Today is the day Snapmaker’s U1 3D printer goes live on Kickstarter.
The highly anticipated device is set to shake up the desktop FFF world by introducing a very low-cost toolchanging 3D printer.
Toolchangers are quite different from the single-nozzle, filament-swapping multicolor FFF 3D printers of today, including the Anycubic Kobra S1 Combo, the Bambu Lab A1 Combo, and Creality CFS systems. Instead of pulling filament back and inserting a new filament into the single nozzle, a toolchanger simply has multiple toolheads.
This means there is hardly any delay when switching materials during a print job: the other toolhead is swapped in and it’s ready to go instantly.
Most importantly, it also means that there is no need for “poop”. Filament swapping 3D printers need to purge previous materials from the nozzle before commencing printing of a new filament. This creates a small “poop”, which occurs on each and every filament swap.
For some larger multicolor 3D print jobs, this could mean vast amounts of poop produced. It’s not uncommon to see 10X as much poop by weight as the model itself. This is incredibly wasteful, but it does not happen on a toolchanger.
Toolchangers have been around for a while now, but they have always been expensive due to the requirement of extra toolhead hardware. The news here is that Snapmaker has somehow found a way to design a toolchanging machine that costs about the same as normal filament-swapping devices.
Prior to the Kickstarter launch, Snapmaker priced the U1 at only US$679. After launch, the early bird price is US$749, and eventually, they’ll land on the MSRP of US$999. Let’s compare pricing for a couple of competing enclosed machines:
- Flashforge AD5X: US$349 (suddenly dropped from US$549)
- Bambu Lab P1S Combo: US$1089
- Anycubic Kobra S1 Combo: US$600 (suddenly dropped from US$837)
- Creality K1 (US$499) + CFS (US$319): US$818 (suddenly dropped from US$878)
It’s quite interesting to see that there are notable price drops from most providers, and I’m wondering if this might have something to do with the U1’s introduction.
While the U1’s US$999 MSRP might be more than these competing devices, remember that for multicolor prints you will be buying far more filament than you’d use with the tool-changing U1.
A knock against toolchangers is that the tools must be perfectly aligned. If you mount a new tool and it’s off by, say, a millimetre, then that color will be printed in locations shifted a millimetre away. Snapmaker said the alignment offset on the U1 is less than 0.04mm.
The build volume of the U1 is quite reasonable at 270 x 270 x 270, able to print most objects.
Interestingly, the U1 has an RFID-based filament recognition system that will automatically detect the type and colour of spools attached to the four toolheads. Snapmaker does market its own extensive line of 3D printer filaments, which are no doubt required for RFID detection. Note that the U1’s (multiple) hot ends are able to reach 300C, meaning they can handle a variety of engineering materials.
I’m very curious to see the reaction to the U1. The ability to print in multiple colours without wasting vast amounts of expensive filament just might be a very attractive proposition.
Via Kickstarter and Snapmaker
