3D Printing InfoPrinter comparison
Anycubic Kobra 2 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 comparisonsMore Formlabs Form 4 comparisons
| Property | Anycubic Kobra 2BEDSLINGER | 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[1] | Formlabs Form 4 3D Printer[2][3] |
| Release date (announcement and actual shipping) | Listed on the Anycubic store from 15 May 2023 (Shopify publish date)[1] | Not documented |
| Street price (USD; dated snapshot per entry) | $169.00 on store.anycubic.com, Aug 2026, against a compare-at price of $279.00 - the cheapest machine in this file[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) | Base model of a five-way family that is easy to confuse. All of Kobra 2, Kobra 2 Neo and Kobra 2 Pro share the same 220 x 220 x 250 mm build volume, but their speed ceilings differ: Neo 250 mm/s max / 150 typical, Kobra 2 300 / 200, Kobra 2 Pro 500 / 300. The Plus (320 x 320 x 400 mm) and Max (420 x 420 x 500 mm) are bigger but drop the bed ceiling to 90 C where the three small ones reach 110 C. Anycubic's own note: Kobra 2 firmware must be at V3.0.6 or above for the quoted speed[1][4][5][6][7] | 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 | 250 x 220 x 220 mm stated HWD, i.e. 220 x 220 x 250 mm in X x Y x Z; Anycubic quotes 12.1 L[1] | 200 x 125 x 210 mm (Formlabs quotes 5.25 litres)[2][3] |
| Machine footprint (mm) & clearance needed (cable/spool overhang) | 486 x 440 x 435 mm stated as HWD, so the desk footprint is about 440 x 435 mm and the height is 486 mm[1] | 398 x 367 x 554 mm[2][3] |
| Net weight (kg) | 8.4 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 a gantry frame; Anycubic describes double metal spindles with SG15 bearings on the moving axes[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 | Double-threaded rod Z axis (dual lead screws)[1] | Not documented |
| Speed & Acceleration | ||
| Max print speed (claimed, mm/s) | 300 mm/s maximum print speed (Anycubic Lab figure; firmware V3.0.6 or above required)[1] | Not documented |
| Recommended/typical print speed | 200 mm/s recommended print speed (manufacturer figure) - the number to plan around, not the 300 mm/s headline[1] | Not documented |
| Max acceleration (claimed, mm/s²) | 3000 mm/s2 acceleration (manufacturer figure) - modest next to the 20000 mm/s2 of the current Kobra generation[1][8] | Not documented |
| Extruder | ||
| Type (direct drive / bowden) & design name | Direct drive with a dual-geared extrusion structure[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 |
| Heater cartridge power (W) | 60 W hotend heater (Anycubic states "upgraded extruder power reaches up to 60 watts")[1] | Not documented |
| Heated Bed & Surface | ||
| Max bed temp claimed AND firmware limit | 110 C hotbed temperature ceiling[1] | Not documented |
| Leveling & Z-Offset | ||
| Auto bed leveling: probe technology (inductive / strain gauge / load cell / touch probe) | Anycubic LeviQ 2.0 automatic levelling with smart Z-offset and a user-adjustable Z compensation value[1] | Not documented |
| Filament Handling & Detection | ||
| Filament runout sensor (type, location) | Filament run-out sensor fitted, with power-loss recovery[1] | Not documented |
| Cooling & Air Handling | ||
| Part-cooling fan(s): count, size, ducting design | Part-cooling fan rated to 7000 rpm (Anycubic figure)[1] | Not documented |
| Electronics & Power | ||
| 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? | 4.3-inch colour LCD touchscreen[1] | 7-inch interactive touchscreen, 1280 x 800 (control panel — not the masking LCD, see W1)[2] |
| WiFi (band/standard), Ethernet, USB ports, SD/flash-drive | microSD card[1] | Dual-band Wi-Fi, Gigabit Ethernet (1000 Mbit), USB-C 2.0[2][3] |
| Calibration Routines & QoL | ||
| Assembly level & time from unbox to first print | Modular assembly - Anycubic states 5 pieces in about 10 minutes[1] | Not documented |
| Materials Support | ||
| Officially supported filament list | PLA, ABS, PETG, TPU[1] | 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[9] | 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 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 Neo store page and Shopify product JSON (Tech Specs block, price, store publish date) store.anycubic.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Anycubic Kobra 2 Pro store page and Shopify product JSON (Tech Specs block, price, store publish date) store.anycubic.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Anycubic Kobra 2 Plus 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 Kobra 4 product page (Specifications table) store.anycubic.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Anycubic refund and warranty policy store.anycubic.com · 2026-08 · vendor