The Anet A8 was my first 3D printer. It taught my a lot about projects in general, slowly learning 3D CAD and making my own cases for projects. This was part of my journey into learning engineering, this was before I even knew what branch of engineering I liked. I slowly over time learned that I love 3D printing to enhance my electronics projects, but not the mechanical design itself. I really enjoyed putting this kit together though, it was a huge pride of mine as it was the first major electronics assembly I had done. I even had to wire up the mains (120V) power, so it was a thrill to plug it in the first time, and see it roar to life!
Unfortunately, Anet's weren't known for their reliability, something I didn't know at the time. People have had their houses burned down by this printer, and I even noticed that my heated bed stopped working due to a melted connector. After this, I stopped using the Anet, and upgraded to my next printer, the Anet A8+ (later named the Apollo A8)