Anycubic Kobra S1 Ace 2 Pro Combo

You need a bracket that survives a car dashboard in a Highveld summer, so it has to be ABS or ASA. You also want it in your client's brand colours. On an open-frame printer, the ABS warps off the bed by layer forty. And if you live in Durban, the PETG you opened last month already prints stringy and brittle because it has soaked up moisture.

The Anycubic Kobra S1 Combo with ACE 2 Pro solves both problems in one package. A fully enclosed CoreXY printer keeps engineering plastics warm and stable, while the ACE 2 Pro feeds four colours and dries the filament at up to 65°C while you print.

The headline benefit: enclosed, multicolour printing in engineering materials, with dry filament every time, for R14,499.99.

Fully enclosed CoreXY | 4 colours, expandable to 16 | 65°C active filament drying | 600 mm/s max speed | 320°C hotend | 120°C heated bed | Power-loss resume

Who the Anycubic Kobra S1 Combo is built for

Prototyping engineers and product developers

Your job is producing functional parts that behave like the final product, not display models. The enclosed chamber, 320°C hotend and 120°C bed let you print ABS and ASA housings that hold dimension, and four colours mean you can mark datum faces, wear zones or assembly orientation directly in the part. The ACE 2 Pro also feeds PC and PA when you need more heat resistance. A set of four ASA enclosure halves for a field sensor prints comfortably in one overnight run.

Small print farm operators

Wet filament is the hidden cost of a print farm: failed jobs, stringing and poor layer bonding. The ACE 2 Pro measures humidity and dries spools during the job, so a spool that sat open over a long weekend still prints cleanly on Monday. Auto-refill switches to a matching spool when one runs out, and filament runout detection with auto-resume keeps long jobs alive. A full plate of 40 two-colour ASA plant labels for a nursery is a single unattended run.

Schools, TVET colleges and makerspaces

An enclosure is a safety feature in a classroom: hot parts and moving belts stay behind a door, and the activated carbon filter reduces odour from ABS and ASA. At 46 dB in standard mode and 44 dB in quiet mode, the Kobra S1 Combo runs during a lesson. Learners can design in four colours, while the teacher monitors from the Anycubic App. A class set of 25 four-colour topographic map tiles of your province is a realistic one-day job.

What sets the Anycubic Kobra S1 Combo apart

An enclosure that lets ABS and ASA behave

In FDM printing, warping happens when the lower layers cool and shrink while the top is still hot. The Kobra S1's fully enclosed CoreXY frame traps the bed's heat, so the whole part cools evenly. That matters for ABS and ASA, the materials you choose for UV resistance, heat resistance and impact strength. The PEI spring steel bed reaches 120°C, the quick-release hotend reaches 320°C, and an activated carbon filter cleans the air inside the enclosure. In a CoreXY layout the bed only moves down, so tall parts are not shaken back and forth, which keeps walls straight on high prints.

Dry filament while it prints, not the night before

Nylon, PETG, PVA and TPU are strongly hygroscopic, which means they pull moisture from the air and print with bubbles, stringing and weak layers. The ACE 2 Pro heats its sealed storage to as much as 65°C during printing. Built-in temperature and humidity sensors report conditions on the printer screen, in the slicer and in the app, while an electromagnetic valve vents moisture and a silicone seal keeps humid air out. For buyers in KwaZulu-Natal or the Western Cape, this removes the need for a separate dry box. Each of the four channels has its own brushless motor, and four ACE 2 Pro units together reach 16 colours.

Print speeds that change how you plan your week

The Kobra S1 runs at a recommended 300 mm/s with 10,000 mm/s² acceleration, and peaks at 600 mm/s and 20,000 mm/s². Speed only helps if quality holds, so an onboard accelerometer runs a resonance test and applies vibration compensation, while belt tension monitoring warns you before a slack belt ruins dimensional accuracy. Pressure advance and flow calibration keep corners crisp and walls even. Anycubic quotes a Benchy at 0.2 mm layers in about 13 minutes. A functional jig that used to take a working day now finishes before lunch.

Auto-levelling that actually works the first time

On first start-up, the Kobra S1 runs PID tuning, vibration compensation and LeviQ 3.0 auto-levelling in sequence, which takes about 10 minutes and needs nothing from you. LeviQ 3.0 also sets the Z-offset automatically, so there is no paper test. Area levelling probes only the region your part covers, which saves time on small jobs. The textured PEI spring steel plate holds parts firmly while hot and releases them with a flex once cool, so you are not prising ABS off with a scraper.

A printer that keeps an eye on itself

Unattended printing only works if the machine catches its own failures. The built-in camera supports 480P live monitoring and AI spaghetti detection. Filament entanglement detection catches a snagged spool, filament runout detection pauses and resumes automatically, and object skipping lets you cancel one failed part without scrapping the whole plate. Built-in LED lighting keeps the camera image usable at night. Through the Anycubic App you get live view, remote control and time-lapse recording from anywhere with signal.

