I had big issue yesterday. It was hard to reach the head and see something into the enclosure. Then I made a mistake and plugged incorrectly my 3D head with the cable. When I’ve turned on my unit the power controller started to flick and a smoke came out of my 3D head. It’s burned out and now when I try to use Laser or CNC Head it’s missing power control to turn off or control power modulation.
I wrote to support and they said I need new controller, 3D head and Laser head. How I can get it instead of buying a new whole set? I don’t know how to solve it. I’ve spent a lot of money on it and can’t use it anymore. I was proud of Snapmaker family and baught everything from them.
At this price point, why they not make something from mistake like a power faillure protection or make a cable that could not be insert in wrong position?
I hope Snapmaker reach me again with a solution or It’s better for me to buy something else in the future. That’s sick!
I hope you dont take this the wrong way… but thats exactly what the clip on the connector is designed to prevent you from doing. I dont think you can fault snapmaker for this.
I haven’t tried it myself but I can only assume that you need to force the connector in quite hard to plug it in properly, backwards as you have shown.
I dont know the pin out for the connector but Im unaware of protection they could apply to the hardware that would protect the internals from damage when receiving power along the incorrect connections, that tends to blow basically any board I have ever come across.
I did not force to plug in. It’s just slide in but half way just enough to power on the head and stay connected. They could create a connector with V shape like power cable on the power unit of Snapmaker and keep same pin. It’s prevent from that kind of mistake.
I tried to plug and unplug the connector and the feeling / sound seem the same from the enclosure. It’s hard to reach and see something. Do it by yourself in blind condition.
I’m not mad, I’m just sick of thinking to buy the whole package instead of broken unit only.
Thats fair enough, I didnt realise that the pins can complete the circuit without the connector being pushed down fully. In this case the connector could indeed be better designed to make it impossible to connect the wrong way.
If you contact snapmaker support (support@snapmaker.com) you should be able to order individual replacement components such as a single power supply or single print head. You will not need to order a full new machine.
I wrote to them… They said I need a new unit of controller, 3D head and Laser head… And I asked how can I get it? Still waiting a reply, but I’m afraid to buy a whole set!!! Suck!
It doesn’t make sense that you wouldn’t be able to just buy the 3D head and the controller. I would make sure there isn’t confusion on their part. I seem to remember someone having problems with one of the heads and receiving just that one. Maybe it’s different for warranty at this point.
It’s possible that plugging in the other heads after the controller was damaged could damage them but it’s doubtful.
-S
I agree, your other heads are probably fine. They could have used a reverse-polarity protection diode, assuming the issue was swapping +/-, or an asymmetrical pin layout that wouldn’t engage backwards, or shorter power pins that wouldn’t engage at that depth. But, while unfortunate, I can’t fault them too much. These are things manufacturers figure out over time, we are guinea pigs to some extent.
Using a connector that is not keyed so it can’t even start is just wrong. The latch is not a key, it’s a retention device. There are so many connectors to choose from that if this connector really can easily be plugged in backwards and connect, I would consider that an unforgivable error. Reading the forum makes me wonder if putting in an order for a 350 was a mistake?
That’s a personal decision, but I will say this is one of the best KS projects I’ve ever backed. Hmm, well, I don’t do KS anymore, but aside from that… Anyway, my A250 has for now been great hardware-wise. I’ve gotten the best boaty hull layers I’ve ever had, right out of the box with their PLA, than I’ve gotten with 2 other printers after tweaking. The structure is very stable, layers are amazingly good. But, the software is still a work in progress, especially the CNC stuff. Could they have used better connectors? For sure. Is the issue a problem for me? Not at all. I think there’s a lot of potential yet to be realized.
I don’t regret my purchase… It’s nice tool. But, It’s was un issue to use it with enclosure when you don’t have proper light and hard access to the head. So, you trust your feeling touch and thinking all it’s OK because the plug stay in place. WRONG!!!
It’s warning topic and hope they will use other plug design on a SM3 to prevent that kind of mistake. But, what make me aware… I think they knew the problem, because they send me the picture of good and bad connection picture. So, they knew what happened to me…Because, I never knew it was the wrong connection untill then. Why they don’t send a warning notice to every user that could be happen or put into user book? That’s my point!
And mine is, they should have apologized and sent you new parts. I know it sucks as a manufacturer when you have to give away stuff for free, but it’s the only way to get your users to respect you and it gives you great incentive to fix the problem. I’m never happy when I need to spend $80 to send a $10 part UPS Red AM, but when the customer ordered that way and it didn’t work when it arrived or it was the wrong part, we’ll do that if necessary. I’m unwilling to have someone say, “I’m thinking abut canceling my order because the comments on the forum are scaring me.” Now I don’t have a forum, but there are no negative posts about my company on the web I’ve ever seen.
We’ve redesigned the female sockets and jacks to prevent this sort of thing from happening. The new design has been tested and is now in factory production.
So I was right. They knew it and never sent a notice that we could burn out the printer. If I was informed, be sure, I will verify twice before to turn on my Snapmaker and I will put a warning sticker on plugs for others users.
Now I’ve screwed my printer! Will they replace it under warranty? I hope so! Because, I think I’m not faulty in this case. They made a bad plug design and they do not inform users after all about this possibilty to brake your printer if we plug in wrong way.
So, I’m waiting what they will do in my case. Should I pay for faulty design or not?
My A350 is fine, just pointing out that people should not blame Veasna for not being careful, as an engineer myself I reckon it’s the engineers’ responsibility to prevent such things from happening.
But hey, thanks for taking this seriously, hope my next addons are coming with the new connector and be compatible with my current machine.
The forum has much historical information. So keep in mind, some things you read are from like, firmware/luban v1. It’s worth checking if “issue X” was from last year and has been resolved. Yah, machine is not perfect. Never had a 3d printer that was, it’s still an innovating industry. 3 in 1’s, specifically are still few and far between.
Just like original snapmaker, the updates to firmware and software slowly fix many
Just saying, let’s see what support does.
I had a linear module and the removable print surface replaced at 0 cost, so don’t think the never send out free replacements.
Anyway, my A250 has for now been great hardware-wise. I’ve gotten the best boaty hull layers I’ve ever had, right out of the box with their PLA, than I’ve gotten with 2 other printers after tweaking. The structure is very stable, layers are amazingly good. But, the software is still a work in progress, especially the CNC stuff. Could they have used better connectors? For sure. Is the issue a problem for me? Not at all. I think there’s a lot of potential yet to be realized.