Living with a standard A8 Plus

This wasn't my first printer, so I knew what sort of things to look out for. I'd also read numerous reviews along the way and was aware of a number of shortcomings at the outset. 

In general terms, if one considers the very low cost, I would say that the printer is a very good buy. This is especially valid if (as I) you intend to buy it as part of a learning exercise or as the basis for upgrades. 

This is not to say that it doesn't have its faults; far from it. I'm also not too sure how good this would be for a newcomer to the hobby. On one hand, it's cheap and accesible. On the other, it can be quite annoying to use and the results are certainly not the best. I could certainly see it being somewhat discouraging for a first-time user. 

So, to discuss the problems which I encountered, here's a list.

• Bed levelling is a nightmare. The build volume is very large so even a slightly off setting will have a huge effect. This problem is exacerbated by a number of reported problems. First, the levelling springs are very light, so it takes very little for the settings to drift between (and probably during) prints. Secondly, the Y-axis rod mounting brackets are 3D-printed. The accuracy of these prints leave quite a lot to be desired. The ramification of this is that the rods are not square which means that trying to level the bed becomes a significant challenge and may not even be possible with a sensible degree of accuracy. 

  

  Anet A8 plus Y axis mounts
  
  

• Bearings and rods are of very poor quality. This wasn't something which happened to me immediately, but it really didn't take long. I've read of reviews of users who have had failed bearings on delivery. In my case, things seemed OK for a few weeks and then the bearings started to squeal and there were definite signs of binding on the X axis at least. The problem is not only one of poor bearings, but also the rods themselves can be very poor. My X axis rods had very marked damage along their length which contributed to the squealing bearings, I'm sure. 
• Connection to the bed is a cause for concern. One of the few problems I have had with my Creator Pro is that the connection to the bed suffered from stress and got hot enough to start smoking. To fix that, I created a strain relief. The same thing seems true of the A8 Plus. There is a lot of flex as the bed moves back and forth and the weight of the cables seems very likely to cause the connection to fail. I have read of others with the same concern.
• The umbilical cabling to the extruder has no support. This seemed likely to cause a problem over time as the wiring flexes from the movement
• The X-Axis tensioner is poor. This is a 3D printed part which does its job but looks very weak and doesn't really seem to fit well. It certainly seems to work, but I have misgivings about how long this will last. 
• Filament roll mount is poor. This isn't really a major problem, as such, but it's worthy of note as any new users is likely to want/need to modify this for viable use. 

Those are the only real major issues I encountered. Although the first two of these do have quite a major impact upon usability and longevity of course.. There are also a few other minor niggles which one could live with but should (IMHO) be on the list of things to improve through an upgrade process. There are problems such as the filament loading. This should be straightforward, but the path is so constrained that it can take quite some time and effort to load filament.

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