I’m probably going to get chastised for this. I’m just getting around to unboxing my Snapmaker 2.0 A350 from the Kickstarter. Life got in the way, along with the piles of junk in my garage. Putting it in my home office would be easier but I wonder about the mess if I am doing CNC carving.
Should I take advantage of the Christmas sale to get upgrades now? I got the enclosure with it. The 10 watt laser is already in my cart. If these sales happen regularly I’ll wait on other upgrades to see if I use the Snapmaker often enough to make it a problem, but if this is a rare event it would be easier to justify the cost.
A thread from July made the rails upgrade sound unnecessary. Being at half price right now might makes them more appealing. If it is thirty feet down a hall with a closed door between us, are the old rails loud enough to keep me awake? At the office we usually have three Makerbots going 3 cubes away from me. Their noise doesn’t bother me. At home the Snapmaker would be 10 feet away in it’s enclosure, when I’m working. Would the noise be comparable. Also are chips well contained?
I don’t understand what the issue was with the the original extruder. If it is a necessary upgrade I’m leaning toward the dual extruder preorder. I had a dual head on my old Flashforge, and never used it. On the other hand I’ve used the soluble support material on the office machines. Occasionally it is really useful.
Take this for what it’s worth, but it was in the same room with me while I was learning how to use it better. Also - I have not used it for CNC because I have a much larger CNC available to me.
That being said, you ABSOLUTELY want to buy the new power supply. I just bought one and it’s SO MUCH QUIETER. I can’t before and after rails because I have the old ones. But I haven’t had to replace them. I’ve printed and lasered and it’s literally underneath me in our basement and I can’t hear it. I also have the enclosure as well. If you don’t have that I’d get one or build one. That can cut down on almost all the noise.
Snapmaker does sales somewhat regularly, so personally I’d not hasten things. If the noise is a problem depends on your exact situation and your personal sensitivity. I guess the machine can keep you awake even through a door, but this may depend on your exact situation - I’d first try it out before spending another several hundred bucks. If you do CNC milling, noise of the mill/bit will be the main issue anyhow. IMHO the new modules have even the disadvantage of less torque, which with milling might be an issue (although admittedly I yet have not seen any reports of the new modules being too weak). The new modules can be driven faster, but the + in speed is a bit disappointing IMHO. It still does not make the Snapmaker a fast printer.
The old printhead’s main issue is part cooling, which is really bad. However, it is relatively easy and cheap to attach an external cooling fan: 3DP Part Cooling Fan 5015 Replacement. The new version is better, but apparently still not good (according to several reports), so you might end up adding an additional fan anyhow, even with the new version. The dual printing head remains to be seen: I know of noone having it yet, so reports are missing. From the blog/adverts I have hopes that it is better, and I ordered it.
The PSU seems to be considerably quieter, but if you are willing to tinker, even the old one can be made quieter with a better fan.Aside from the noise and a bit of (useless) LED magic there is no reason to replace the PSU.
I refrained from buying the updates, despite having received the 50% off coupon (which you as a Kickstarter backer also should have). For me noise is not an issue, having the machine in my basement. I prefer the stronger torque, and I hate to waste perfectly working modules without need. On the contrary, I used the opportunity to buy used old modules from someone who updated to have spares and perhaps to play around a bit and build a more robust CNC mill with two modules in the X axis, attaching a much stronger spindle then.
I’d like to have the rotary module, which I think is a cool addition, but for me the use cases are so rare I cannot justify the price, even at a discount. In one of the sales I got myself the stop button, which puts my mind at ease, but a simple extension cord with a switch will achieve the same, so the ROI is debatable.
The air purifier did not even trigger my interest - I can easily vent to the outside, and honestly both the purifier as well as the cartridges look rather expensive to me, but to be fair, I never researched comparable solutions.
I just bought one vs messing with the fans and firmware because at 60ish bucks and it’s unlikely to catch fire because I’m dumb and soldered the wrong thing!
Sorry, forgot to answer that: Yes, they are. The enclosure is a disappointment with regard to laser safety, but as a dust container it does a reasonably good job. It’s not 100% dust proof, but it help a lot. Also, for containing laser fumes it helps, but is not perfect. If I laser wood even with the fan on, my basement still smells of bonfire
Thank You for such a clear and complete reply. I guess the high-output laser will be it until there are some reviews on the new Dual Head Extruder. My original plan was to put it in my garage. If it is too noisy for my home office that will be a good incentive to clear some space.
