Anker Abandons 3D Printing to Focus on the eufyMake E1 UV Printer

When I reviewed the eufyMake E1 UV printer, I was upfront about my concerns related to Anker’s history with their AnkerMake 3D printing endeavors. And many, many people responded with similar concerns. In particular, many people brought up AnkerMake’s questionable support of the M5 and M5C 3D printers — less than three years after the M5 reached backer hands. Now, thanks to reporting by Sean Hollister of The Verge, we have some more information about the future of Anker’s 3D printing business and support for existing M5/M5C owners.

One consistent complaint I’ve heard, which Hollister corroborates, is a lack of available replacement parts for M5 and M5C 3D printers. In an ideal world, a 3D printer wouldn’t ever need new parts, aside from those intended to wear (which should be universal when possible). But the M5C is notorious for hot end failures and owners were sounding the alarm about replacement availability even before the eufyMake E1 campaign launched. Now the situation looks even more dire.

If you aren’t aware, AnkerMake was Anker’s 3D printer brand. For some reason — possibly PR or maybe even because of legal issues (rumors abound) — Anker abandoned the AnkerMake brand and created the new eufyMake brand for their E1 UV printer. I’m actually a big fan of the E1, but many AnkerMake 3D printer owners have been left feeling abandoned.

It certainly doesn’t help that Anker seems to slowly erasing AnkerMake from the internet. As of this writing, ankermake.com redirects to eufymake.com. That website does still have a support section for the M5 and M5C, as well as store with many replacement parts. But there are some very glaring omissions, such as replacement M5C hot ends.

Anker spokesperson Brett White told Hollister that owners can contact support via email when they need those parts, but it isn’t actually clear if support will be able to provide them or not. Anecdotally, M5C owners have told me that they didn’t have any luck when they tried that route.

Even backing away from anecdotes and speculation, we do know that that Anker/AnkerMake/eufyMake is no longer selling any 3D printers. White said that future releases of new 3D printer models are possible, but that “the brand has ended sales of the M5 and M5C for the time being.”

This does, of course, elicit apprehension in people considering a eufyMake E1 purchase. Kickstarter backers are just about to start receiving their E1 printers and many others are eagerly awaiting feedback from those backers before making a purchase decision.

But UV printers are infamous for their high maintenance needs and potential for printhead clogs. Through my testing over the past four months, I’ve found that to hold true for the eufyMake E1. Considering the high cost of the E1 (compared to the M5 and M5C), the possibility that eufyMake may abandon support in the years to come is a real concern.