The Snapmaker U1 Just Landed on the Bench — First Look
By MakerViking
Published
Updated
6 min read
Category: Tool Reviews
This is the "it's here" post, not the verdict. The U1 arrived, I unboxed it, got it mounted, and pushed a couple of prints through it. The proper deep...
<p class="mb 2" <em This is the "it's here" post, not the verdict. The U1 arrived, I unboxed it, got it mounted, and pushed a couple of prints through it. The proper deep dive — multi material torture tests, the SnapSwap system under real load, slicer workflow, the lot — is coming. Consider this the opening shot.</em </p <blockquote class="border l 4 border gray 300 dark:border gray 600 pl 4 italic my 4" <p class="mb 2" <strong Disclosure:</strong Snapmaker sent me this U1 to put through its paces. They have no say over what I write, and nothing here is pre approved by them — if it annoys me, you'll hear about it. The Snapmaker link below is an affiliate link; if you buy through it, it helps keep TinkerAtlas running at no extra cost to you.</p <p class="mb 2" 👉 <strong Snapmaker U1:</strong <a target=" blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="text blue 600 hover:text blue 800 dark:text blue 400 dark:hover:text blue 200 underline cursor pointer transition colors" href="https://snapmaker.sjv.io/2RMev0" https://snapmaker.sjv.io/2RMev0</a </p </blockquote <hr <h2 class="font bold" Why this machine is a big deal before I've even printed anything</h2 <p class="mb 2" I've been 3D printing since February 2018, and in that time the single most tedious thing about multi color work didn't really change until the tool changers started to arrive: the purge. Every color swap on an AMS style machine means flushing the old filament out of one shared nozzle, and you pay for that in time and in a small mountain of wasted plastic. Anyone who's run a 90 swap multi color plate knows the "poop chute" pile that ends up next to the printer.</p <p class="mb 2" The U1's answer is to not have that problem in the first place. Instead of one nozzle juggling four spools, it's a true <strong tool changer</strong : four independent toolheads, each with its own hot end and its own filament, that physically swap in and out. Snapmaker calls the mechanism <strong SnapSwap</strong , and the pitch is a swap in a handful of seconds rather than the minute plus reel and clean dance you get elsewhere — which, on a color heavy print, adds up fast.</p <p class="mb 2" It's worth noting this isn't a niche curiosity. The U1 became the <strong most funded 3D printer campaign in Kickstarter history</strong , pulling in over $20.6 million from more than 20,000 backers. Tool changers used to be Prusa XL money, professional tier gear. The U1's whole reason for existing is to drag that capability down to a price a normal maker can actually justify.</p <hr <h2 class="font bold" The specs, briefly</h2 <p class="mb 2" I'll save the opinions for the full review — here's just the hardware on paper:</p <ul <li <p class="mb 2" <strong Motion:</strong CoreXY, speeds up to 500 mm/s, acceleration up to 20,000 mm/s²</p </li <li <p class="mb 2" <strong Toolheads:</strong 4 independent, hot swappable via SnapSwap; alignment offset held under 0.04 mm</p </li <li <p class="mb 2" <strong Build volume:</strong 270 × 270 × 270 mm</p </li <li <p class="mb 2" <strong Waste:</strong up to 80% less filament burned on color changes vs. shared nozzle systems</p </li <li <p class="mb 2" <strong Materials:</strong RFID spool detection; PLA, PETG, TPU, support materials, etc.</p </li <li <p class="mb 2" <strong Monitoring:</strong built in AI camera with time lapse and print failure detection</p </li <li <p class="mb 2" <strong Interface:</strong 3.5" touchscreen, plus Wi Fi / LAN / USB</p </li <li <p class="mb 2" <strong Software:</strong runs Klipper + Moonraker under the hood, Fluidd as the web client, and the OrcaSlicer based <strong Snapmaker Orca</strong for slicing</p </li <li <p class="mb 2" <strong In the box:</strong textured PEI steel sheet, 4× 500 g SnapSpeed PLA (red, pearl white, black, yellow), filament feeders, waste collector, and the usual toolkit</p </li </ul <p class="mb 2" A small thing that matters here in Norway: the U1 ships with a <strong 2 year warranty</strong for the EU, Switzerland, Norway and Iceland, versus one year for the rest of the world. Nice not to be the afterthought region for once.</p <hr <h2 class="font bold" Unboxing</h2 <img src="https://api.tinkeratlas.com/storage/v1/object/public/project images/articles/70aec187 0e8f 4711 b925 a50e749f3deb/1780532231783 r1wzke.jpg" alt="" height="auto" <img src="https://api.tinkeratlas.com/storage/v1/object/public/project images/articles/70aec187 0e8f 4711 b925 a50e749f3deb/1780537602885 2pu956.jpg" alt="" height="auto" <img src="https://api.tinkeratlas.com/storage/v1/object/public/project images/articles/70aec187 0e8f 4711 b925 a50e749f3deb/1780600795829 53ea1a.jpg" alt="" height="auto" <p class="mb 2" First impressions out of the packaging: <em It's well packaged and organized. Looks like it'll be a simple build to get it ready. </em </p <img src="https://api.tinkeratlas.com/storage/v1/object/public/project images/articles/70aec187 0e8f 4711 b925 a50e749f3deb/1780537630801 4xp66e.jpg" alt="" height="auto" <img src="https://api.tinkeratlas.com/storage/v1/object/public/project images/articles/70aec187 0e8f 4711 b925 a50e749f3deb/1780600764461 cnoxe0.jpg" alt="" height="auto" <hr <h2 class="font bold" Mounting & getting it onto the bench</h2 <p class="mb 2" The U1 doesn't arrive fully assembled — but the setup is meant to be the short, sane kind, not a weekend of Allen key meditation.