Simpler module changing

Hi All @whimsycwd

You will have to use you imagination here. Although the swapping of modules (print, laser and CNC) works, it is tedious to change modules. If we had a simpler mechanism to speed the changeover of modules it would be appreciated.

Imagine an empty frame container that is permanently mounted on the X axis and you just drop in the module you want and it has a suitable locking mechanism to hold it firmly in place. When you want a different module you release the existing one, pop it out and drop int the other module and lock it in place. Like a cassette player.

Possibly to simplify further and reduce cost, the frame could contain a permanent power supply and fan. Then then the print head, laser and CNC would make use of that supply rather than carrying their own. The size of those drop in modules would then be smaller.

In the future you could have modules that could cut vinyl decals, or have pens for writing

Keep having fun

Doug

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HI @doug, Absolutely. We discuss a lot about this topic inside our development team, too. You can expect better experience in upgraded version of Snapmaker and Coming new products. The task is challenging but worth it. ^_^.

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Hi @whimsycwd

I figured you would be doing that. I always look at projects and say, can I make it better, can I make it easier to use/operate, can I make it easier to maintain, can I make it for less cost… without sacrificing quality.

i truly am having a great time with my Snapmaker, it has allowed me to make so many bespoke parts for my RoboChair Proof-Of-Concept project. I have printed hundreds of times. I have a dozen different PLA filaments that I am trying. And to think, I never touched a CAD package nor 3D printer until the beginning of this year and now I am hooked.

I look forward to a long future of using Snapmaker devices.

Keep having fun.

Doug

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I love to do that too. I’ve been manufacturing a tool used to apply plastic laminates called a J-Roller now for about 50 years (started at age 14) and have made over 400,000 of them over that time!! I’ve invented a couple or three machines to help in that process an have probably decreased the time and cost a couple or three fold. As I use to sit and make those rollers I would think about ways to improve the process and speed things up, it made the time go by faster and I thought up some cool ways to make the roller better and faster and of course I would make more money that way. I think that was the beginning of my creativity development. Having a lot of fun all along the way. :smiley:

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Hi @Tone

I am 64, started learning to program computers in 1971 and I have never stopped. Worked on and designed huge systems, It was a full-time career of building things then look for ways to improve them… change and improvement was my lifestyle, It keeps the old grey cells working…

Keep having fun

Doug

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I’m finding that the labor involved in changing modules is made even more intense with the add-on enclosure. There’s no good way to do it without removing the SM from the enclosure. I suppose I could mount a mirror on the back panel of the enclosure and a backlight.

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