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🔗 Order the Anycubic Kobra 3 Max here: https://geni.us/AnycubicKobra3
💸 Use code FAUXHAMMER at store.anycubic.com for $25 off!
🛒 Amazon Link: https://geni.us/AnycubicKobra3Amazon
If you're hunting for a massive FDM 3D printer that can handle everything from helmet-sized cosplay props to terrain for tabletop wargames, the Anycubic Kobra 3 Max might just be your next machine. With a colossal 420×420×500mm build volume, it's one of the biggest consumer-grade desktop 3D printers you can buy right now—perfect for printing big, bold, and sometimes ridiculous projects.
In this review, I dive deep into the quirks, features, and frustrations of this large-format 3D printer, including setup, slicer support, nozzle compatibility, and how it stacks up against other budget large-scale printers in 2025. Whether you're into cosplay armor, massive display models, home decor, or just want a cheap 3D printer that prints big, this one's got your attention.
Yes, it's janky. Yes, it’s still an Anycubic. But for the price? It’s kind of amazing.
🔥 Want to print big cosplay hammers? Large helmets? Giant planters? This thing is built for it.
💥 Whether you're printing functional parts, large miniatures, or just love big print volume, the Kobra 3 Max delivers a ridiculous amount of space at a very reasonable price.
🧵 Covered in this video:
-Kobra 3 Max Assembly Experience
-Multi-material printing with the ACE unit
-Print quality at large scale
-Real-world print examples (like a 6ft faux hammer head!)
-Problems you will encounter—and how to survive them
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0:00
So, here's the thing. Any cubic are
0:02
perpetually the underdog in the mid-tier
0:04
3D printing world. You know it. I know
0:07
it. I'm sure to a degree even they know
0:09
it. Their machines are usually cheap,
0:11
sometimes cheerful, often unfinished,
0:13
but every now and then they drop
0:15
something that punches well above its
0:17
weight. Like for example, the M7 Max,
0:20
which caught more than a few people off
0:22
guard, me included. Do more like that,
0:24
please. Any cubic. But for now, this
0:27
this absolute unit of a printer is the
0:30
Cobra 3 Max. It's not perfect. Hell,
0:33
it's not even that wellmade, and the
0:36
support around it is limited. This is
0:38
still any cubic after all. But I've got
0:41
to be honest, it's unashamedly fun. Hi,
0:45
I'm Ross and this is Fauxhammer Videos.
0:48
So, let's start with the hardware setup.
0:49
This is far less unbox
0:53
your own robot overlord. This thing
0:55
ships flatpacked and the printer base
0:57
comes bolted to the frame for shipping.
0:59
Now, I respect the effort there. Any
1:01
cubic must have already lost enough
1:02
machines to UPS that now they ship them
1:05
more like industrial equipment. You
1:07
unbolt the base, attach the gantry,
1:09
connect the screen, route a spaghetti
1:11
mess of cables, and then the best bit,
1:13
install the massive stabilizing struts
1:15
at the back. Literally scaffolding for
1:18
the printer. Now, it's more involved
1:20
than most machines, sure, but nothing
1:22
you can't handle unless you lose screws
1:24
easily, in which case get yourself a
1:26
magnet or a therapist. The manual's
1:28
decent, and for any cubic standards,
1:30
practically Shakespeare. One minor
1:32
quirk, and this is a small one, is
1:34
unlike the smaller Cobra 3 where the
1:36
hotend holds itself in place by two
1:38
screws while you secure the others, this
1:41
one actually requires you to hold it in
1:43
place with one hand whilst balancing a
1:45
bolt on the tip of a driver with the
1:46
other. It's awkward. It's fiddly, but
1:49
it's not impossible, just mildly
1:51
irritating. And you only have to do this
1:53
once initially. Now, the one thing I
1:56
noticed is the little plastic filament
1:57
boot used to fling filament off the side
1:59
of the machine during material changes
2:02
actually comes inside the AC box when
2:04
you get the combo. So, if you didn't buy
2:06
the combo, is it a case of no boot for
2:09
you? Because it looks that way on the
2:10
product page. And it's not just that.
