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Snapmaker, notable manufacturer of 3-in-1 3D printers, announced the release of its newest system yesterday: the Snapmaker Artisan.

Though the company is perhaps most notable for holding the most profitable technology Kickstarter in history while funding its previous machine, the Snapmaker 2.0, there is, surprisingly, no sign of a Kickstarter campaign this time. If that holds, the Artisan will be the first self-funded development in the company’s lineup.

It's Pronounced Artisan

Snapmaker Artisan to Cost $2,799, Pre-orders Launch August 9

The Snapmaker Artisan has all the typical hallmarks of a Snapmaker 3-in-1 3D printer. It comprises a predominantly metal body and features interchangeable toolheads that allow users to easily swap between 3D printing, CNC carving, or laser engraving and cutting. This time, the company has stepped up its printhead to reach temperatures of up to 300 °C and include dual extrusion – two highly desirable features for makers with more demanding projects. It also boasts a 350 x 400 x 400 mm build volume for 3D printing and 400 x 400 mm for CNC and laser projects, handily beating out the largest of the Snapmaker 2.0 sizes.

Switching between toolheads looks like it’ll be faster on the Artisan, with a levered locking mechanism replacing the old screw system. Snapmaker says swapping between all three of its toolheads takes just 60 seconds.

The Artisan’s new toolhead mechanism looks to offer toolless swapping (Source: Snapmaker via Twitter)

This new toolhead mechanism does beg the question of what happens to Snapmaker’s previous toolheads. A large part of the company’s marketing for its first machine was the continued release of addons to further increase functionality and ongoing support for toolheads on later systems. Neither promise followed through. Later, when the Snapmaker 2.0’s 10 W laser was released, the company said it “will be compatible with upcoming machines.”

The Artisan’s announcement is fresh off the heels of an update to the 2.0, which introduced minor hardware optimizations. This further complicates the question of compatibility. Will Snapmaker provide a stopgap for previous toolheads to fit its new locking mechanism, or will previous tools be incompatible with this new system? We’ll need more information before we can say for sure.

The Artisan does come with a 10W laser engraving toolhead as stock, unlike the 2.0’s much less powerful 1.6 W stock laser, so you might not miss the old module if you opt for this newer machine. But that old promise may still sting, regardless.

Update 26.07.22: Added clarification about build volumes for different functions.

Aside from the more powerful laser toolhead, the Snapmaker Artisan looks like it will come with at least one more of the Snapmaker 2.0’s addons as stock – what looks to be an emergency stop button can be seen on the system’s UI.

Insofar as other improvements, the company’s marketing material promises speedy 3D printing, in the range of 150-180 mm/s print speed. Unlike most promises of fast 3D printing on new hardware, Snapmaker specifies a dimensional accuracy of +/- 0.1 mm at those speeds. Achieving this would certainly be impressive for a Cartesian-XZ-head composition like the Artisan’s.

A comparison between the Snapmaker 2.0 linear module composition (left) with the new Artisan linear module (right) (Source: Snapmaker)

The Artisan’s speed claim has managed to capture our interest, though. More so than usual. Snapmaker is making much of its new linear guides, dubbed “Next-Gen Linear Modules”. This component even takes center stage in the first of Snapmaker’s Artisan blog articles, which it says will be a series delving deep into the Artisan’s features and development. Linear guides and rails are typically more stable than more common linear rods and can improve accuracy at higher speeds, but it’s worth noting the 150-180 mm/s speeds Snapmaker has claimed are still high. It will be interesting to see how the Artisan holds up to the company’s specific numbers.

The Artisan isn’t available for purchase yet, but the August 2022 teaser date Snapmaker has highlighted on its website suggests the system’s release is forthcoming. If you’re keen to get one first, you can sign up for a notification on the Snapmaker Artisan’s product page today.

Lead image source: Snapmaker

License: The text of "Snapmaker Announces the Artisan, Its Newest 3-in-1 3D Printer" by All3DP is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.