More 3D Printing Leaks: Is a New Tool Changer on the Horizon?

Leaked photos appear to show a new collaboration between 3D printing manufacturer Snapmaker and laser company Xtool. It’s an interesting team-up, as both companies have made multifunctional devices and stand-alone lasers. Snapmaker’s last 3D printer was the impressive Snapmaker Artisan, which launched in 2022. It is a premium 3D printer with dual nozzles, similar to what Bambu Lab is using in the H2D, as well as a laser and CNC. The company has also made a stand-alone laser, the Snapmaker Ray.

xTool makes premium lasers primarily for crafty entrepreneurs. Its most recent multifunctional machine is the M1 Ultra, a device that combines a laser with a blade cutter, embosser, and inkjet printer. The M1 Ultra is currently under review, and we’re quite impressed with its wide range of capabilities.

The unnamed xTool/Snapmaker collab recently appeared on Reddit and seems to be a four-color tool changer with a bed about the size of the Bambu Lab X1C. The photo shows the printer in a lab setting with several other machines. We can see four spools outside the machine, similar to the setup used by the Prusa Research XL. The machine has a flat, four-color print on the bed. The tool heads are obscured, but the image clearly shows four of them.

I tracked the leak to a Snapmaker J1 Owner's Facebook page, which then linked to French Youtuber Tech Napa. He claimed that someone gave him information from an xTool engineer’s conversation on WeChat.

Since I don’t speak Chinese, I relied on Google Translate, which says “The new SM machine information found so far, 4 heads, klipper, 270x268x270, 2w acceleration, 500mms, slice based on orca two-opening, integrated model library (similar to luban) device management function.”

Not all of the translation makes sense, but it would suggest a build volume (270x268x270) slightly bigger than an X1C’s 256x256x256mm, with a similar speed of 500mm/s. Klipper would be needed to aid a speedy printer. Snapmaker’s Artisan did use a Luban-based slicer when we reviewed it.

The mysterious 3D printer also appeared on the X feed of Japanese blogger @YuTR0N. However, this time only the Snapmaker logo is seen.

Only time will tell if this leak is, in fact, true. Snapmaker hasn’t introduced a fast printer yet, and xTool is known for its user-friendly software. If the two companies bring together their best parts, this could lead to significant competition in the world of colorful, crafty 3D printing.