3D Printing InfoPrinter comparison
Anycubic Kobra 2 Plus vs Formlabs Form 4
Compare hardware, build volume, printing specifications, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
Open these two in the interactive comparisonMore Anycubic Kobra 2 Plus comparisonsMore Formlabs Form 4 comparisons
| Property | Anycubic Kobra 2 PlusBEDSLINGER | Formlabs Form 4RESIN |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | ||
| Brand | Anycubic | Formlabs |
| Class | BEDSLINGER | RESIN |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Manufacturer & exact marketed model name (verify the exact product identity first) | Anycubic Kobra 2 Plus[1] | Formlabs Form 4 3D Printer[2][3] |
| Release date (announcement and actual shipping) | Listed on the Anycubic store from 31 August 2023 (Shopify publish date)[1] | Not documented |
| Street price (USD; dated snapshot per entry) | $549.00 on store.anycubic.com, Aug 2026 (the compare-at price of $544.00 is lower than the sale price, which is a store data error rather than a discount)[1] | Starting at $2,625.00 at GoEngineer, in stock, checked Aug 2026. Formlabs sells the printer as part of packages (Form 4 Complete Package etc.), so package prices are much higher than the printer-only figure[3] |
| Variants & sibling models — and how to tell them apart (spec-contamination risk) | Large Kobra 2. Against the small Kobra 2 machines: 320 x 320 x 400 mm build, 13 kg, dual-motor dual Z, 49-point LeviQ 2.0, 8 GB on-board storage and Anycubic APP support - but the bed ceiling drops from 110 C to 90 C, which matters for ABS and ASA. Anycubic's own comparison on the same page is against the older Kobra Plus (350 x 200 x 200 mm, Bowden, 180 mm/s), not against the Kobra 2[1][4][5] | Three machines share this platform and are constantly conflated. Form 4: 200 x 125 x 210 mm, 50 um pixels, 18.3 kg, 480 W, one resin cartridge, NOT biocompatible. Form 4B: identical hardware but validated for 38 Formlabs materials including 15 biocompatible. Form 4L: 353 x 196 x 350 mm, 46 um pixels, 58.5 kg, 900 W, two cartridges[2] |
| Physical & Frame | ||
| Build volume X×Y×Z (mm) — advertised vs actually usable | 400 x 320 x 320 mm stated HWD, i.e. 320 x 320 x 400 mm; Anycubic quotes 40.9 L[1] | 200 x 125 x 210 mm (Formlabs quotes 5.25 litres)[2][3] |
| Machine footprint (mm) & clearance needed (cable/spool overhang) | 630 x 605 x 564 mm stated HWD - footprint about 605 x 564 mm[1] | 398 x 367 x 554 mm[2][3] |
| Net weight (kg) | 13 kg[1] | 18.3 kg[2][3] |
| Enclosure: open / enclosed; panel material; door/lid | Open frame, no enclosure[1] | Enclosed cabinet with a hinged UV-blocking cover. Operating temperature 18-28 C[2] |
| Kinematics & Motion Hardware | ||
| Kinematics (bedslinger i3 / CoreXY / other) | Cartesian bed-slinger with double metal spindles on X and Y and included belt tensioners[1] | Masked stereolithography (MSLA). Formlabs brands the engine Low Force Display; straight-lift peel[2][3] |
| Z-axis: leadscrew count & type, sync mechanism, anti-backlash | Dual-motor dual Z axis[1] | Not documented |
| Speed & Acceleration | ||
| Max print speed (claimed, mm/s) | 500 mm/s maximum print speed (Anycubic Lab figure)[1] | Not documented |
| Recommended/typical print speed | 300 mm/s typical print speed (manufacturer figure)[1] | Not documented |
| Vibration Compensation / Input Shaping | ||
| Input shaping supported? Implementation (Klipper IS / Marlin ZV / proprietary) | One-click vibration compensation on X/Y plus flow control[1] | Not documented |
| Extruder | ||
| Type (direct drive / bowden) & design name | Direct extruder with double gears[1] | Not documented |
| Hotend & Nozzle | ||
| Max nozzle temp claimed AND firmware max temp limit (both values) | 260 C nozzle temperature ceiling; 0.4 mm replaceable nozzle[1] | Not documented |
| Heated Bed & Surface | ||
| Max bed temp claimed AND firmware limit | 90 C hotbed temperature ceiling - lower than the 110 C of the small Kobra 2 machines[1][4] | Not documented |
| Bed surface (material, texture, coating), single/double-sided | PEI magnetic spring steel plate, 320 x 320 mm[1] | Not documented |
| Leveling & Z-Offset | ||
| Auto bed leveling: probe technology (inductive / strain gauge / load cell / touch probe) | Anycubic LeviQ 2.0 automatic levelling, 49-point, with smart Z-offset[1] | Not documented |
| Filament Handling & Detection | ||
