Ender 3-Like Build

The Anet A8 V2 has had some work done. It’s still a Cartesian-XZ-head printer with a 220 x 220 x 250 mm build volume (just +10 mm on top compared to the A8), but it’s now a familiar Ender 3-like design using V-slot wheels instead of the previous i3-like linear rod assembly that was featured on the A8 and larger A8 Plus.

The A8 Plus did have some nice aluminum extrusions to increase stability, but the V-slots went unused. Anet has done away with this now in favor of the Ender-like V-slot assembly and Bowden over direct extrusion. The frame uses thin rails but, with a build height of just 250 mm, that shouldn’t pose much of an issue. Still — just to be sure — there are some T-brackets on the side of the frame that should help.

32-Bit Mainboard

Something good to see on such a barebones system is the 32-bit mainboard. It’s not exactly surprising, new 3D printers have been rapidly cementing 32-bit as the new standard lately and, since Anet has other systems using a 32-bit board, it’s probably cheaper for it to just use the same supplier anyways. Still, we’re happy to see the new standard become further cemented.

Touchscreen UI

Speaking of playing with fire, putting a touchscreen UI on a system this cheap is just that — except the metaphorical kind (we hope). We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: touchscreens can make or break the experience with a 3D printer.

We’ve all experienced bad touch screens that are unresponsive, victim to excessive phantom taps, or just plain janky. Knobs can be a little tedious but they do the job just fine without risking vastly different experiences based on hardware quality. That said, we found the Anet ET4 touchscreen interface to be responsive, so here’s hoping it’s the same hardware.

Open-Source Firmware

Highly descriptive “Open-Source Firmware”. Previous A8’s used plain Marlin, but it looks like the A8 V2 might be using Anet’s own open-source firmware. The company has been good about releasing its firmware lately but hasn’t added a source for the A8 V2 just yet. That could mean it’s using the standard ET4 firmware, or the company just hasn’t gotten around to it yet.

It’s worth mentioning that, whatever firmware the A8 V2 ships with, Anet has got a lot better at ensuring its printers ship with thermal runaway protection in recent years. The A8 Plus had it enabled, and it was heavily mentioned in materials for their past systems with proprietary firmware like the ET4.

Less Loose Wires

Yes, this is a feature. Kits have come a long way since the original A8 was one of the most accessible boxes of parts around. Most “kits” are now mostly assembled, with clean cable management from the factory. This is the direction the A8 V2 has gone, which will generally improve safety and aesthetics.

No Heated Print Bed

Anet is boldly billing the A8 V2’s lack of a heated print bed as a feature, so why not list it here. In at least one promotional video the company marketed the A8 V2 as “energy saving” due to the lack of a heated print bed. We suppose that’s true, but you could accomplish the same things by, you know, not heating the print bed. Either way, you’ll only be able to print with PLA on this system.

Must-Print Components

Your first jobs with the Anet A8 V2 (if you decide to get one) will be to print the outer cover of the mainboard and the control panel. This is something Anet’s poor quality product page seems to neglect to mention, and the terrible audio in the company’s recent live stream makes it hard to go looking for more information yourself, so it was down to Banggood’s product page to mention this rather important fact.

Power Adapter

Given the lack of a heated print bed, the Anet A8 V2 has lower power requirements than many other systems; so it can use an external power brick instead of a larger power supply. You can consider adapters like this generally safer than a large PSU, which could be nice if the system will be used in education or around beginners, but may not bode well for upgradeability.