I have ordered (but haven’t gotten) my Snapmaker 2 and, if I am honest, I am seeing posts here that are concerning. The posts suggest the firmware is buggy, the software only half works and is not fit to purpose for CNC, and the 3D printer struggles to calibrate and print with anything even remotely like the Prusa.
My question to owners are these:
Was it worth it or do folks regret buying their machines?
Would you buy it now knowing what you know?
There are so few reviews online, but the hype from Snapmaker itself is lush. Is it real, or is it all Kickstarter fantasy?
I was owner of the original and now I am owner of the A350.
I think (but haven’t used much) the snapmaker team has put a lot of research in their software especially to cnc and laser. - maybe more than in 3d printing.
Yes, there are a some bugs, but I think they would get rid of it before the normal market start. I have a kickstarter special and I am not wondering that super early birds and early birds ran into trouble if they didn’t had such a machine before.
With firmware 1.8 you could use the machine nearly normal. Maybe you need a bit of workaround but don’t forget the community, we are really strong.
I would buy it again. Next time hopefully super early bird to safe some money (unfortunately they ran out within 5mins)
Have a look at the showcases in the forum, there are a lot cool impressions what is possible.
Hope this helps!
If you only ever plan to use the 3d printing part, not worth it. Their software it a reskinned cura from quite a while ago, and you would be better served with a machine for only 3d printing. They have release cura profiles to work in the current cura space, and loading from a file is just as easy as slicing in their program. Slicing locally is really to help people begin their journey into 3d printing IMO.
If you do anything else it is worth it. Just combining the space 2 or 3 single use machines is worth it in my workspace.
Their software and firmware is still a work in progress, but the last push made the calibration much better.
As a SM1 user who dabbled in all 3 of the functions, , I backed the SM2, and for me, it was worth it to do so. It also took a while to get that software to a solid state, but I saw it happen so I have confidence it will get there with this new software.
This actually backs up my hunch and it’s good to know they did get there with the other machine’s software, and that they did not give up along the way. That gives me lots of faith. I own a Prusa, so I am buying it mostly to make small cases, and circuit boards. I really am looking at most of all for the CNC. Have you played much with it?
Thanks in advance,
Phoenix
Yes, same here. (I have a Prusa). I think it’s starting to slow down though. I have 13 masks just sitting in my flat waiting to be picked up so it seems like some of the urgency is out of the equation in the UK group. I also think some folks have worked out how to do larger scale production and, at this point, I feel like I am doing something so slowly that it is almost not worth it. The folks who are printing super minimal frames and laser cutting the face bit are where it is at -
I had a similar type of machine before. Snapmaker is much easier to start with to make CNC and laser cutting. Both needs some patience, you need to figure out the best cutting preferences for your material. Especially with laser. I haven’t used it for PCB yet. Is the next project. Only cutting and engraving on acrylic (PMMA). For me the machine is worth it!
@phoenixperry
I have never had the pleasure of using a prusa, but I would say that the hardware is no better then my ender 3 for 3d printing. The firmware and software need A LOT of work in my opinion.
The hardware is about right for $1000 USD. To answer your questions directly:
No I don’t regret it, but I will have to wait and see if it was worth waiting a year for.
No probably not, I would buy a good 3d printer ( mk3s or cr10 with upgrades) and a separate home CNC machine. Then add a good diode laser to the 3d printer.
My biggest issue is that I was expecting a machine with high quality engineering that wouldn’t require a bunch of tinkering. Instead I got a machine with high quality parts (but mediocre engineering, because of lack of details) and that requires as much tinkering as my ender3.
But that is just my opinion, many users absolutely love their SM2.
Here are my 2 cents having the machine now only a few days, and yet only have done a few smaller 3D prints and none of the other workloads.