2:12
The filament cutter also comes in the AC
2:14
box, too. Again, not with the Solo
2:17
printer. Now, I understand these aren't
2:20
necessary without a multimaterial unit,
2:22
but they are still handy, and I just
2:24
don't understand why any Cubic would
2:26
separate these. If you do buy the
2:28
printer solo and later decide to upgrade
2:30
to have an AC, you need to know that you
2:33
also need the purge wiper and the
2:35
filament cutter. And as of right now, 6
2:38
months after release, the purge wiper
2:40
isn't available from any cubic for the
2:42
Cobra 3 Max, and it's not the same one
2:45
used on the normal Cobra 3. But once you
2:47
passed all the building, you just boot
2:49
it up, and it does its usual setup
2:51
routine, whiz, flashy logo. It's about
2:54
that dramatic. It runs you through the
2:56
out of-box setup automatically, and then
2:58
you're ready to print. Now, look, I love
3:01
underdogs, but let's not lie to
3:02
ourselves. Any cubic machines feel like
3:05
prototypes that accidentally made it to
3:07
retail. And they're not the only brand.
3:09
This is what we come to expect with most
3:11
brands in the mid tier. The plastics are
3:14
okay, the metal bits are mostly
3:16
straight, and the touchcreen works like
3:18
a touchcreen. What you won't get here is
3:21
the highest tech, most well-built
3:23
product. What you will get is size and
3:26
lots of it. The build volume is 420x420x
3:30
500 mm. That's half a meter tall. It's
3:33
the kind of size that gets a lot of
3:35
people excited, but please, if you buy
3:36
it, just understand when you go in, it
3:39
needs just under a meter of clearance on
3:41
your workbench depth for the bed to
3:43
actually move forwards and backwards.
3:45
This isn't as much a printer as it is a
3:47
space commitment. So, unless you already
3:49
know your workbench is the size of a
3:51
dining table, measure twice, cry once.
3:54
Now, I need to mention the live view
3:56
camera, which is an add-on that comes
3:58
separately, and you need to print the
4:00
case for it, just like the other Cobra
4:01
3s. I took mine off my Cobra 3 V2. Now,
4:05
the Slicer supports it, and you can see
4:07
video, but the phone app only pretends
4:10
to support it because I've never had a
4:12
connection yet. And like every other
4:14
Cobra 3 printer I've tested with this
4:16
optional feature, still couldn't get
4:18
time-lapses to work. So, I guess if
4:20
you're into disappointment, 10 out of
4:22
10. highly recommend this add-on. Now,
4:24
the UI is functional. It's super basic,
4:27
but just like I'm described by many of
4:29
my current and past lovers, it'll get
4:32
you there eventually, but there's no wow
4:34
options. It's got filament management
4:36
for what's loaded in the AC. That's
4:38
there, but still, look, there's just no
4:40
real innovation. If you're new to this
4:42
brand, well, it's commonly known that
4:44
you don't buy any Cubic for the latest
4:46
features. You buy it because it's big,
4:48
it's affordable, and probably because it
4:50
was in a killer sale, but mostly because
4:52
maybe you've never had one before, or
4:53
you're just optimistic enough to think
4:55
that this time any cubic have nailed it.
4:58
Look, it's an any cubic machine like
5:00
every other any cubic machine. So, why
5:03
would you buy this? Well, because it's
5:05
massive. That's the reason. Full stop.
5:08
End of. It's huge. If you want to print
5:11
helmets or even larger cosplay props or
5:14
decorative planters so large that they
5:16
require a postcode, this is for you.
5:19
Now, if you pair it with the AC, good
5:21
news. It works mostly. It can change
5:24
colors mid-print. It can switch between
5:25
two spools when one runs out, usually
5:29
seamlessly, except for one time in my
5:31
case where it purged about 20 times
5:33
right as it had ended a print. No idea
5:36
why it did that. Also, you know how the
5:38
AC heats your filament and the point of
5:40
that is to keep it dry? Yeah, I
5:42
mentioned this in my Cobra 3 V2 video
5:45
and now I've tested it a lot more
5:46
thoroughly. I stuck a hydrometer inside
5:48
and ran it for 12 hours overnight twice.
5:52
And once again, the humidity barely
5:54
changed because it turns out when you
5:56
heat filament in a sealed box with no
5:58
air flow, all you're doing is steaming
6:00
it gently like some sad plastic bow bun.
6:03
And I've also had some issues with
6:04
nozzle clogging. Not mid-print
6:07
thankfully, at least not yet. But almost
6:09
every time I went to start a new print,
6:11
it threw up an error saying unknown
6:13
filament in extruder. And then I had to
6:15
manually remove and clear the nozzle
6:17
every time. I guess at least the quick
6:19
release system makes that easier. But
6:22
once again, this printer uses a
6:23
completely different nozzle to every
6:25
other any cubic machine. No crossco
6:27
compatibility, no ecosystem logic, no
6:30
logic at all. Again, these are the
6:33
things we've just come to expect. I
6:35
didn't say accept cuz this is
6:37
frustrating especially when we've just
6:39
had the Cobra 3 V2 and that was upgraded
6:42
to match the S1 nozzle and shared
6:44
components are good because it means
6:46
more things are available and it shows
6:48
the brand has confidence in its design.
