Define Your Workshop’s Purpose

Determine what projects you plan on doing: Before you go ahead with building a workshop, you have to decide which projects you’ll be undertaking: woodworking, metalworking, electronics, crafts, repairing things, or a 3-in-1 combination?

For example, a woodworker will prioritize space for larger tools and dust collection, while an electronics hobbyist will need a clean, well-lit area with good ventilation for soldering. The purpose will dictate the tools, equipment, and space requirements, forming the foundation of your plan.

Assess Your Available Space

Choose a suitable location for your workshop setup based on available space in your home. Common options include:

Location Options:

• Workshop in Garage: Roomy but may need to share space with vehicles.
• Basement: Cool, but may need extra lighting and dehumidification.
• Shed or Outbuilding: Private space, but may need power and insulation.
• Spare Room: Convenient but requires noise and dust control.

Measure the Space:

Carefully measure the area; take flooring, walls, lighting, electrical outlets, and ventilation into account. This will help you plan an appropriate layout that maximizes work and efficiency.

Evaluate Existing Features:

• Flooring: Concrete, wood, or other? Choose flooring that is durable and easy to upkeep.
• Walls: Are they finished? Think about insulation and wall coverings for durability and sound dampening.
• Lighting: Any existing lighting may be inadequate. Plan for the task and ambient lighting.
• Electrical Outlets: Will there be enough outlets, and will they be in convenient locations? Will handling power tools require adding outlets and perhaps circuits?
• Ventilation: Is there natural ventilation (windows, doors)? You may need to add mechanical ventilation, especially for dust and fumes.

Budget and Schedule

• Set a Budget: Determine your overall investment and how much you’ll spend initially. Gradual setup is budget-friendly.
• Prioritize Essentials: Focus on core tools and safety gear aligned with your workshop goals (workbench, hand tools, lighting, essential power tools).
• Consider Used Tools: Explore used markets for significant savings, especially larger equipment.
• Phase Purchases: Start with essentials and expand gradually as your skills and budget grow. This allows for manageable spending and refinement of your needs over time.

Design the Workshop Layout

This section will help you plan your home workshop layout and select the right items for functional and efficient workspace use. Good planning at this stage will greatly enhance your workshop experience. 

1. Defining Work Zones

To maximize efficiency and organization, divide your small workshop layout into distinct functional areas based on your workflow. Common work zones include:

• Assembly/Workbench Area: Consider this central space for general tasks, hand tool work, and project assembly. It should be spacious and well-lighted.
• Machine Area: Provide space for heavy power tools, 3D printers, laser engravers, jointers, and drill presses. Add important safety clearances around the machinery.
• Finishing Area: Ideally, this is a separate, well-ventilated place where paints, stains, and other finishes are applied.
• Dedicated space for storing tools, project supplies, and consumables. An efficient storage arrangement keeps the workspace clean and the tools readily available.
• Material Storage: Plan for storing raw materials like lumber, metal stock, or other project-specific materials. Consider vertical storage solutions for long items.
• Clean-up Area: Make an area available for dust collection, waste disposal, and cleaning supplies. This will help to ensure a safe and healthy workshop environment.

Workbench – The Central Hub:

• Workbench Placement: Position your workbench strategically. Central position works, but consider placing it where it supports your main workflow best while getting good light.
• Workbench Features: Choose a workbench that best meets your projects:
  • Sturdy Construction: A solid, stable workbench is necessary for many workshop tasks.
  • Appropriate Size and Height: Choose a size that fits your space while giving lots of working surface. The workbench’s height must be comfortable for you to work on for extended periods.
  • Vises and Dog Holes: Certain projects will require clamping workpieces, so consider distinguishing a section of the table with vises for this purpose, or if using a universal approach, you will want to include dog holes for work-holding with universal accessories.

2. Optimizing Workflow and Safety

● Workflow and Traffic Flow: Arrange your work zones to create a logical flow for your projects. Minimize unnecessary movement between zones. Consider how materials will move through your workshop from storage to completion.

● Safety Zones and Clearances: First, ensure adequate areas for the operation of machinery and movement around machinery, and then keep walking spaces clear of such objects to avoid accidental falls. 

