Introducing the Anycubic Kobra 2 Neo: Redefining the budget workhorse?
Competition in the FDM 3D printing space is fierce, especially at the entry level. Introducing the Anycubic Kobra 2 Neo – billed as an upgraded successor to the popular Neo series, promising faster speeds and enhanced features while maintaining its original performance "Suitable for beginners" root. After spending a lot of time promoting this printer, I’m ready to dive into whether it lives up to its name and where it really stands in a crowded market.
Picking up where Neo left off (but better?)
At first glance, the minimalist aesthetic that keeps the Kobra Neo rugged seems unimpressive. The familiar solid metal frame provides exceptional rigidity – a non-negotiable for consistent printing. Digging deeper, however, the Kraken2 board upgrade, which serves as the brains of the printer, marks a significant step forward. This means significantly faster processing, smoother operation, and most importantly, those eye-catching print speeds that Anycubic touts.
Core strengths: Speed, simplicity, solid construction
- Impressive printing speed: Don’t underestimate the sheer utility of increased speed. While purists may prioritize perfection over speed, speeding up functional prints overnight rather than waiting all day is transformative. Testing standard PLA profiles at speeds over 200mm/sec resulted in surprisingly usable prints – noticeably less detailed than slower prints, yes, but structurally sound. Tune it back to a more comfortable 100-150 mm/sec, delivering faster throughput than its predecessor while still delivering strong mass.
- User-friendly focus: The setup is still very streamlined. Leveling is still handled by the excellent LeviQ automatic system. The nozzle contacts the bed across multiple points, and the software handles the compensation. Combined with PEI-coated spring steel printing plates (tested with PLA, PETG, TPU), adhesion is always reliable and easy to remove. Less time calibrating means more time printing—a major win for newbies.
- Reliable Hardware: The direct-drive extruder handles TPU with elegance, which is crucial for fans of flexible materials. Dual Z-axis rods ensure stability even during fast movements, minimizing ghosting artifacts compared to popular single Z-axis setups in the same price range. Heated bed performance is stable and predictable.
The other side: compromises and anomalies
It’s not perfect:
- Speed and accuracy upper limit: Launch speeds close to maximum speed reveal physical challenges. While structurally acceptable, fine details are blurred, surfaces suffer from subtle ringing artifacts, and complex bridging suffers. For miniatures or models where detail is important, prioritizing speed can significantly sacrifice resolution. Achieving really high detail requires a significant reduction in speed – great for quickly prototyping functional parts, but not so much for displaying miniatures.
- Filament path optimization: While using a direct drive extruder can be advantageous for flexible filaments, printing at higher speeds can sometimes introduce convex angle issues, especially in complex geometries. This is not always the case but indicates a potential limitation in extruder motion control when pushing hard. Adjusting linear advance settings is significantly affected by inconsistencies in filament path stiffness and becomes critical to mitigating artifacts at higher speeds. Experienced users find configuring Linear Advance crucial to optimizing printing.
- Fast but clunky software? : While Anycubic’s slicing software has steadily improved, experienced users may quickly migrate to community favorites such as PrusaSlicer or (words)Slicer for finer optimization of slicing control, which is critical for managing fast printing defects. Integrating Kobra 2 Neo into these tools is still possible, but requires more than a pure beginner’s level of configuration knowledge.
Print quality spectrum retention: consistent results?
The overall print quality is as expected given the price range of the RP-FDM printer. At conservative speeds, print sizes are accurate, lines are crisp, and detail potential is evident. The layers bond well unless severe environmental conditions occur, such as drafts or sudden temperature changes. Surface finish lies somewhere between smoothness challenges, which are especially amplified in fast traveling motions where extrusion dynamics change intermittently.
Value proposition reassessment:
So, does the Kobra 2 Neo represent the ultimate value? Without hesitation: yes – especially for:
- **Budget-conscious M