</p <p class="mb 2" How it actually went: No issues at all, good user manual and easy assembly. It took a while with all the calibrations etc. after assembly, but that's not something that needs to be done that often, so no biggie. The UI on the screen is nice and functional, and the phone app is working well.</p <div data youtube video="" <iframe src="https://www.youtube nocookie.com/embed/LHBijP52gfM" class="youtube video embed my 4 rounded lg overflow hidden" allowfullscreen="true" rel="1" </iframe </div <hr <h2 class="font bold" First prints</h2 <p class="mb 2" I didn't want to wait, so I ran a couple of test prints straight away to see it move. Starting with the Dragon.</p <div data youtube video="" <iframe src="https://www.youtube nocookie.com/embed/QQ1hkxY8t68" class="youtube video embed my 4 rounded lg overflow hidden" allowfullscreen="true" rel="1" </iframe </div <p class="mb 2" Early read: Prints looks really good. Fun seeing the swaps, and they are quicker than I expected. The printer is not quiet, but not the most noisy printer I've heard either, let's call it medium noise level. </p <p class="mb 2" I also printed one of my own models: <a target=" blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="text blue 600 hover:text blue 800 dark:text blue 400 dark:hover:text blue 200 underline cursor pointer transition colors" href="https://makerworld.com/en/models/1302455 spike alien lizard profileId 1335076" Spike the Alien Lizard</a . </p <div data youtube video="" <iframe src="https://www.youtube nocookie.com/embed/lFo9 cq Rc4" class="youtube video embed my 4 rounded lg overflow hidden" allowfullscreen="true" rel="1" </iframe </div <hr <h2 class="font bold" What's coming next</h2 <p class="mb 2" This was deliberately just the landing. The stuff I actually want to dig into:</p <ul <li <p class="mb 2" <strong The SnapSwap system under real load</strong does the few seconds per swap claim hold up across a print with dozens of changes, and how clean are the transitions?</p </li <li <p class="mb 2" <strong Multi material, not just multi color</strong mixing PLA with TPU, PETG support interfaces, soluble supports. This is where a true tool changer should pull ahead of AMS style machines. Looking forward to experiment with this. </p </li <li <p class="mb 2" <strong Waste</strong prime tower and purge, set against what I remember burning on the Bambu + AMS rigs I used to run.</p </li <li <p class="mb 2" <strong The software stack</strong — living in Snapmaker Orca, and what the Klipper/Moonraker/Fluidd underpinnings mean for those of us who like to tinker.</p </li <li <p class="mb 2" <strong Day to day reliability</strong — the boring, important stuff: how it holds up over a week and longer of real printing.</p </li </ul <p class="mb 2" If there's something specific you want me to test on the U1, tell me before I write the deep dive — I'd rather answer the questions you actually have than the ones I assume you have.</p <p class="mb 2" I'll be posting clips and progress as I go, and streaming some of the testing live on Twitch as <strong MakerViking </strong if my webcam decides to be stable enough for me to trust it. </p <hr <p class="mb 2" <em Want one yourself? The U1's here: </em <a target=" blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="text blue 600 hover:text blue 800 dark:text blue 400 dark:hover:text blue 200 underline cursor pointer transition colors" href="https://snapmaker.sjv.io/2RMev0" <strong <em https://snapmaker.sjv.io/2RMev0</em </strong </a <em — affiliate link, supports TinkerAtlas, costs you nothing extra.</em </p <p class="mb 2" <em Not in the market for a printer but want to keep TinkerAtlas running? You can chip in directly:</em </p <ul <li <p class="mb 2" <em Ko fi: </em <a target=" blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="text blue 600 hover:text blue 800 dark:text blue 400 dark:hover:text blue 200 underline cursor pointer transition colors" href="https://ko fi.com/tinkeratlas" <em https://ko fi.com/tinkeratlas</em </a </p </li <li <p class="mb 2" <em PayPal: </em <a target=" blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="text blue 600 hover:text blue 800 dark:text blue 400 dark:hover:text blue 200 underline cursor pointer transition colors" href="https://paypal.me/makerviking" <em https://paypal.me/makerviking</em </a </p </li </ul <p class="mb 2" <em Every bit goes straight into keeping the platform online and the work going.</em </p <p class="mb 2" <em — Thomas / MakerViking</em </p