Pro:
General hardware quality is awsome! Sturdy, hefty, robust - airs an atmosphere of: Throw at me what you want, I´ll eat it for breakfast. And, it has well thought out features for each workload! Laser camera, clever wasteboard and clamps and sealed linear modules for milling, up-to-date 3D print bed
3 in 1 - that appeals to me, not wanting to waste too much space and spend too much money (debatable) and not wanting to master too many machines.
huge build volume
Modern architecture: Touchscreen with powerful processor, 32 bit controller unit, direct drive extruder, filament runout detection, auto bed leveling, power loss recuperation, magnetic print bed…
Snapmaker support seems to be really helpful if something goes wrong (can only judge from hearsay)
Considerable community
Good, perhaps very good enclosure (but not without flaws - see below) available
Con:
slow 3D printing speeds
Some things I consider flaws of the hardware, most of which might be mendable with acceptable effort:
Plastic nuts on the lead screw in the linear modules (Solution maybe: Follow the brass nut approach from facebook)
PTFE liner in a 275°C rated hotend (Solution could be: Snapmaker releases a true all metal hotend)
poorly fixated thermistor in the hotend (Solution could be: Said new hotend uses a thermistor capsule)
No end switch on the motor side of the linear modules (Solution a bit more difficult - second switch in parallel?)
OD1 acrylic on the enclosure (Solution obvious, but expensive)
Perhaps: Centrally mounted heat bed - as of now I have no problems, but I am not sure if large prints may turn into a problem (Solution: add guide rails - has been done by a few users already)
Stupid loud PSU fan
Other observations (neither pro nor con)
Only partly open source - propriatory cables, other custom parts (e.g. hotend) difficult to source should Snapmaker company cease to exist, but firmware and software are open, and based on standards like Marlin and Cura
Yes, software and firmware have bugs. No surprise for such a young complex product. But Snapmaker takes that serious and gives replacement parts if it is “their fault”.
Luban not the most sophisticated piece of software (yet?) - so what? Use Cura et al. for slicing, Fusion 360 for milling, Inkscape for laser - it´s all there, and since Marlin is used, it works with ease!
Before I had my machine, I had all kinds of “oh god, what crap have I backed there? Sooo many issues…” - but that´s the Facebook bubble. You see and hear from every failure, and it seems like it´s all a mess. But most people that have no problems are just silent. When I received my machine it all evaporated - none of the issues manifested in my machine, my bed is level enough, my linear modules nice and tight - I assume that this is true for most machines. I fell in love with the machine immediatly!
The machine is not the most silent one, but I don´t care. It is understandable since the steppers must be able to run milling, and it seems that with silent drivers this is not as easy. It´s a 3-in-1 after all, which means some compromises.
I am really looking forward to finally dig into milling - from the Facebook showcases this seems to be a really strong capability of the machine, and I can only imagine what it can do with the 710W spindle.
Remote control of the printer is not best. But for this exists Octoprint.
As of now I´d say it´s worth it - I hope I´ll not at some point will have reason to change my mind. I´d be more hesitant if I had to pay the list price… And, I suppose you could have three dedicated machines for more or less the same price, but I never checked which quality you´d get.
Would I buy it again knowing what I know now? I guess yes. Knowing how overreacting I sometimes am when I read of issues, I might not buy it now, but I think it would be exactly this: an overreaction.
I partly bought Snapmaker because 3-in-1 appeals to me also from the point of view of learning the techniques. If I´d be more advanced and also had a clearer understanding how often and for what I´d use them, I might/may go for a dedicated machine for each function. Basically Snapmaker is already part of this evolution: I started 3D printing with a used printer from eBay that cost me 250 bucks, and I found out that 3D printing is certainly something I like, will use often and need a larger build volume, so I went for the Snapmaker. If milling and/or laser becomes also such an often used technique, perhaps at some point the compromises a 3-in-1 holds will make me go further.
As others said, hardware is really robust and looks good. There are some weird design choices, but nothing really bad.
I do regret(yet), but I used it just for 3d printing, no laser or milling. Will have to find time for some test.
But that’s main question - do you need laser/mill? if you wont use them then I would probably buy some other printer.
What about folks brand new to printing/cutting/burning?
I’ve never owned a 3D Printer before, but would love to play with it as well as provide a learning tool for my kids(middle & high school). Is this out of my ballpark with a steep learning curve, or is it pretty straight forward? I’ve already purchased the machine, but it hasn’t been shipped yet.
@Volktronic
I agree with @xchrisd, after some basic calibration it is easy to to use for simple projects. However if you want to do more complex things it requires research and practice. But it’s my opinion that anything worthwhile requires time and effort.