| Filament runout sensor (type, location) | Filament detection fitted as default[1] | Not documented |
| Electronics & Power | ||
| Host computer (SoC, RAM, storage) if firmware runs on embedded Linux | Cortex-A7 1.2 GHz processor; 8 GB built-in storage[1] | Not documented |
| Input voltage (110/220 V, switch or auto) | Not documented | 100-240 VAC, 4.8 A, 50/60 Hz, 480 W[2] |
| Total rated power draw | Not documented | 480 W[2] |
| Firmware & Openness | ||
| Firmware base & current version (Klipper fork / Marlin fork / proprietary) | Not documented | Proprietary. Print preparation is PreForm; fleet management is Formlabs Dashboard[3] |
| Connectivity, UI & Camera | ||
| Display: size, type, touch? | Not documented | 7-inch interactive touchscreen, 1280 x 800 (control panel — not the masking LCD, see W1)[2] |
| On-device UI capabilities (model preview, per-object controls, etc.) | Anycubic app support (firmware 3.0.5+) for remote monitoring, online slicing and control[1] | Not documented |
| WiFi (band/standard), Ethernet, USB ports, SD/flash-drive | Not documented | Dual-band Wi-Fi, Gigabit Ethernet (1000 Mbit), USB-C 2.0[2][3] |
| Materials Support | ||
| Officially supported filament list | PLA, ABS, PETG, TPU (Kobra 2 family list)[4] | Formlabs resins across rigid, tough, general purpose, flame retardant, silicone, elastic, ceramic and castable families. Biocompatible resins require the Form 4B, not the Form 4[2] |
| Reliability, Support & Ecosystem | ||
| Warranty length & support reputation (evidence, not vibes) | One year on the complete machine (excluding gifted and second-hand machines), with component warranty periods that vary by part; the period starts on the delivery date and is suspended while a replacement is in transit. Anycubic states it will follow longer local statutory periods where they apply[6] | Not documented |
| Independently Measured Performance | ||
| Dimensional accuracy measurements (third-party, with numbers) | Not documented | XY dimensional tolerance +/-0.15% — a manufacturer specification, not an independent measurement[2][3] |
| Resin & MSLA | ||
| Masking LCD | Not documented | Low Force Display masking LCD with a 50 um pixel size and pre-tuned anti-aliasing. Formlabs does not publish the screen diagonal or pixel count[2][3] |
| Light source | Not documented | Backlight unit with 60 uniform-wavelength high-power LEDs behind collimating lenses, with integrated cooling[2][3] |
| Vertical print speedmm/h | Not documented | Maximum 100 mm/h; average 40 mm/h at a 100 um layer height (manufacturer figures — GoEngineer publishes both, which is unusually explicit about the basis). Formlabs separately claims most prints finish in under 2 hours[3][2] |
| Layer height range | Not documented | 25-200 um per Formlabs' own tech-spec page; GoEngineer's listing for the same machine says 25-300 um. Unresolved[2][3] |
| Resin vat & feeding | Not documented | Single next-generation resin cartridge; Formlabs claims 5-10x faster filling and 63% less waste. Resin tank rated for 75,000+ layers with any Formlabs material. No vat capacity published[2][3] |
Manufacturer claims, independent measurements, packages and test conditions retain their source wording. FDM linear speed and resin vertical speed use different units and are not directly comparable. Unknown values are marked “Not documented”. Prices and source dates remain historical snapshots; check the linked guide for product details. Differences highlight text, not a universal winner.
Sources for this comparison
- Anycubic Kobra 2 Plus store page and Shopify product JSON (Tech Specs block, price, store publish date) store.anycubic.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Formlabs resin printer technical specifications (Form 4 / 4B / 4L) formlabs.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Formlabs Form 4 3D printer listing store.goengineer.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Anycubic Kobra 2 store page and Shopify product JSON (Tech Specs block, price, store publish date) store.anycubic.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Anycubic Kobra 2 Max store page and Shopify product JSON (Tech Specs block, price, store publish date) store.anycubic.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Anycubic refund and warranty policy store.anycubic.com · 2026-08 · vendor