6:51
Here with the Max, you're locked into a
6:53
very niche nozzle. And 6 months after
6:55
launch, there's still no sign of a 6 or8
6:58
option. On a machine this size, they
7:01
should have been standard from day one.
7:03
And I don't know if we'll ever get them
7:04
at all. But here's where the things get
7:06
really spicy. Nah, it's another bait and
7:09
switch. Despite all of this, when it
7:12
prints, it prints well. And it it I love
7:15
it. I printed a scaled up eternal forge
7:17
hammer at 260%
7:20
because that was the max size that this
7:22
volume of printer could handle and it
7:24
took nearly a week. It's a hollow model.
7:26
It used lightning infill. It has two
7:28
walls only and used zero supports. And
7:31
honestly, where I'm impressed is it
7:33
actually worked. Now, I've got to be
7:35
honest, the handle or most of the handle
7:37
was printed elsewhere for speed of
7:39
getting this video done, but the hammer
7:41
head and the first part of the neck, all
7:43
on the Cobra 3 Max. And when I posted
7:46
this online, some people thought I just
7:47
scaled it up in Photoshop, but as you
7:50
can see now, it isn't. I mean, it's
7:52
already me faux hammer holding a faux
7:54
hammer, but I'm not going to go so crazy
7:56
as to post a picture of faux hammer
7:58
holding a faux faux hammer. Try saying
8:00
that 10 times fast. I've got the luxury
8:02
of editing. You only heard the best
8:04
take. But yeah, this printed. Now, I did
8:07
notice as it printed higher and higher,
8:09
we did get some minor surface issues
8:11
show up. But again, this is a
8:13
bedslinger. Throwing a very thinwalled
8:15
print back and forth. The fact that this
8:17
print was able to succeed with lightning
8:19
infill should say it's more than decent
8:22
enough. And you'll probably notice there
8:24
is a lot of stringing, too. But this is
8:25
actually all internal on the part.
8:28
There's no strings between the parts,
8:30
which I've got to be honest, that's
8:31
absolutely fine. And I'm I'm genuinely
8:34
shocked by this. I love this. This was
8:36
so successful. In fact, it's now going
8:38
to make an unsolicited gift for someone
8:40
who never asked. Sorry, Element Games. I
8:43
think the thing is most printers I've
8:44
had absolutely sucked. They're heavy,
8:47
slow, glitchy, or just don't work well
8:49
out of the box, and the last ones I had,
8:51
they kind of came out during the big C
8:53
change we had in the last couple of
8:55
years in the FDM space, so they were
8:57
already outdated on release. This one,
9:00
it's actually quite delightful. Just
9:02
don't expect it to evolve much. Here's
9:05
the summary for those who skip to the
9:06
end. Is it janky? Yes. Is it cheaply
9:09
built? Also, yes. Will the software
9:11
irritate you? Probably. But can it print
9:15
enormous cosplay props, terrain, home
9:17
decor, or parts for ridiculous hammer
9:19
builds? Absolutely. And for the price,
9:22
it's insanely capable. So, whilst this
9:24
is still very much an any cubic, it's
9:27
peak any cubic. All guts, no polish, but
9:30
somehow lovable. Do you already have
9:32
one? Are you thinking about getting one?
9:34
If you do, I'd appreciate you using my
9:36
affiliate link in the description before
9:38
your purchase. That's how I fund this
9:39
channel. I make a commission at no cost
9:41
to you. But even if you don't have one
9:44
and have no plans to get one, let me ask
9:46
you all, what is the first stupidly big
9:48
thing you'd print if you had a halfme
9:50
cube build volume? Let me know in the
9:53
comments. That might be a precursor for
9:55
a future video. Uh, don't forget to
9:57
click like. Nobody clicks like. Nobody
9:59
comments when they should. All of those
10:00
things massively help the channel. I
10:02
want to say thanks for watching with a
10:03
huge thanks to our members on screen
10:05
now. They all get access to Discord
10:07
rolls, early access, and exclusive
10:09
videos. So, sign up if you're into that
10:11
sort of thing. I want to say thanks
10:13
again for watching. Thanks for sticking
10:14
around. Click like, leave a comment.
10:16
Again, that matters more than anything
10:18
else. Until next time, I'm not even
10:21
supposed to be here today. Faux hammer
10:24
out.
10:29
[Music]