3. Tool Placement and Storage

• Tool Storage Place. Keep hand and measuring tools frequently used within reach and accessible with locations at major work zones, especially at the workbench. 
• Tool Storage: Keeping tools organized, safe, and readily available can be accomplished in several ways.
  • Wall Shelving: It can accommodate project boxes and less frequent tools with vertical storage of materials by wall-mounted shelves. 
  • Freestanding Shelf Units: Freestanding shelves can be moved fairly easily, accommodating any changes made in the workshop. 
  • Lumber Racks: Essential for long lumber or metal stock to be stored vertically, saving floor space. 
  • Cabinets (Base and Wall): An enclosed store keeps tools from dust and presents a neat appearance in the workshop. Wall cabinets are the best for eye-level access. 
  • Drawers: It is suitable for arranging small hand tools, hardware (screws, nails, etc.), as well as measuring or marking tools. 
  • Tool Organizers: For organizing tools, pegboards, magnetic tool holders, toolboxes, and drawer organizers could be employed to maximize efficiency.
  • Mobile Tool Carts. Carts provide storage that attaches to wheels and rolls from shop to project, allowing the user to keep the tools of interest close at hand. 

Incorporate Safety Measures

Lighting

• Ambient Lighting: Direct overhead lights that will light the whole workshop area (fluorescent or LED shop lights are fairly common). 
• Task Lighting: Adjustable lamps or directed lights focused on working areas like the workbench and machinery. 
• Natural Light: Maximize the amount of natural light coming in with regard to windows, which also includes glare control.

Power and Electrical

• Adequate Outlets: Install enough outlets at smart places around the workshop, including workbenches and machinery. 
• Dedicated Circuits: It could be useful to think of dedicated circuits for power-hungry tools to prevent them from being overloaded. 
• Heavy-Duty Extension Cords And Power Strips: Heavy-duty extension cords and power strips must be used for operation and should provide surge protection. 
• Three-phase Power: Three-phase power must be considered if dense industrial machines are going to be used, but that rarely happens in a home shop. Please consult with an electrician if necessary. 

Dust Collection and Ventilation

• Shop Vac: For cleaning around the shop and connecting to power tools. Dust Collectors: For larger woodworking machines such as table saws and planers. These could also be central dust collection systems or portable dust collectors. 
• Natural Ventilation: Use windows and doors as purveyors of air into and out of the building space. 
• Exhaust Fan: An exhaust fan can handle any dust, fumes, or odors, especially in polishing areas. 
• Cross Ventilation: Provide inlets and outlets to enhance airflow movement across the range.

Safety Equipment

• Safety Glasses/Goggles: Always eye protection is a must in any workspace. 
• Hearing Protection: Earmuffs or plugs are a good way to protect against loud power tools’ damaging sounds. 
• Respirators or Dust Masks: Wear these while sanding or finishing to protect against dust and fumes. 
• Work Gloves: Protects hands from cuts, abrasion, and chemicals. 
• First Aid Kit: This should always be present in the workstation, and the first-aid kit should be fully stocked. 
• Fire Extinguisher: The standard requirements of an ABC fire extinguisher will be installed and positioned in an area for easy access. 

Key Takeaways

All the steps mentioned above, including purpose, selecting an area, creating a layout for the woodworking shop design, and safety, will make a complete plan for your small workshop. This approach covers all the critical parameters and gives you a space ready to apply your projects.

The post How to Set Up a Workshop appeared first on | Blog.

Snapmaker’s Open Source Philosophy, the Snapmaker Orca Project, and What Lies Ahead

Our Philosophy: The Way of the Snapmaker

There’s been quite a bit of discussion lately on the role of open source in the 3D Printing Community. With that in mind, we want to affirm Snapmaker’s commitment to open source development.

We believe in openness, expandability, and continuous optimization to ensure our users have the best experience with their machines, and can make something wonderful – however they want.

Our way forward is to open up our old machines to easier integration with various third party software and common protocols, provide the best possible tools to our users in the form of slicer profiles and software developed in house, and in fact to allow users of other machines to make use of our software as well.

