There are rumours of yet another toolchanging 3D printer, this time from Snapmaker.
Snapmaker is a long-time manufacturer of “3-in-1” desktop 3D printers. These are devices that include not only 3D printing functionality, but also laser etching and milling functions. They’re designed for crafty makers that don’t have a big workspace to accommodate multiple devices for these functions.
Now we see a rumour image, shown at the top. This is quite an interesting image, as it shows a number of features:
- Toolchanging toolheads at the rear, apparently three with one being active.
- Four spools mounted on the sides, matching the toolhead count.
- A four-colour print on the plate, demonstrating that it does work.
- Fully enclosed system, similar to many other recent desktop 3D printers following Bambu Lab’s lead.
The really interesting bit is the logo on the front. While the machine has a “Snapmaker” logo, it also has an “xTool” logo.
xTool is a company that produces desktop laser engravers, and their products have been growing in popularity.
The question is, why do they both appear on this device? Could it be they are partnering, combining Snapmaker’s 3D printing mojo with xTool’s laser tech? Snapmaker already has some knowledge of lasers, but perhaps xTool can provide even more expertise and hardware.
It may be that one of the toolheads in the machine shown could be a higher-power laser engraver. This would be quite convenient, and it may even be possible to use multiple functions in the same job.
How real is all this? Is this just an image? Over at Tom’s Hardware, contributor Denise Bertacchi did some detective work and determined that the leaks seem valid, and that the machine is also capable of high-speed 3D printing via Klipper firmware.
Multifunction desktop 3D printers have been around for a while but really haven’t been that popular. While useful for some, they tend to have a much smaller audience than for “plain” 3D printers.
That said, it’s curious that Bambu Lab’s new H2D machine has a powerful laser function that seems quite aligned with this rumoured machine from Snapmaker. Is this suddenly a popular product category? Why did that change? Or are these companies chasing a larger hybrid device market that may or may not really exist?
Nevertheless, we have zero official information about all this from Snapmaker or xTool, but it would not be surprising if something were announced in coming weeks.
Via Reddit and Tom’s Hardware
