FDM printers like Anycubic Vyper Vs Artillery Sidewinder X1 are ideal solutions for those who need an extra build volume for their prints. These mid-range filament machines are huge and working so well that it is hard to miss them among so many similar machines. While similarly offer excellent performance, there are also some profound differences. If you wonder which printer to buy, let’s see which attracts your attention here.
In this comparison, we are going to talk about:
- Filament Vs Resin Printing
- What are Anycubic Vyper and Artillery Sidewinder X1
- How is the Setup of Anycubic Vyper and Artillery Sidewinder X1
- How is the Build Volume of Anycubic Vyper and Artillery Sidewinder X1
- How are the Building Bed on Anycubic Vyper and Artillery Sidewinder X1
- How are the Extruder on Anycubic Vyper and Artillery Sidewinder X1
- What else Anycubic Vyper and Artillery Sidewinder X1 can offer
- How is the Performance of Anycubic Vyper and Artillery Sidewinder X1
- Anycubic Vyper Vs Artillery Sidewinder X1
Filament and Resin Printing
3D printers are not new anymore, and the idea of creating your product or prototype at home is highly promising. We can’t just jump into the market and buy any machine without knowing how to use them and, more importantly, whether it is suitable for your type of application. There are only two main types of 3D printers for the consumer market, filament and resin. These are the material used to fabricate the prints, and while you can make the same product, the machines are different.
What is Filament printing? The filament is thermoplastic that can retain quality even after reaching the melting point. The machine that uses filament is called FDM or Fused Deposition Modeling. The machine will have a hot end where the filament is melted and deposited on top of a building bed. The hot end is carried by extruder setup and usually moves in the Z and X-axis, depending on the machine setup. The bed typically moves on Y-axis so the hot end can be positioned accordingly.
What is Resin printing? Resin is the material used in stereolithography where photosensitive liquid resin is put in a vat and exposed to UV light. Unlike FDM, the “curing’ process of resin printing changes the quality of the material from liquid to solid. Due to its formation method, this printing process is very popular among people who want a high accuracy in their products want to make isotropic items or watertight prototypes. It is also ideal for producing smaller, functional parts of larger products.
| Anycubic Vyper | Artillery Sidewinder X1 | |
|---|---|---|
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| Product Dimensions | 20 x 17.99 x 20.31 inches | 21.6 x 15.9 x 34.2 inches |
| Shipping Weight | 22.05 Pounds | 28.6 pounds |
| Shop now at Amazon | Check price | Check price |
About Anycubic Vyper and Artillery Sidewinder X1
One of the biggest advantages of filament printers such as Anycubic i3 Mega Vs Creality Ender 3 V2 is their volume and cost. You can find an entry-level FDM machine with decent build volume for less than $200, but typical resin printers will produce noticeable smaller prints at this price range. If your printing project doesn’t call for extremely fine details or watertight items, FDM will most likely yield good results at a cheaper cost. Because the material is solid, it is also easier to start with for novice users.
Capacity is crucial in a 3D printer because it decides how big of a print we can make. The bigger the machine, the more expensive it will cost, and for some users, a larger capacity is necessary for their projects. Usually, you will have to spend more than $300 to get a medium-size printer depending on the machine. Some of the affordable and sizeable printers are Anycubic Vyper and Artillery Sidewinder X1, which are similarly significant in print volume and deliver excellent prints.
In comparison, Artillery is a pretty new contender in the market of 3D printing, and as you may guess, this brand is also Chinese based. Anycubic is probably more well-known and mainstream, especially for entry-level FDM and resin printers. The Anycubic Vyper and Artillery Sidewinder X1 are ideal solutions exactly after this entry-level segment. They can be a great machine to upgrade your smaller FDM when you need larger capacity or start making bigger and more complex products.
What are the differences between Anycubic Vyper and Artillery Sidewinder X1? One of the main reasons we recommend Vyper is its ease of use, especially with its automatic bed leveling feature. However, we also favor the Sidewinder X1 for its capacity and how it works amazingly after the initial setup. Overall, these printers have pros and cons that may affect your buying decision.
