We finally got our hands on the Anycubic Mega-S 3D printer and took it for a spin. Read our Anycubic Mega S review to find out everything you should know about the specs, price, performance, and print quality.
Anycubic Mega S 3D Printer
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The Anycubic Mega S 3D printer is an upgrade of the Anycubic Mega 3D printer. The Mega S has about two to three features that the previous model lacks.
Scope of Delivery
The Anycubic Mega S is shipped in a large box with the main unit at the bottom. The printer comes with the usual components, including a touchscreen, power supply, mainboard, etc. inside the housing. A sturdy frame with large Anycubic lettering houses the two Z-axes.
Other accessories that come in the box include a spatula for removing stubborn print objects, a filament holder for attachment to the right Z-axis, an instruction manual, pliers, tools (Allen, screwdriver), a USB cable, a couple of screws, the power cord and a few feet of PLA filament.
A few surprises are also included in the box. These are a nozzle, a complete print head and a replacement endstop!
Anycubic Mega S Spec
General Specifications
| Technology | FDM |
| Type | Material extrusion |
| Year | 2018 |
| Assembly | Semi-assembled |
| Mechanical arrangement | Cartesian-XZ-Head |
| Manufacturer | Anycubic |
3D Printing Specifications
| Build volume | 210 x 210 x 205 mm (8.3 x 8.3 x 8.1 inches) |
| Layer height | 100 – 400 Microns |
| Feeder system | Bowden drive and geared feeder |
| Extruder type | Single |
| Nozzle size | 0.4 mm |
| Max. extruder temperature | 275 °C |
| Max. heated bed temperature | 100 °C |
| Frame | Aluminum |
| Print chamber | Open, not enclosed |
| Bed leveling | Manual |
| Print bed | Heated bed with Anycubic Ultrabase |
| Display | Full-Color Touch Screen |
| Connectivity | SD, USB cable |
| Built-in camera for monitoring | No |
| Print recovery | Yes |
| Filament sensor | Yes |
| Filameter diameter | 1.75 mm |
| Third party filaments | Yes |
| Materials | ABS, PLA, PETG, TPU, more |
Software Requirements
| Recommended Slicer | Cura |
| Operating systems | Windows, Mac OSX, Linux |
Dimensions & Weight
| Outer dimensions | 410 x 405 x 452 mm (16.14 x 15.94 x 17.83 inches) |
| Weight | 14.5 kg (31.9 lbs) |
Anycubic Mega-S Review
The Anycubic Mega-S is one of the 3D printers under $300.
Assembling the Mega-S takes just a few minutes. Basically, you just have to mount the frame with two screws each on the right and left and insert a couple of plugs, which then connect all the motors and sensors to the electronics in the housing. These plugs are located on the right-hand side behind the Z-axis and are color-coded and of different sizes.
If you are missing one of the connectors, look in the housing on the right Z-axis. This note is even in the instructions. So I guess that this plug has already been searched for or missed by several people.
After screwing everything together, you need to level the printbed. Preheated the printer to PLA temperature and then place a piece of paper underneath. Then, adjust the screws on the heatbed so that the print head just barely scrapes the paper. That is all.
You can then thread the filament through the new filament sensor and start printing.
In the box, you will find an SD card. The card contains instructions and videos for the printer as well as demo models.
Printing with the Anycubic Mega S
The first print on the Anycubic Mega-S was successful. The Ultrabase (printing platform) ensures good adhesion. After leveling, decided to print a couple of FaceShields for the MakerVSVirus campaign .
Except for a few threads on the printing platform, everything went smoothly. I printed with cheap PLA, which had been lying around in my filament box for a while.
Basically nothing bothers me apart from the threads.
After a few FaceShields, I printed the owls. Here, too, you can’t complain.
I took the sliced models and didn’t change anything on the Gcode. Again, everything was fine and only a few threads between the ears when the nozzle had run over empty areas.
However, this can be remedied in a few simple steps in CURA. Take a closer look at Z Hop and Retract and the problem should be history.
Finally, I printed a few other little things, including a toothpick dispenser, on Silky Filament. I was satisfied.
After you have adjusted the speeds, everything works fine. The dark blue Silky filament warped without end. I have only been able to fix this to a limited extent with the usual methods. I didn’t have this problem with either the white or the light blue filament in the test.
So, you can see that sometimes it’s not the printer that has a problem but the filament.