Loadshedding does not cost you the print

A 14-hour ASA job that dies at hour twelve is an expensive lesson. The Kobra S1 supports power-loss resume, storing its position and continuing once power returns. The enclosure also slows cooling during a short outage, which helps the resumed layer bond to the part below. For long jobs during scheduled outages, run the printer and ACE 2 Pro on a UPS or inverter; note that the ACE 2 Pro draws up to 330 W at 220V when drying, so size the backup for both units.

Anycubic Kobra S1 Combo full specifications

How the Anycubic Kobra S1 Combo compares to the rest of the multicolour range

The Kobra S1 Combo is the only enclosed machine here that dries filament during the print, and it has the highest hotend and bed temperatures in the group. If you print mostly PLA, the Kobra X saves you R5,500. See the full 3D printer range for larger formats.

Materials and software for the Kobra S1 Combo

Filaments this printer handles

• PLA (200 to 220°C): prop the lid open or run the enclosure fan for large PLA jobs so the chamber does not overheat. Shop PLA filament.
• PETG (230 to 250°C): dry it in the ACE 2 Pro before long jobs; wet PETG strings badly. Shop PETG filament.
• ABS (240 to 260°C, bed 100 to 110°C): keep the door closed and let the chamber warm for 10 minutes before starting. Shop ABS filament.
• ASA (240 to 260°C): the best choice for outdoor parts in South African sun, thanks to its UV resistance. Print it like ABS.
• TPU (210 to 230°C): TPU 95A feeds directly into the printer for single-colour prints; harder TPU 68D can run through the ACE 2 Pro. Shop flexible filament.
• PC and PA (270 to 300°C): dry thoroughly at 65°C first, both absorb moisture quickly. Use a glue stick on the bed for adhesion.
• Carbon-fibre composites (PLA-CF, PETG-CF, PAHT-CF): fit a hardened steel nozzle, since abrasive fibres wear softer nozzles quickly. Find them under speciality filament.

Slicers and software

• Anycubic Slicer Next: the recommended slicer, with ACE 2 Pro colour mapping, humidity readouts and cloud sending.
• OrcaSlicer: suitable for single-colour jobs with Anycubic printer profiles; transfer files by USB.
• Cura and PrusaSlicer: usable for single-colour G-code with a custom profile; print via USB.
• Creality Print and Bambu Studio: not supported. Use Anycubic Slicer Next instead.
• Anycubic App: remote monitoring, live camera, time-lapse, drying control and print management from your phone.

What's in the box with the Kobra S1 Combo

• Kobra S1 printer (fully assembled)
• ACE 2 Pro multicolour and drying unit
• Spool holder
• Signal cable and four filament tubes
• Power cords (2)
• Activated carbon filter and anti-blocking module
• Nozzle cleaning module and nozzle silicone part
• Nozzle cleaner and grease
• Screws: M3x6 (2) and M2.5x25 (2)
• Cable organisers (2)
• Filament sample
• User manuals

Ordering, shipping and support for the Kobra S1 Combo in South Africa

We courier the Anycubic Kobra S1 Combo to any address in South Africa, or you can collect from our Centurion or Boksburg branch. It carries a 12-month warranty, handled locally through either branch. For technical help, log a support ticket. Replacement nozzles, Anycubic spare parts and filament are stocked locally. Delivery details are on our shipping and returns page.

Frequently asked questions about the Anycubic Kobra S1 Combo

Is the Kobra S1 ACE 2 Pro Combo better than the Bambu Lab P1S Combo?

For engineering materials and humid climates, yes. The Kobra S1 Combo dries filament at up to 65°C while printing, which the P1S Combo's AMS cannot do, and it runs a hotter 320°C hotend and 120°C bed. It is also R500 cheaper. The P1S Combo makes more sense if you already run other Bambu Lab printers and Bambu Studio.

Can the Kobra S1 Combo print ABS, ASA and carbon fibre?

Yes, all three. The enclosure and 120°C bed are what make ABS and ASA practical, and the ACE 2 Pro feeds PLA-CF, PETG-CF and PAHT-CF. For abrasive carbon-fibre filaments, fit a hardened steel nozzle so the nozzle bore does not wear out. PC and PA are also supported once dried.

How long does it take to set up out of the box?

About 30 minutes to your first print. The Kobra S1 arrives fully assembled, so you only remove the transport fixings, connect the ACE 2 Pro with the signal cable and four filament tubes, and fit the spool holder. The first start-up calibration, covering PID tuning, vibration compensation and auto-levelling, then runs by itself in about 10 minutes.

How should I maintain the hotend and nozzle?

Mostly by keeping the nozzle clean and letting it cool before you remove it. The hotend is tool-free and quick-release, but Anycubic warns that pulling it while filament is still soft can drag the ceramic throat tube out. Replace the nozzle when extrusion becomes inconsistent or dimensions drift; abrasive composites shorten its life considerably.

Will it run on South African power, and is there local warranty support?

Yes. The printer and ACE 2 Pro run on the local 220V supply, and power-loss resume continues a print after loadshedding. Check that both supplied power cords suit your sockets when you unbox. Warranty claims are handled locally through our Centurion and Boksburg branches, not overseas.