The Snapmaker Orca Project

Snapmaker’s software ecosystem is undergoing a transformative phase with the release of Snapmaker Orca, a fork of OrcaSlicer. This new software builds upon the foundations of open-source development and is tailored specifically for Snapmaker machines, although we plan on opening it up to third party devices in the near future.

Currently, slicing tasks are handled by Luban, which is based on the Cura engine. While great for beginners, Luban lacks advanced features and optimizations for Snapmaker machines, leading many users to use third party options. This is great – we love tinkering and experimenting, and encourage Snapmaker fans to continue to do so. To make life better and easier for everyone, in the upcoming V2.x, the Orca project will provide more user-friendly device control and management functions. Gradually, we will continue integrating protocols for device control and management from a range of third-party apps. Until then, you will still have to use Luban as a pass-through. Note that Luban itself isn’t going anywhere – it will continue to serve as an excellent entrypoint to the world of 3D Printing, Laser, and CNC machining.

We decided to go with Orca because it was popular with users and already had Snapmaker specific profiles created and managed externally. Bringing these in house gives us better control over these configurations, enhances compatibility, and offers new avenues for user-centric development. Using Snapmaker Orca will allow users early access to our advanced optimizations, but we will continue to push these up to the main OrcaSlicer. We can’t guarantee that every update will be accepted by the main fork, but we will be building an ‘open garden’ and continue to support OrcaSlicer however we can.

Snapmaker Orca Beta V1.1.0

With Snapmaker Orca Beta V1.1.0 out and available now, what are the top things users will get out of it?

1. Early Access to Optimized Features: Snapmaker Orca allows users to access optimized features and various Snapmaker machine presets earlier than OrcaSlicer.
2. Enhanced Multi-Extruder Support: Snapmaker Orca has made further improvements in multi-extruder functionality and will continue to enhance this area, developing more features to meet user needs.
3. Commitment to Open Source: Snapmaker Orca remains aligned with OrcaSlicer in the slicing domain, contributing optimizations back to OrcaSlicer while maintaining its own open-source nature.

Snapmaker Orca Roadmap

The Snapmaker Orca project has only just begun. Let’s take a look at what lies ahead:

• V0.x (Previous): Internal development and testing phase, focusing on establishing the foundational workflow for Snapmaker machines in design, slicing, printing, and connectivity.
• V1.x (Current): Iterative improvements centered on print quality optimization, multi-extruder functionality refinement, and enhanced user experience. The goal is to better adapt Snapmaker Orca to Snapmaker machines while improving the usability of its general features.
• V2.x (Future): Comprehensive support for software connectivity, focusing on device discovery, connection, control, and management. Additional support for third-party machines will also be gradually introduced.

Vision & Goal: To establish Snapmaker Orca as a universal software platform supporting multi-brand machines, integrating user model communities, machine control and management, and model design and slicing capabilities.

A Note On Security

We are committed to using technology to ensure the security of machines when they are connected to the cloud and during communication. We will not rely on closed-source or closed-ecosystem approaches to ensure security (in fact, these methods cannot guarantee security either).

Since we are still in the early stages of development, we are currently unable to provide a complete technical solution. However, our guiding principles will not change.

More Thoughts On Open Source

Snapmaker has benefitted tremendously from the open source community.

The Snapmaker Software Team is made up of young and passionate engineers, whose education, side projects, and now main work would not be possible in a closed-loop world.

We built Luban and the Snapmaker 2.0 firmware based on open source projects, and are now similarly developing Snapmaker Orca. Without open source projects, there would be no Snapmaker machines. Every one of us personally contributes to open source projects on GitHub and elsewhere. As part of the Snapmaker team, we built Snapmaker Luban into a popular CAM software over the past few years, with over 1000 followers.

