The Upcoming Snapmaker U1 May Finally Make Toolchanger 3D Printing Accessible

Snapmaker has always been a bit of an oddball in the 3D printing industry. Their initial offering, the Snapmaker 1, was a 3-in-1 machine that was part 3D printer, part laser engraver, and part CNC mill. Over the years, the company has explored other unusual designs, including IDEX (Independent Dual EXtruder) 3D printers. Now they’re gearing up to launch the new Snapmaker U1, which may finally achieve something no other company has managed to pull off: accessible toolchanging.

Multi-material 3D printing is very desirable, as it dramatically expands the versatility of a 3D printer. The most obvious advantage is being able to print with multiple colors in a single part, but the ability to mix different materials is arguably even more important. But what is the best way to print with multiple materials?

A decade ago, that was mostly limited to dual-extruder 3D printers. Essentially, they put two extruder assemblies right next to each other on the carriage. But those are difficult to align, tend to be messy, and only allow for two materials in a single job.

IDEX systems are an extension of that, with two extruder carriages that move independently on the X axis rail. They enable some interesting new features, like mirrored and duplicated parts, but have the same problems as dual-extruders.

Then we started seeing filament-changing systems, like Bambu Lab’s AMS and Prusa’s MMU. They physically swap the filament going to the extruder, which solves most dual-extruder problems and enables the use of many materials (the new H2D allows for 24 at a time). But swapping filaments is slow — especially if the hot end needs to change temperature.

Toolchanger systems combine many of the best attributes of those other systems. A toolchanger printer has multiple toolheads, each loaded with its own filament. The printer can simply grab whatever toolhead it needs at any given time.

The most well-known toolchanger 3D printer right now is the Prusa XL, but it is pricey — currently $4,519 for an assembled printer with five toolheads and an enclosure. There are also interesting Voron toolchanger options, but they’re DIY solutions that are intimidating, to say the least.

The Snapmaker U1 is the first toolchanger 3D printer we’ve seen that may be both affordable and accessible. Snapmaker is calling their toolchanger system “SnapSwap” and it is promising. The U1 will have four toolheads and can switch between them in less than 5 seconds — far faster than an AMS or MMU filament change. And toolchanger swaps don’t require purging, so no more poop bins!

Snapmaker just announced the U1 and hasn’t yet provided details like size, price, or release date. But we can glean some information from the announcement photos and videos:

The Snapmaker U1 is probably enclosed — a top cover isn’t shown, but it sure seems like that will at least be an option.

And it looks like the front of the bed says “Build Volume: 270 ×270 ×270mm,” which is pretty healthy.

There is a full-color touchscreen interface on the frame and Snapmaker’s announcement implies that it will be compatible with their Luban 3-in-1 CAM/slicer software and Snapmaker Orca slicer software.

All of the promotional material shows the filament spools riding on holders protruding from the sides of the frame, but the inlets are positioned such that it should be possible to feed from filament storage/dryer boxes.

And the Snapmaker U1 has CoreXY kinematics, which is what buyers expect from a modern 3D printer. Snapmaker is advertising an acceleration rate of 20,000mm/s/s and print speeds of 300mm/s, which is very good while being still being believable (rather than a marketing exaggeration).

In my recent review of the Bambu Lab H2D, I stated that I believed it to be the most influential new 3D printer of 2025. But if Snapmaker can get the U1 into customer hands this year, I might have to revise that statement.

Even among Bambu Lab fans, the H2D has been divisive. Its dual nozzles are better than traditional dual-extruder designs, as they lift out of the way when not in use and work with AMS units. But many people have been vocal about their disappointment that Bambu Lab didn’t release a toolchanger 3D printer and Snapmaker is poised to swoop in and snatch up those customers.

You can bet I’ll be doing my best to get my hands on the Snapmaker U1 to review for The Maker’s Toolbox column.