I wanted to inquire about one of the promises made at the time of pledging:
Will there be any upgrade available with longer linear modules to increase print volume?
Yes. We will provide longer linear modules so that you can replace the linear module in z-axis to increase the print volume. This upgrade* option will be available in the near future.
We expect that anyone with an interest in 3D printing can get a Snapmaker 3D Printer easily. Moreover, personal 3D printer expansion is made easy with interchangeable heads, linear modules with different sizes, and more.
This is one of the things Iāve been counting on, and it has been over a year since the first batch shipped. By far the biggest limitation of the Snampaker is its print volumeā¦ which Iām quickly out-growing. Also, since Iām having problems with my Z-Axis making a rapid nose-dive upon completion of a print, this could solve two major issues for me.
When can we expect to see those sold at the store, and, what is the plan for modding/replacing the enclosure to account for the height difference?
Does Snapmaker even exist anymore? Or donāt you leave it to the night watchman to sell the remaining stock ?
The technician who is not familiar with business management is not a disgrace and you can easily overestimate a starting capital.
But the damage also (or only?) has the customer.
Not sure what you are getting at thereā¦ perhaps a translation issue. But, seeing as how they claim to be ramping up for the next printer, I think they are thereā¦ somewhereā¦ They just donāt seem to be paying much attention to the forums. Communication has ever been their downfall.
I just figured after a year, they would have this upgrade availableā¦ it sure seems like it should be a relatively simple fixā¦ a longer rail (which they should have designed by nowā¦) and a firmware update (which they are now very practiced at). They did promise this, and they did say āin the near futureā. While that does leave a little wiggle-room for interpretationā¦ I think a year is a relatively generous marginā¦ given how quickly technology moves. If they wait much longer, the unit will be completely obsolete.
While on the whole, Iāve been very happy with my Snapmaker, I think keeping promises to your constituents will have much bearing on whether or not a prospective backer weighs in for round twoā¦ I know it will influence me.
At lastā¦ Snapmaker has stated that they are poised to release the longer Z-Axis. I must say, Iām absolutely STUNNED that no on else appears to have been waiting on thisā¦ Iāve been looking forward to it ever since I made my pledge.
The question now is: What about the enclosure? Will there be an enclosure upgrade to go with this? It is going to be hard squeeze that in my existing enclsoure
I received the extended z-axis last week, and installed today. Iām doing my first print as I write this.
And, of course, the enclosure issue did crop up. It will no longer fit. Even with the top piece of acrylic taken off, the X axis bumps the left corner panel. It would be nice if snapmaker offered an upgrade to the enclosure ā a kit with extended side acrylic panels and extended vertical corner panels so we could accommodate the new extension. Is that in the plans?
And, after an excruciating 17 hours, of printing, I find that that Z-Axis extension does not work. No matter what I throw at it, it will not exceed 125mm. Even the āAboutā screen on the controller still says 125mm ā and yes, this is with the most current firmware installed, confirmed with the M1005 command.
The dangerous part is that while it will not exceed 125mm on Z, Y and X still keep pumping awayā¦ and the extruder still keeps chugging out plasticā¦ so this could cause real problems with a nozzle jams, and depending what you are printing, could even be a fire hazard.
Iāve written to support on this. It has been 6 days, and I havenāt heard back. I fed them a little more information on the issue. When it is fixed, Iāll post backā¦
Did you follow the instructions in Downloads and Updates for Firmware ? Where you need to type M1025 command in order to let the main controller know how long Z axis can go.
Nope. I thought I did. Apparently I skipped a step. Iāll be doing that today. I saw a screenshot of snapmaker.js (which I donāt really use for 3D printing) and assumed that was a configuration within an application that was irrelevant to meā¦ so I skimmed past it.
It will be several hours before I have an opportunity to do this, but I fully expect it to work. Iāll post back afterwards.
OK. I did thisā¦ and it seems to be responding appropriately to the gcode to move the axes around. Z goes up to 221. It is difficult for me to make large prints during the week, but I will try a vase or something to make sure this works.
OK. Confirmed. Z-Axis working. I printed this last night. Sorry, it is a crummy picture, but it was getting late. The print came out absolutely gorgeous. It didnāt go the full 221mm, but it is well over 125mm ā and the gcode I put at the end to raise Z to maximum worked fine when the print was finished.
Very cool. Nowā¦ we just need a solution for an enclosure (since it no longer fits the original)ā¦
I was tempted, but instead I purchased the larger snapmaker 2 version. I might still upgrade, but Iāve delegated it to like, a personal christmas present or something like that.
Glad you got it working though! It seems like it would expand the options quite a bit.
Yeahā¦ I did both I pledged the large SM2 as well. I just figured that the old snapmaker is much more useful to me if I can print >125mm. That 125x125x125 was by far and away the Achilles heel of the SM original. I have been eagerly awaiting the extension since I pledged.
I have a Prusa i3 MK3 as well, but it is just a constant fight with that thing with ghosting, over-extrusion and jamming. These issues are almost entirely eradicated on the SM. Any issues Iāve had with it were due to my own error or bad media. I attribute this reliability/stability to the overall design and materials of the unit. The SM is solid, solid, solid. The Prusa just has a more rickety design. Having the extended Z Axis means I can use it for more prints ā prints that had to go to the Prusa strictly on the basis of size.
(Donāt get me wrong, I like my Prusa too, it has great capability, and their philosophy and design practices have probably done more than any single company to give to the 3D printing community. They are responsible for for engineering and/or implementing so much of what we take for granted whenever we fire up a printer. It is a flexible and proven device. But when I donāt want to tinker and Iām printing something that needs to be pretty, I use the snapmaker because of the a fore mentioned issues. Iām very grateful to have that Z-Axis extension, so I can use it more often.)
If you are happy with your longer Z axis, would you sell me your old, short one? I need a few for a project. PM me, or send an email to joe@saturn5.bio. Thanks!
Has anyone tested the installation to one of the other axis? Because of the higher stability in the layer directions, i would prefere to print not higher but in lengh or depth.
I pledged the large SM2 as well. I just figured that the old snapmaker is much more useful to me if I can print >125mm. That 125x125x125 was by far and away the Achilles heel of the SM original. I have been eagerly awaiting the extension since I pledged.