And now as we start to work on Snapmaker Orca, we will still follow this principle. We work with SoftFever’s repository more than just copying the code, so we can make pull requests to SoftFever/OrcaSlicer easily and continuously. We’ve written quite a bit of code that’s been merged upstream into the main SoftFever/OrcaSlicer repo. Maybe now is a good time to give SoftFever a special thank you. And while we’re on it, let’s also give a special shoutout to MacDylan, who had previously maintained the Snapmaker machine profiles for OrcaSlicer and was instrumental in our internal development. There are too many people to thank right here, through GitHub, our Facebook Community Groups, and other channels – but we are sincerely grateful to our friends and collaborators across the world.

Moreover, our work on Snapmaker Orca is part of our ambition to be the new core of the 3D slicer open source community. We will not restrict our work to Snapmaker machines, but rather open up the software to interface with every printer that will accept it.

Sincerely,

The Snapmaker Team

The post Open Source: Philosophy and the Snapmaker Orca Project appeared first on | Blog.

Accelerate with Snapmaker

This year, we sponsored Schumacher CLRT, a Porsche Racing Team, who made the most of the Artisan and J1s, using 3D Printed, Laser Cut, and CNC’d part to dominate races all over the world, from Spain to Italy to Macau to Saudi Arabia.

This wasn’t the only team we sponsored as part of Accelerate with Snapmaker – find out more here.

Snapmaker Supercharged Cinema

Check out these projects from our friends all over YouTube! Whether its building a special tool missing from your workshop, putting together the ultimate trap to catch Santa, or building a time-traveling Delorean, Snapmaker’s 3-in-1 machines make it possible.

Unleash the SnapDryer

At Formnext 2024, we unveiled our first collaboration with PolyMaker, the SnapDryer.

• Dry and store your 3D filament in one solution with this modular design. Say goodbye to your filament’s moisture, and hello to your project’s creativity!
• Buy it here!

Key Products

1064nm Infrared Laser Module

Released in the Spring of 2024, the 1064nm Laser Module unlocks a whole new set of ultra-fine, precision engraving capabilities to your Snapmaker machine.

• Find out more here.
• Buy it Here!

Artisan Premium 3-in-1 3D Printer

In June we released the Snapmaker Artisan Premium, the Ultimate 3-in-1 Machine. It comes with a dual extrustion 3D Printer Module, a powerful 40W Laser, and a 200W CNC Module, with a massive 400mm³ workspace.

Supercharged Software

Upgrade to Snapmaker Orca

Snapmaker users have been asking for official support for their 3rd party integrations for a long time – you asked, we delivered.

• Join the Beta here.
• Dive into the details on the Snapmaker Wiki
• Support: https://snapmaker.formcrafts.com/support-ticket
• Join the Discussion: https://forum.snapmaker.com/t/snapmaker-orca-v1-1-0-beta-issues-report-discussions/38235/5

Videos Galore!

Big Contests, Bigger Prizes

In 2024, we started running regular Snapmaker Video Contests, kicking it off with Winter Wonderland (okay, technically that started in 2023), and developing this into a new contest every month or two!

Prizes ranged from free Snapmaker products to mega cash prizes, up to $1225 USD for the Home Alone Video Contest!

Click on one of the tiles above to check out the contest and view the video gallery of submissions!

Or check out the playlists on YouTube.

Vertical Videos

In 2024 we had the pleasure of launching our Short Video Project, a little behind-the-scenes effort to dramatically increase the number of short videos we post. These videos come from our in-house graphics team, user generated content, and external professional studios.

Follow our accounts!

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/snapmakerinc/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Snapmaker/shorts
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@snapmaker_global
• RedNote (小红书): @snapmaker

8th Anniversary Maker-a-Thon

June 1st was Snapmaker’s 8th Anniversary, so we held our annual Maker-a-Thon. 10 Teams, 10 Projects, 1 Big Party.

You can check out our Blog Post here: https://www.snapmaker.com/blog/8-years-of-playing-well-join-the-celebration-with-play-well-makerathon-artisan-premium-launch-and-more/

And make sure to download your Snapmaker Mini 3D Printable Models here! https://wiki.snapmaker.com/en/important_installation_tips_for_mini_snapmaker_models

Here’s to Snapmaker: Year 9!

Sincerely,

The Snapmaker Team

The post Snapmaker 2024: In The Rear View Mirror appeared first on | Blog.

