Anet N4 3D printer review: a serviceable printer with no pizzazz

Anet N4 hero Source: Windows Fundamental/James Bricknell

DLP printers are becoming and then ubiquitous that it can be difficult for even established companies to distinguish themselves. Anet has been making 3D printers for years now, and its FDM printers are well regarded across the community, merely the company has only recently started to motility into the resin printing space. Anet sent usa an N4 in return for our unbiased opinion and we've been using information technology for a little over a month at present.

Has Anet done enough with its N4 DLP resin printer to show its 3D printing chops and stand out from the crowd?

Level headed

Anet N4

Anet N4 3D printer

$280 at Amazon

Lesser line: The Anet N4 is a competent machine that does everything yous ask information technology to practice. Information technology doesn't wow me or brand me want to blitz out to buy one, particularly with the atrocious homebrew slicer that ships with it.

Pros

Hit blueprint
Excellent bed leveling
Practiced Firmware

Cons

Subpar slicer
Inaccessible ports

What you lot'll love nigh the Anet N4

Castle in the air Source: Windows Central/James Bricknell

One way to evidence your individuality is by irresolute the expect of your printer. Most of the 3D printers that work through DLP are clones of the Epax printer, and because of that, they all use the same design aesthetic. These printers are usually square with a plastic top that yous lift off to access your print. Anet still uses this design language but has changed the shape slightly, making information technology a sort of diamond-shaped. The printer bulges in the center and thins out at the summit and lesser. It looks practiced and stands out on my shelf as something a picayune different.

All of the aluminum parts are of premium quality, and the bed leveling system is excellent. It uses a solid ball inside with a secure locking machinery that allows total move when y'all are leveling your bed. I leveled the machine when I get-go unpacked it and oasis't had to re-level it withal. If yous didn't know, the first layer of any 3D print is the most important, and having a level build platform makes creating that perfect offset layer much more straightforward.

Print quality on the Anet N4 is as practiced as yous would expect it to exist in a DLP resin printer, which is to say fantastic. The level of particular that even the cheapest of these machines tin produce is nothing short of miraculous. The offset test impress I did was a bunny rabbit, which failed because it wasn't hollow, but the castle you can see and the lily both worked beautifully. The Sorceress by Loubie3D shows off some outstanding details — her fingers and garters are uncommonly precipitous — and using the Siraya Tech Blu makes everything expect fifty-fifty meliorate, almost like crystals. I like the print quality and information technology matches perfectly with the printers I accept used in this price range.

The printer's firmware is skilful besides. The LCD has a relatively standard set of controls, but the contrast is high, making navigation much more comfortable. If simply the PC software were equally practiced.

What you lot'll dislike most the Anet N4

Light up your life Source: Windows Central/James Bricknell

While there is a lot of open-source 3D printing software and hardware out there, it seems that every company making these DLP resin printers wants to create its ain slicing software. This baffles me, as it means spending resource on something that could be amend spent on the actual machine. Just permit the software companies sort all that mess out.

The slicer for the Anet N4 is, frankly, awful. It uses a filetype that is unique to the N4 and yet doesn't accept most of the bones controls needed for a resin slicer to exist helpful. Hollowing is hugely important in resin press. It allows you to save on resin and print a lighter, better model. The Anet slicer software doesn't exercise hollowing. If you want to hollow your print, you have to go to an splendid slicer — like Chitubox — hollow the print, so export it back into the Anet slicer. From there, yous can add the supports and effort to impress the model.

It's merely then cumbersome. Chitubox is used by a vast bulk of the resin 3D printing manufacturers, and it doesn't suck. Why not send the squad at Chitubox your settings, or use one of the file extensions that is already built into Chitubox, and save everyone the hassle of using multiple slicers.

Another annoyance, though slightly smaller, is the lack of front-facing ports. I will never empathize why 3D printing companies think that reaching behind a machine full of toxic resin to try and plug in a USB thumb bulldoze is a good thought. Make your power push and USB slot in the front people, make our lives safer.

Should you buy the Anet N4 3D printer?

Dangling castle Source: Windows Key/James Bricknell

The Anet N4 is not a terrible printer, nor is information technology a bully i. Information technology'south merely an okay machine that volition practise the job you want it to practise. The slicer is a pain in the barrel, no question, but the prints that slicer produces are beautiful — similar all resin printers. It's a tough sell to recommend something so ordinary.

I call up my recommendation would come up downwards to price. If you can find it for under $300, then it's worth picking up, but expect effectually get-go. You may find a printer that uses Chitubox for the aforementioned price, and that's worth its weight in gilt.

Level headed

Anet N4

Anet N4 3D printer

Nothing to write home about

The Anet N4 is a perfectly serviceable printer. If you can get information technology at a reasonable cost, its worth having, specially if they can set up the slicer problems.

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