The coated glass plate (Ultrabase) of the Anycubic Mega-S is a great selling point for this printer. The plate holds onto it just fine. At a good temperature, the object holds firmly. If the temperature drops after the pressure, the object often comes off without any aids.
What You Should Know
The Anycubic Mega S 3D printer is generally not the quietest. However, it is also not the loudest. Depending on your skills, you can possibly exchange the drivers to reduce the noise.
The Mega-S’s filament runout sensor is mounted on the side directly after the filament spool. The extruder has also been modified and is now a titanium clone. Printing with flexible filament should no longer be a problem. So far, I have only printed with PLA. Also, the filament holder is attached directly to the printer.
The filament holder is a bit poorly placed on the right side and has to be adjusted so that normal sized spools fit on it. However, this works super easy because only a small placeholder element is printed and screwed in between. All you need is screws a few millimeters longer and the normal filament spools will fit.
However, this does not fix the position of the SD card slot, which is located directly between the housing and the spool holder. You can get it, but the SD slot or holder is definitely not placed in such a smart way.
My display had a bubble but I could still operate the printer well by simply looking at the mainboard etc. However, i found out that the Anycubic logo on the left and the “S” on the right of the touchscreen is a sticker including a transparent film over the front.
I remove the sticker and the bubble was gone.
After removing the sticker, I could see the frame of the touchscreen underneath. But as always, there is already a replacement on Thingiverse.
Modifications and extensions for the Anycubic Mega-S are already available on Thingiverse.com. Something for better cable management, something for the heat bed, the filament holder extension mentioned above, other fan brackets for the mainboard or the drivers and much more.
While the printer cables are all gathered together with spiral hoses and fastened here and there with cable ties, it looks like cable breaks could occur at some of these fastenings over a longer period of time.
The Mega-S uses modern technology that ensures the pressure does not have to go into the bin in the event of a power interruption. After the power supply has been restored, the menu will ask whether printing should be resumed.
The printing platform is an ultrabase plate that consists of glass and a studded coating. These are barely visible and ensure that the printed object is held firmly in place. The plate comes installed with small screweds. There are also metal clips on the aluminum heating plate that prevent it from slipping during printing.
Here is how the inside of the 3D printer looks. The fan is, of course, usually screwed on over the stepper motors.
Anycubic Mega S Alternative
A good alternative to the is the Anycubic Mega-S is the Original Prusa i3 MK3S+. The printer is affordable, produces excellent prints, has high quality components and very few low level factory defects.
Original Prusa i3 MK3s vs Anycubic Mega S Comparison
| Original Prusa i3 MK3S | Anycubic Mega-S | |
| Printing technology | FDM | FDM |
| Material type | ABS, Nylon, PETG, PLA | ABS, PLA, Flex, PETG, etc. |
| Print area size | 250 х 210 х 210 mm | 210 x 210 x 205 mm |
| Number of extruders | one | one |
| Layer thickness | from 50 microns | from 50 microns |
| Heated platform | Yes | Yes |
| Print speed | up to 200 mm/sec | 20-100 mm/sec |
| XY Positioning Accuracy | 0.01mm | 0.0125 mm |
| Z positioning accuracy | 0.0025 mm | 0.002 mm |
| Connection interface | USB, SD card | SD card, data cable |
| The cost | Check Price | Check Price |
Read the full Original Prusa i3 MK3 review.
Conclusion: Is Anycubic Mega-S Worth It?
I like the Anycubic Mega-S very much. It has a small print bed that’s just a little more than 200 x 200 mm. This size is enough for printing most models. If you want to print an Ironman suit, you should go for a large format 3D printer.
The smaller printing platform has its advantages. For example, it heats up much faster. You can put a small insulation mat underneath the print bed to help it retain heat. Doing this will also make the plate heat up even faster. Also, with a smaller print, the forces acting on the printer are not so great. Therefore, you will not have many errors to deal with when problems arise.
The Mega-S printed high-quality models right from the start. Therefore, I would definitely recommend the printer for beginners in terms of price and performance. The large touchscreen ensures easy operation and the print head also offers plenty of space inside.
Repairing the printhead is also easy to repair. You only have to loosen 4 screws to remove half of the housing and reach the small circuit board where the fans are plugged in.
Of course, there are opportunities for improvement in various corners and ends. A quieter fan here, other drivers there, possibly a different filament holder, and lighting on the print head. However, such points can be found on almost every 3D printer.
For the current price of less than $300 (check current price), the Anycubic Mega S is worth the money.
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