Anycubic Vyper and Artillery Sidewinder X1 Setup
The first thing we have to do when receiving the printer is assembly. Unless we buy some box printer, chances are they will need some time to put together. Both Anycubic Vyper and Artillery Sidewinder X1 are coming with a separate frame, so we need to connect it to the base later. We found that Vyper already mounts the extruder while we have to do it manually with X1. The print bed is already attached to the Y rail, and both printers have a flush design.
We prefer this type of setup because it doesn’t take long to assemble, and all fragile components are tugged inside the printer’s base. We are surprised that the base is shallow because they look massive in the picture. A minor complaint about Sidewinder X1 is that the wiring seems fragile, so make sure to pay attention to wear or contact points. Another noticeable difference is their screen because Vyper uses a larger display, but both are equally touch-sensitive.
Anycubic Vyper and Artillery Sidewinder X1 Build Volume
Next, let’s move to what the Anycubic Vyper and Artillery Sidewinder X1 can offer starting from the capacity. Before buying a specific machine, it is wise to know what you will make and how much space you will need. These machines are ideal for those looking to upgrade their entry-level printers with a maximum build capacity of 245 x 245 x 260 mm for the Vyper and 300 x 300 x 400 for the X1. This is a noticeable difference and an important point to consider.
Anycubic Vyper and Artillery Sidewinder X1 Bed
Many ask if Anycubic Vyper has a heated bed, and the answer is yes. Most FDM machines use a heated bed to provide the ideal temperature for the first layer to stick into the building bed and make the following layers stick together. What’s different between Anycubic Vyper and Artillery Sidewinder X1 heating is temperature because Vyper can get very hot at 110 degrees while X1 is up to 80 degrees Celsius. However, the X1 also heat the massive bed quickly to let you print faster.
The difference in this component is not only those because they also have a different bed. Anycubic usually uses Ultrabase, but Vyper uses a magnetic bed with a texturized surface, while X1 comes with a ceramic glass plate, which is probably a copy of Ultrabase. Between magnetic and glass beds, there are some pros and cons. Magnetic is easy to remove and replace when damaged, but the surface may not be as smooth as glass. On the other hand, the glass bed of X1 is non-removable, so replacing it is more complicated and costly.
Anycubic Vyper and Artillery Sidewinder X1 Extruder
Moving to the extruder part of Anycubic Vyper and Artillery Sidewinder X1, they are more similar here. Starting with Vyper, the machine comes with a dual-gear extruder and an E3D-Volcano style hot end, while X1 uses Titan Aero extruder and Volcano-style hot end. The most noticeable difference is that X1 uses a ribbon-style cable that may be aesthetically pleasing but will wear faster, so upgrading or replacing it later is recommended.
Anycubic Vyper and Artillery Sidewinder X1 Features
Next are the features that you can find on the Anycubic Vyper and Artillery Sidewinder X1. We want to mention automatic bed leveling in Vyper because it is always convenient to ensure the bed is leveled correctly. Unfortunately, the process is manual, so we need to trigger the automatic leveling from time to time; it can be better if the system does this automatically every fresh start. Other standard features are filament run-out sensors and resume printing.
The Vyper also has this small compartment or box below the heated bed. It is not new, and some machines have similar features too. Some people may not need it, but we like to store small items here like Allen keys or clippers to make sure they are easy to reach.
Anycubic Vyper and Artillery Sidewinder X1 Performance
Lastly, for the performance part, these printers are working well. Like most FDM, there may be printing issues initially, like strings, and the first layer doesn’t stick well. We heard some people find these problems with the printer, but they are fantastic for the most part. X1 is noticeably heating the bed faster, but somehow the surface doesn’t have the same temperature. If all settings and hardware are set up properly, the machines will produce excellent prints.
Anycubic Vyper Vs Artillery Sidewinder X1
The Anycubic Vyper and Artillery Sidewinder X1 are ideal solutions for users who need a larger machine. They are also coming with valuable features and improved components to ensure the printing process will be a breeze. The main difference in our opinion is capacity and automatic leveling because Vyper is more convenient to use, but X1 is significantly larger. Performance-wise they are very similar to many entry-level FDM printers; apparently, some still find hardware issues.
Conclusion
Both printers are impressive but not perfect. We recommend the Vyper if you need a higher capacity machine because build volume is difficult to upgrade. Still, you can add BLtouch to X1 to add the auto-leveling ability and make the machine more convenient to use.