I decided to open a new avenue for design in 3D printing. I intend to order a new Snapmaker U1 4 color FDM printer in a few days. Here is a link to the specifics. <Snapmaker U1>

I already own a 4 color Creality K2PLUS  FDM printer. It can be connected to 16 colors if that is a need or desire. Excellent quality printer but it is a single nozzle filament swap system. 

That means the color filament length is fully retracted back to the spool and a new color filament fed the same distance back into the extruder. Slow and cumbersome and a huge amount of melted in-extruder filament and new filament must be purged out before starting use of the new color. 

It works fine but is very slow and wastes (called PooP) a whole lot of filament for the purge.

It’s not bad when printing a few horizontal layer stripes of different color. But printing a design with say… four color changes per layer is horrendous waste of T&M*.

The Snapmaker U1 uses four complete print heads that are swapped for a color change. No filament pull and feed and no color change purge. Just swap a fully loaded, heated, and ready print head and in a few seconds start printing the new color.

The limitation is just four heads and four colors (or materials) rather than sixteen with the K2PLUS. 

Not selling printers, but I do like to designs items with mixed color or materials. Vertical stripes are a PITA with the K2PLUS. No problem with the U1 except (again) the 4 color limit.

What has happened is I do not design items with multiple color or filament changes per layer for the K2PLUS. It’s a creative limitation. I could create the design, but I know the huge T&M* production penalty with the K2PLUS 

I own and use a Snapmaker J1S IDEX (two independent extruders) So I know what T&M* to expect with wipe towers etc, The U1 can’t run two heads in tandem for duplicates like the J1but adds two more colors.

The U1 is a new design for Snapmaker. Will be perfect? I don’t know. But I like the idea of new designs I can create to utilize its abilities. Don’t buy a U1 for what I say here. I just want to point out the creative advantage such a printer will provide. More colors or materials per layer with good T&M* management.

*Time and Material