Snapmaker announced a new tool-changing 3D printer, the U1.
The company has been producing 3D printers for quite a few years, having started with a massive Kickstarter campaign for their multifunctional Snapmaker Original system.
Their current flagship device, the Snapmaker Artisan, is a 3-in-1 multifunction device. The new U1 is not. It’s a tool-changing FFF 3D printer.
Previously, there were rumours that Snapmaker was working with xTool to develop a new 3D printer. The image at the time, showing four spools on the sides with a multicolor print, seems to match the renders of the U1 quite closely, so the rumour may be true.
They intend on launching the U1 later this summer on Kickstarter, as they have done for their other 3D printers. At this point, we don’t know a lot about the device, but here’s the latest information:
- U1 uses a CoreXY motion system, and therefore is likely a fast 3D printer.
- It is fully enclosed to capture heat.
- There is a color touchscreen for control.
- It includes four separate toolheads that can be dynamically swapped in during a print job.
- Spools are mounted on the outside of the enclosure, similar to the Flashforge AD5X.
- It can print support and flexible materials.
- It likely uses Snapmaker Orca, announced earlier this year.
The major feature is clearly the tool-changing aspect. This allows for up to four materials to be loaded at once and used during a print job. There is no need for purging, which typically occurs in hugely wasteful ways on Creality, Bambu Lab, and Anycubic multicolor systems. In some cases, the prints on these systems waste more material than is in the final print itself. Here, the U1 would save considerably.
We don’t know the build volume, resolution, speeds, price, or much else about the machine. But let’s do some speculation based on the renders provided by Snapmaker.
The build volume could be less than 200 x 200 x 200 mm, based on the fact that only two spools are held on each side. This is different from the 220 x 220 x 220 mm AD5X, which has all four spools on one side.
A question: are those standard spool sizes in the render? If they are small non-standard formats, then the U1 would have a small build volume.
The internal chamber seems to show a circular vent. This might be for a fan to provide consistent temperature levels. It’s unlikely to be for active heating as the U1 is probably a low-cost machine.
What could the price be for this machine? That’s obviously unknown until the Kickstarter launches, but based on Snapmaker’s previous history, they will likely target a low price to generate high sales volumes.
Existing toolchangers are rare and expensive. For example, the Prusa XL with five toolheads currently lists for US$4099 (assembled). Wondermaker’s ZR Ultra is priced at US$648, Proforge’s 300 Max is US$2750, and any others are higher-priced commercial systems.
My guess is that Snapmaker could price the U1 at under US$500, and that would attract a lot of attention. They can certainly do this, at least for the early birds of their Kickstarter. That price point would attract many buyers, which in turn would lower the manufacturing costs.
Let’s keep watch for their Kickstarter launch.
Via Snapmaker
