AnkerMake (United States) - Press Release: This is an update for all our crowdfunding backers. It's been a hectic month for the AnkerMake team. We appreciate your patience, and we're working non-stop to get the M5 3D printer ready for you.

What's the Shipping Plan?

After rounds of evaluations and in-depth discussions with our beta users, we decided to postpone the shipment until early October. That's when all logistics will be finalized. Your 3D printer should arrive sometime in December. Backers who paid for Air Express delivery will receive M5 six weeks earlier.

Please be assured that the materials and components are arriving at our production centers as planned, and we will be ready for mass production soon. However, to give you the best AnkerMake 3D printer possible, we need more time to improve the printing experience.

We share your disappointment in this delay because we want to get M5 in your hands as soon as possible. But we also want your first impressions to be positive with the best-in-class speed, accuracy, and versatility you deserve.

How Will We Use the Extra Time to Enhance the M5 Experience?

This month, the AnkerMake team made several improvements recommended by beta testers, such as adding shortcuts to preheat and reprint. We also upgraded the M5 hardware to improve stability. Our beta testing community has been invaluable in our development of M5, and we're thankful for their ideas and suggestions. While making these changes, we found other opportunities to enhance firmware and software to deliver a more accurate, diverse, and accessible user experience.

Firmware:

Optimization of AI recognition algorithms is needed, to ensure the AI camera responds better to different lighting and filament colors. A small probability of false and missed recognition arose in the beta testing, and we will need more time to test with various conditions, and scale up to more pilot-produced machines before moving into mass production.

App:

We're adding more advanced settings based on suggestions from our beta users, such as adjustments of X/Y/Z axis and printing speed. We're also making upgrades to the app to ensure an equally smooth experience for 3D printer beginners and experts alike.

Slicer:

After looking into the in-depth feedback from beta users, we found that the interface interaction and motion planning algorithm both need to be optimized. Our software designers are making the interface more user-friendly, and our engineers are adjusting the motion planning algorithm to improve printing quality and reduce situations like ringing. Thank you to our beta testers for the recommendations!

What's Next?

Confirm your shipping information:

To date, 91% of M5 backers have submitted their mailing addresses through the Pledge Box survey. The address collection will end on September 9th to give us time to finalize device shipment preparations.

If you miss the window, don't worry, you'll still get your rewards.

Weekly updates on shipping and production:

Starting in September, we will share production and shipping updates in the new blog on the AnkerMake official website. Check it out to stay up to date on shipping and get info on AnkerMake and 3D printing products.

We have more to share:

We can't say everything right now, but we can let you know more materials have arrived and are getting ready for mass production. We can't wait to tell you what's happening next!

As always, thank you again for your patience and support. We wouldn't be here without you!

The AnkerMake Team.