The Anycubic Vyper is a 3D printing vehicle that offers significant improvements over the Creality Ender 3. It features an entirely new double-gear extruder, a new 32-bit mainboard, and a set of injection-molded finishes that contain tuning screws to help with belt tension.
Anycubic Vyper review: Design
The Anycubic Vyper is an extremely distinctive-looking 3D printer thanks to its side-mounted spool holder and huge plastic coverings. The Creality CR-6 SE, a printer with a similarly distinctive appearance, has a similar side-mounted spool and strain-gauge automatic bed levelling system. The Vyper’s overall construction quality impressed us, and the injection-molded covers on the motion components feel like they were made of premium plastic. ..
The Neptune 2’s aluminum extrusions give the machine a very tidy and expert appearance. They are unslotted, which gives the machine a very professional appearance.
The Vyper’s dual-geared extruder system is completely enclosed by the clear enclosure fitted to the printer. With an adjustable level of tension, the Bowden system pulls the filament from the spool to the hot end while compensating for material stripping. The in-line design, which flows filament through a run-out sensor and right into the extruder module, is something we enjoy. The printer will immediately halt the construction process if the filament supply runs out so you may reload it. This is a crucial feature for a printer with a high print volume like the Vyper to avoid an unexpected part failure during a lengthy print. ..
The Vyper printer has belt tensioners on the X and Y axes that allow for adjustments without having to completely disassemble the printer. This flexibility is a great touch for a printer designed to be a workhorse, like the Vyper, because the belts can stretch over time. The Vyper has a built-in drawer on the bottom of the printer that allows you to easily find tools you use frequently. We are big fans of this type of storage because it makes finding the right tool quick and easy. For example, having quick access to an Allen key or tweezers can help save a print that is about to fail. ..
Features
The Vyper is a simple to use automatic levelling printer that is prominently displayed on the home page with choices for setting up and preheating your preferred filament. The printer is absolute blessing in contrast to most printers that must be manually calibrated using a sheet of paper and modest, controlled modifications. By choosing “Auto-leveling,” the Vyper will begin the process of precisely locating 16 various areas on the printer bed and establishing light contact with the surface with the nozzle.
This calibration is really helpful, obviating the need for ongoing modifications. The best part is that it works flawlessly. The machine only needed to be levelled once during initial setup, and it kept its calibration until it was transferred to a new place. Even then, we only re-leveled it out of an abundance of caution. Regardless of your level of 3D printing expertise, it’s difficult to overstate how beneficial this is.
The printer is easy to use and has a variety of features that make it a great choice for anyone looking for an affordable 3D printer. It is able to print quickly and with high quality, making it perfect for larger projects. The heated bed is also very easy to clean, making it a great option for those who want to keep their printers clean.
This printer is great for people who want to remove prints quickly from the bed. The spatula that comes with the printer is not very effective at getting the prints off, so you can just use your hands to peel them away. If you want a spatula, you should probably invest in one because it took us only a few uses before we discovered the edge was warping. Although some material does become attached to the surface if the layers are especially thin and this can be difficult to remove, being textured stops things from sliding about mid-print.
Anycubic Vyper review: Software
Anycubic provides the open-source Cura package for software, and it ships it with the Vyper on an SD card. The Vyper was not listed as one of the Anycubic printers supported by Cura at the time we tested it, but there is a workaround. The Anycubic i3 Mega is supported by Cura and can be added, its name changed to Anycubic Vyper from Manage Printers, and its X, Y, and Z (width, depth, and height) values changed to those of the Vyper in the Machine Settings dialogue box.
With Cura, you can load, change (3D object files can be moved, scaled, rotated, mirrored, and added supports), slice (3D object files can be split into layers for printing), and save 3D files.
Draft (300 microns), Normal (200 microns), and High are the resolution options available (100 microns). The Vyper is backed by a 12-month warranty from Anycubic. As is the case with the Vyper, 3D printer warranties are frequently shorter than those for other tech products. Prusa, a rival printer manufacturer, offers more generous two-year warranties on its products.
Calibrating and Leveling
The Anycubic Vyper is a printer that uses automatic bed levelling to ensure perfect prints every time. There are no thumbscrews or pieces of paper needed to calibrate the printer, and the platform on the Vyper is fixed directly to the moving gantry.
The Vyper is a one-button operation that requires no operator involvement at all. This makes it ideal for those who want to level their beds quickly and easily.
The Vyper will automatically level after you press the “Auto-leveling” button. The nozzle will gradually descend and make contact with the bed at each of the 16 places that the Vyper utilizes to calculate the offsets for the build surface at any given point. The auto bed-leveling process only took a few minutes, which impressed us.
We found that the Vyper ran the calibration as needed, and during our extensive testing, we only once ran it. This saved time and stopped the calibration from running unnecessarily.
Performance
The SD card comes with a profile for the Vyper and a version of Ultimaker Cura. The most popular slicing programme is Cura, which converts 3D models into the code needed for printers to construct models by printing layers on top of each other. You can print a preliminary test using the small owl figure that is included as.gcode on the SD card after levelling the bed. Before printing anything that uses a lot of PLA, you can do this to test that everything is functioning as it should. It also uses very little filament. ..
The 3DBenchy, a miniature boat that serves as a 3D printer torture test, was then cut using Cura. The outcome was remarkably clean. With the exception of a small under-extrusion on the horizontal area at the back (which resulted in gaps between the extruded filament), it was one of the best we’ve seen in terms of stringing.
A noticeable z-seam was the only blemish on the print. It is exactly what it sounds like: a vertical line on the print that resembles the point where the sides join, and it is brought on by the nozzle stopping at the same location on each layer. There are several ways to do this, including using Cura’s z-seam option in the Shell settings. It would be great to see Anycubic optimize the Cura profile for this to get the best print quality.
When printing, you can modify the print speed and temperature using the Vyper’s touchscreen. The touchscreen is helpful if you notice a problem in the middle of printing. The lack of information and settings may feel limiting to expert users, but is acceptable for newbies. The auto-resume feature operates as promised, but in order to make use of it, you must print from an SD card and position your model close to the back of the bed.
The Vyper prints quietly, which is a major benefit. The cooling fans, which cool the filament as soon as it is extruded, are the only sounds you’ll hear. This is a crucial point to remember when running longer prints overnight because it won’t interfere with your sleep, even though you won’t want to be in the same room.
Anycubic Vyper review: Price and availability
The AnyCubic Vyper is currently available for pre-order on the AnyCubic website for consumers in the US and EU areas for $299 (about £210/€250/AU$390). Once the initial early bird deal has run out, it will be sold for $359 (about £255, €300, or AU$460), which is the regular price. Although it’s not the cheapest FDM printer available, it’s still a fairly economical choice that makes it accessible to both those looking to purchase their first printer and those looking to replace an older model. ..
This product is more affordable than the Creality CR-6 SE and has more features than the Original Prusa MINI.
Conclusion
The Anycubic Vyper is an improvement over the company’s Mega S printer. Although you will need to adjust a few parameters to enable Cura software to function with the Vyper, its fundamental setup is simple. ..
The Anycubic Vyper is a great option for users who have some 3D printing experience and want to try their hand at larger prints. Despite having printed for easily 1000+ hours, all belts and motors remain in good shape. Only minor adjustments have been required, in addition to the usual nozzle wear and tear. Is the Anycubic Vyper thus worthwhile? Yes, Anycubic has made it simple for anyone to enter the 3D printing industry with excellent prints right out of the box and with little calibration or tweaks. ..
