

The Anet A6 is an entry level I3 style 3D printer kit the user needs to assemble.<\/p>\n

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The Anet A6 is not for everyone. Users who want a printer you buy and start printing right out of the box will not want the A6 or any kind of a kit printer. But kit printers are great for people to learn the inner workings of the printer. This is a good thing because when something goes wrong, and something always does, even on a printer already built, the user will have a better understanding on how to fix it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kit printers can print nice prints right from the start however. I printed this awesome dragon head with no modifications at all.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Yes prebuilt printers have a warranty but they don’t last forever. The Anet printers have a couple of great Facebook groups<\/a> that are filled with users that will assist you through almost every issue you may run into. I know this as I am a part of those groups and I like to help when I can.<\/p>\n

The box full of pieces look intimidating when you first open it but don’t fret.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\"\"The kit includes all the tools needed as well as an SD card with the test prints and documentation needed to get your A6 up and running.\u00a0 The SD card also has the free slicer software with profiles for the printer.<\/p>\n

Although I would download the newest versions from the company offering that software (Usually Cura<\/a>). As mentioned above the people on the Facebook groups are happy to help with the build and give you advice if you are unsure of any part of the build and as it’s worldwide there is usually someone there available to help you out.<\/p>\n

So what is 3D printing?<\/strong> Well 3D printing is like 2D printing (on paper) only it puts melted plastic down line by line and layer on top of layer. As one layer cools the next layer is being lay-ed down. This is the most common style of 3D printing (Fused deposition modeling (FDM<\/a>)) but there are other ways that we won\u2019t get into during this review. If you want to know look up SLA <\/a>and DLP <\/a>printing.<\/p>\n

In FDM<\/strong> printing the plastic is fed into a heated tip at 1.75mm and 3mm diameter strips rolled onto spools. It works the same way a hot glue-gun works. The printer prints models people create one of a a couple ways. The first being CAD <\/a>(computer-aided design) software. They are very intimidating to look at and some are very expensive to buy. But there are good free programs like Googles Sketchup <\/a>to Autodesk 123D <\/a>that have a lot of free online training from sites like YouTube.<\/p>\n

Another way is to scan objects into the computer with scanning<\/strong> tools. Scanners range in prices from professional ones that cost thousands to Open source community driven ones that use scanners like the Xbox\/Windows Kanect. There are also ways to do it with series of images at different angles. I have tried it with the Kinect and it’s very cool.<\/p>\n

There are a lot of sources online for models to print. Basically you download (create) 3D models in .stl file format then slice it into layers and .gcode file format that your printer understands. Places like MyMiniFactory <\/a>and Thingyverse<\/a>. That’s all find and dandy, but what if you need something not in one of the usual places?<\/p>\n

Well there are great applications to build 3D models that are not hard to learn, such as Fusion 360 and 123D design and even an online tool called\u00a0 Thinkercad <\/a>that is beginner friendly. Any of those tools has many easy to follow tutorials on Youtube. I have been having fun learning Fusion 360<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Anet A6 Specifications<\/h2>\n

[go_pricing id=”anet_a6″]<\/p>\n

The A6 has pretty good specifications for a cheaper 3D printer. It is more than enough for the average user.<\/p>\n

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Assembling Anet A6<\/h2>\n

The A6 took me about 5 hours to build. One of those hours was removing the protective paper from the acrylic pieces. Some people just leave it on, but I think it’s more aesthetically pleasing without it. Some even build the printer with it on then remove it after it’s together. I don’t think that is an advantage either. What I will say is that I found removing it all at once as apposed to removing it as you build did seem faster. I took them off as I went with the A8 and it seemed longer to me. As mentioned above I had no washers with this printer. That wasn’t a problem as I had my own and most places I find leaving them out gives a snuff fit.<\/p>\n

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One thing you don’t want to do is over tighten the screws holding acrylic pieces. To much force will snap the part in two. It was a pit faster for me then the average person as I have done this before. As long as you follow the videos and\/or the guides you shouldn’t have any trouble assembling the printer. It’s basically turning screws.<\/p>\n

A good thing to do first is to connect all the electronics and test them<\/a> before you start the build. It will save you hours if there is a problem with say the power supply or motherboard. Just be careful not to heat the hotend past 70 when testing. 40-50 should be enough to know if it works correctly. Same goes for the bed. Put them on something that can handle heat as well. Most people skip this step, it’s up to you.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Fully assembled Anet A6<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Here are the videos<\/strong> you’ll need to assemble your A6<\/strong>. If you’re having trouble understanding some part of the video, take a look at PDF manual which you can find on an SD card.<\/p>\n