Anker Teases Its First 3D Printer With Built-In AI Camera

Phone charger company Anker is expanding into new territory by developing its first 3D printer focusing on speed and under a new brand name.

Available on Kickstarter, the AnkerMake M5 prints at speeds of 250mm/s with claims that it's five times faster than the competition and has a high degree of accuracy. The printer also comes with a webcam that uses AI to analyze 3D data before sculpting and an app for real-time viewing.

Anker's speed claims may be unfounded since the company doesn't go into great detail comparing the new printer against the competition but does show off the M5's internal workings. The printer comes with two processors, one of which is the XBurst CPU, a chip "specialized for video and image recognition."

That CPU also drives the AnkerMake Slicer, the webcam that constantly checks if the printing is going as it should. If something goes wrong, you'll get a notification on the AnkerMake app. And from that app, you can also view the printing process from afar and in the dark, thanks to night vision.

The M5 houses Anker's PowerBoost technology to further enable its high speed. The printer comes with a dual-fan cooling system to prevent overheating, a crucial feature as the nozzle's temperature can get as high as 392 degrees.

You can back the M5's Kickstarter page, but it feels more like you're preordering because the prices for each pledge reward is several hundred dollars. If you do pledge that amount of money, you will get an M5 printer and some other rewards. However, the pledge rewards are going quickly, with two of the four rewards already being completely claimed.

Anker states the M5 will ship in August to 27 different countries, including the U.S. and China.