The AnkerMake M5C is an understated high performer, producing quality prints comparable to those made by much more expensive machines. It lacks some fun and flashy components like a camera and a display screen, but our team found it quite easy to set up and appreciated its simplicity, especially when testing out new print designs.
It should go without saying that print quality is more important than any other metric when evaluating a 3D printer, and we've weighted it accordingly at 40% of the overall final score. The M5C sits near the top of our tested lineup — notable, given its relatively affordable price point.
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Thankfully there's not much to complain about here. We're reduced to nitpicking the finer details, so keep that in mind as you read through these supposed “cons”. Out of the box and using as close to the 'standard' settings as we could, we do notice some slight waves and noticeable build lines on flat surfaces among our test prints. Strangely too, in our Vase test (a single-width wall, printed in a continuous spiral) we noticed that there was a slightly inconsistent thickness throughout.
In contrast, the M5C performed spectacularly on our Z-tower and Bridging and Overhang tests. Surfaces were nearly flawless, with wobble practically non-existent, and the corners were relatively sharp, with only the occasional bulge. We noticed excellent results up to a 60-degree overhang, where most printers start having trouble in the 40-50deg. range. Bridging up to 40mm was also impressive, and only then did we see some layer separation.
Several tests designed to assess dimensional accuracy (such as a simple hole designed to fit a Nickel) and double-check clearances showed similarly reliable results. Our little articulated T-rex practically fell off the print bed, for example, and wiggled away without issue, which is oh-so-satisfying.
Our support-test-specific print was perhaps most impressive, though, as it pulled away with minimal effort. This is the bane of many a 3D print enthusiast, so this specific test was an important data point in the respectable score given here. Our tester notes, however, “I had to do some minor cleanup on the surface areas where the supports were removed.”
Ease of use is where the many products in the AnkerMake lineup really shine, and the M5C is among the easiest-to-use options that we have tested. If anyone remembers the early days of hobbyist-level printers (circa 2012), you will appreciate the improvement in this area. To put it lightly, it was a constant struggle to keep those things in working order. I myself, your humble author, spent untold hours tearing down and rebuilding his studio's dual Makerbots to the point of questioning my sanity. Luckily, those days are long in the past.
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Setup time out of the box is a mere 14 minutes, and most of that is running through the software and app installation. The printer itself builds so fast you can start and finish it at lunch, between bites of your tuna melt sandwich. The gantry arrives in one piece and secures to the base with a couple of screws. Same story with the filament roll arm. No tensioning of belts or other fiddling around is needed. The unit even has a sweet auto-bed leveling feature.
We will note that the firmware installation update during the initial setup tended to stall, and we ended up having to reset the unit a few times for it to finally take. The app interface also didn't immediately listen when we asked it to load filament for the first time, but after these initial hiccups, we found the M5C worked smoothly throughout our many test prints.
One major thing to note is that there is no touch screen built into the unit itself (unlike its big brother, the Ankermake M5, which does feature a touch screen.) This helps keep costs down for one but also gives the M5C a more streamlined and elegant look in comparison to other printers. Think of the original iPod with its single center button and scroll wheel versus the other MP3 players of the day with their button-heavy interface. However, this also means that you'll need to run prints through a phone app, via a thumb drive, or directly through the proprietary slicing software called AnkerMake Studio.
The only interface on the printer itself is a 'customizable one-click button', which might be useful, we guess. It can be set to perform a limited number of functions, such as pausing and resuming the print, performing the auto-bed leveling procedure, or reprinting the last run file. All of this and more is also doable through the app or software, of course.
Moving on from the touch screen and into the nuts and bolts of printing, the M5C comes with some decent hardware specs and capabilities. To kick things off, an advertised 220mm × 220mm × 250mm build volume (738 cubic inches) theoretically puts this guy near the upper end of our tested lineup.
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In practice, we couldn't get the printer to prove that it's actually capable of hitting the limits, though. The slicer wouldn't let us go more than 205mm in either X or Y dimensions, cutting us short at dimensions 13% smaller than advertised. This was disappointing (and the fact there is no on-board camera to track or film time lapses…), but we were happy to see improvement in other metrics from here.
The removable print bed (advertised as a 'PEI Soft Magnetic Plate') is textured to enhance adhesion, but our tester was pleased, saying, “I was able to remove prints flawlessly each and every time. Can't beat that.” However, the best feature, in our opinion, is the hotend — this extruder means business. To start, it sports an all-metal build with a huge aluminum heat sink, which means it has a top advertised extruder temperature of 300C. Most of our tested lineup tops out 10-20deg. lower than that, which limits certain types of specialty filaments that can be used, such as the silky smooth carbon fiber-infused PETG-CF, which the M5C is capable of. Beyond that, the blistering extrusion flow speed of 35mm³/s handily beats its big brother M5 sitting at 24mm³/s. Our test Benchy printed in just 36 minutes.
AnkerMake is somewhat new to the 3D printer market; the brand was born in 2020 as a division of the larger Chinese electronics device maker Anker Innovations, and their first 3D printer product launched in 2022. We admit we were skeptical of their customer support after reading about some poor experiences online in the beginning, but they've seemed to largely have turned a new page; our personal experiences with them have been good to great.
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Tech Gear Lab is based in the US, and we're used to our support claims with Chinese-based companies going through email exclusively, with a day between messages due to the time difference. AnkerMake has recently launched a US-based support team, which made quick and/or real-time troubleshooting possible. In our experience (calling in about the firmware issues mentioned above), we had to leave a call-back number but did receive a return call within about 30 minutes.
The manual was simple but detailed, and we think it is enough for most users to get started. Additionally, at the time of publishing, a set of 12 videos are also included on their online support page for the M5C covering setup, adjustments, and replacements one may need. A 1-year warranty for the printer itself is included with purchase, in addition to a 30-day money-back guarantee for any reason. All-in-all we're very happy with the effort made by AnkerMake on this front.
Bottom Line, the M5C is one of our favorite tested printers. There's not a single significant weak spot that would prevent us from recommending it to any and all hobbyists and 3D print enthusiasts alike. Solidly middle-of-the-road on affordability, we feel it returns some respectable value: it is a fairly polished product without a lot of bells a whistles. Purchase it for reliability and ease of use without any of the hassle.
The M5C is perhaps the less flashy step-sibling to the slightly larger AnkerMake M5, and both machines are quite similar. But overall, we do give a slight edge to the M5 for first-time users (despite the higher price tag) due to features like an included touchscreen. For overall excellence, however, not many can hold a flame to the stellar Bambu Lab P1p or A1 Mini, especially for those who want to dive into multi-color FDM printing. If FDM isn't your thing though, and you desire the finest of detailed prints, we like Anycubic for their resin printer offerings, such as the Anycubic Photon Mono 2.
