3D Printing InfoPrinter comparison
Anycubic Kobra 2 vs Formlabs Form 4L
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 4L comparisons
| Property | Anycubic Kobra 2BEDSLINGER | Formlabs Form 4LRESIN |
|---|---|---|
| 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 4L[2] |
| 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] | Not documented |
| 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][3][4][5][6] | Same Low Force Display engine as the Form 4 but a different machine on every physical figure: 353 x 196 x 350 mm vs 200 x 125 x 210, 46 um vs 50 um pixels, 58.5 kg vs 18.3 kg, 900 W vs 480 W, two resin cartridges vs one. Formlabs lists Basic, Premium and Complete packages, whose prices are not printer-only prices, and no printer-only USD figure was found on a live listing[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] | 353 x 196 x 350 mm (Formlabs quotes 24.2 litres)[2] |
| 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] | 664 x 528 x 794 mm[2] |
| Net weight (kg) | 8.4 kg[1] | 58.5 kg[2] |
| Enclosure: open / enclosed; panel material; door/lid | Open frame, no enclosure[1] | Enclosed cabinet with a 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) with the Low Force Display engine; straight-lift peel[2] |
| 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][7] | 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, 9 A, 50/60 Hz, 900 W[2] |
| Total rated power draw | Not documented | 900 W[2] |
| Firmware & Openness | ||
| Firmware base & current version (Klipper fork / Marlin fork / proprietary) | Not documented | Proprietary; print preparation is PreForm[2] |
| 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, USB-C 2.0[2] |
| 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 resin range as for the Form 4; biocompatible materials require a B-series machine[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[8] | Not documented |
| Independently Measured Performance | ||
| Dimensional accuracy measurements (third-party, with numbers) | Not documented | XY dimensional tolerance +/-0.15% — a manufacturer specification[2] |
| Resin & MSLA | ||
| Masking LCD | Not documented | Low Force Display masking LCD with a 46 um pixel size. Formlabs does not publish the screen diagonal or pixel count[2] |
| Light source | Not documented | Backlight unit with uniform-wavelength LEDs behind collimating lenses, with integrated cooling[2] |
| Layer height range | Not documented | 25-200 um[2] |
| Resin vat & feeding | Not documented | Two next-generation resin cartridges. No vat capacity published[2] |
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
- 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