The engineers at Snapmaker first offered their 3D printer / laser engraver / CNC carver in 2016 with a wildly ambitious vision. They wanted making to be as easy as taking photos in the next decades. Prohibitive costs of maker tools, dubious quality of machines, and a steep learning curve work against a beginning maker. After manufacturing the Snapmaker for two years they're back with the Snapmaker 2.0, the next generation of 3-in-1 3D printers.
The Snapmaker 2.0 comes in three sizes, from the A150 and its 160 x 160 x 145 millimeter build envelope to the A350 and its printing envelope of 320 x 350 x 330 millimeters. Each model comes with a heated bed and layer resolutions between 50 and 300 microns. The nozzle temperature can heat up to 275 degrees Celsius and filaments of PLA, ABS, TPU, and Wood-filled PLA have been tested. The laser engraver starts at a 230 x 250 millimeter working area for its 1.6 Watt, 450 nanometer wavelength Class 4 laser and has been tested with wood, leather, plastic, fabric, paper, and non-transparent acrylic. The CNC carver starts with a 230 x 250 x 180 millimeter build area, accommodating tools with shanks from 0.5 - 6.35 millimeter diameter, and a spindle speed of 6-12,000 rotations per minute. Wood, acrylic, printed circuitboards, carbon fiber sheets, and jade have been tested in the CNC setup.
The 3D printer has auto-leveling, filament runout recovery, cooling analysis software, and a flexible buildplate. The laser has an integrated camera, a line capture system in the software, and runs on either the high quality dot mode or normal quality line mode of engraving. The CNC module uses an ER11 collet, MDF wasteboard, and dust-resistant linear slide components. Snapmakerjs is the proprietary software that controls all three functions, and is open source, but the campaign also says that the machine will accept g-code files.
Snapmaker was already popular, with a large user base and busy Community. This new offering has blown by its funding goal and the campaign has generated 459 comments and a 21 question FAQ as of this writing. Even before discussing the incredible slate of add-ons planned including an IP camera, emergency stop button, LED lighting, and a handwheel, this is an incredibly ambitious project that will be great to watch in the next few years. The campaign ends on June 6, 2019.