In March, charging giant Anker announced it would spin out its 3D printer business into an “independent sub-brand,” stating that the new EufyMake would “continue to provide comprehensive customer service and support” for its original 3D printers the AnkerMake M5 and M5C.
Now, the 3D printing community is wondering whether that was all a euphemism for exiting the 3D printer business. eufyMake is no longer selling any 3D printers and has stopped selling some of the parts it would need to provide anything close to “comprehensive support.”
Anker confirms to The Verge that it has stopped selling the M5 and M5C 3D printers indefinitely. Spokesperson Brett White could not confirm that the company will resume selling them or create any future models. He says that “sales have been paused.”
“My understanding is that eufyMake has not ruled out creating new 3D printer models in the future. But the brand has ended sales of the M5 and M5C for the time being,” White tells The Verge.
The 3D printing section of EufyMake’s website is currently empty of printers. The only gadget EufyMake now sells is a UV printer that creates a 3D texture atop flat materials.
To put it mildly, Anker had a rough start in the 3D printer business. It set out to fix big pain points with 3D printing with the original M5, but ran into many issues that I documented in my original review. The M5C was both more affordable and better appreciated by the community but sacrificed features like a dedicated screen. Makers ran into their share of issues with it too.
Now, Redditors are also reporting they can no longer easily obtain the most critical parts for the M5C — the hotend that melts and helps deposit 3D-printed plastic.
“Due to inventory reasons, the M5C hot end has been removed from the official website and is no longer available for purchase,” reads an alleged email from EufyMake support to one Redditor (hit the right arrow twice to see the screenshot):
“So my entire 3D printer is garbage because you stopped supporting it?” the Redditor replied. (Hotends are often one of the first components you replace if or typically when a 3D printer jams.)
Anker also appears to have stopped selling the full extruder assembly for the M5C. I feel for you if you bought one of these printers.
“A portion of the AnkerMake accessories for 3D printers are no longer publicly listed for sale, but customers can always reach out to the customer support team directly by emailing [email protected] if they need any related accessories,” White tells The Verge. He says he’ll look into the specifics of M5C hotend and extruder availability for us.
Anker isn’t the only company that’s had difficulty moving into the next, more consumer-friendly and affordable phase of the 3D printing business. Creality also had a mess on its hands with the K1, a printer designed to compete with the AnkerMake M5, though it recovered from some of its issues by quickly moving to new and improved models.
Today, the friendliest 3D printers I can recommend are the Bambu P1S and P1P, and the Elegoo Centauri Carbon, which doesn’t offer all the same conveniences of Bambu, but meets the P1 series’ print quality, adds a touchscreen, and starts at an incredibly low price of $300. I’ve been testing my own personally owned P1P against Bambu’s flagship H2D and a Centauri Carbon.
While using the Bambu is faster and easier, especially with an AMS attached, I would happily buy the Elegoo if I were more concerned about the Bambu update controversy.