This year, 2024, Snapmaker headed out to Frankfurt to take part in Formnext, one of the world’s largest 3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing Expos!

We partnered with our premiere Northern European Distributor, 3D Prima, to make our presence known, meet with Snapmaker fans, and catch the latest scoops from the world of 3D Printing.

Setup the day before the show started was an intense operation, but seeing the whole space go from this mess to the slick presentation hall that emerged on Day 1 was incredible.

The Bruce Lee outfits were originally just a silly idea, but after thinking it through, we decided that the bright yellow would be an excellent way to find us and make sure Snapmaker fans could connect with us. Some fans started referring to us as “The Banana Boys”.

Our table in the 3D Prima booth really started coming together when Mr. Bernd Michalak brought his gorgeous 1967 Lotus 49 1:5 scale model over, an incredible piece made almost entirely with his Snapmaker Artisan. This was quite the head turner!

It even caught the attention of Mr. Jonathan Levi (The Next Layer) who did a great job guessing exactly how each part was built and finished!

The Formnext 2024 Snapmaker Team, aka The Banana Boys (sans outfits).

The corner of the booth was stylized like the Millenium Falcon, and excellent place to take meetings or get some computer work done.

We headed over to the Polymaker booth to meet up with their Marketing and PR folks, to talk drop off the SnapDryer, where it was first unveiled to the public!

Check out the launch video for more Formnext content!

It’s an excellent accessory, you can check it out here: https://us.snapmaker.com/products/snapdryer-by-polymaker

Very grateful to have been graced by Brigitte Kock (Variable Seams), who showed off a very cool 3D Printed vest, and tested out the Bruce Lee top!

We also ran into some of our other favorite influencers, including MPoxDE, CNC Kitchen, Tech Napa, Frankly Built, and Make-o-Rama!

We apologize for missing the full group photo from the User Meetup (there was a lot going on!!), but our friend Gabriele from Italy won the special Schumacher CLRT shirt!

Checking out some of the other booths we ran into some Beer Pong …

And we even found a Snapmaker 2.0 in the French Pavillion, on display with our friends ICONIC.

And finally the Thursday Night Exhibitor Party was a blast!

See you next year at Formnext 2025!!

Cheers,

The Banana Boys

The post Snapmaker @ Formnext 2024 appeared first on | Blog.

Hi Makers,

Today’s talk was with Dylan, who is a user of Snapmaker 2.0 and Snapmaker J1. Dylan is a typical software engineer and maker. Besides being a fast learner, he is also a doer who seeks solutions right away when he runs into hiccups.

Now, let’s meet Dylan!

When did you become a Snapmaker User?

In 2020, amidst the supply disruptions caused by COVID, I took it upon myself to create some small tools to assist my family and friends. These tools included a mask helper and a storage rack for disinfectants, which I placed outside my door. While I had previously dabbled with resin 3D printing, I quickly realized that these tools were not suited for production using that technology. As a result, I made the decision to purchase my very first FDM 3D printer.

Why did you choose Snapmaker?

Purely by chance, I stumbled upon the Snapmaker 2.0 series while browsing through Google. Upon learning that device offered three-in-one functionality – 3D printing, laser engraving, and CNC – I began exploring the possibility of using it to create a storage rack that required CNC technology. Despite the relative scarcity of information available at the time, I scoured YouTube for operation videos. And sure enough, I found exactly what I was looking for – Snapmaker 2.0 is the perfect tool for my project.

What is the most memorable project you have done with Snapmaker?

I created a unique and personalized celebration gift for my friend’s promotion, which stood out amongst all the other gifts that day. Using FDM printing technology, I crafted a 15cm diameter Golden Coin with a face value of One Billion Yuan. To complement it, I utilized CNC cutting to make a stunning display box out of transparent acrylic. As a final touch, I employed laser engraving on an aluminum alloy to inscribe the words “Vincent has a small goal” onto the base. This project allowed me to explore and experiment with new laser and CNC functions, ultimately helping me to gain new insights and grow my skill set.

Since becoming a Snapmaker user, what have you gained in your maker journey? 

As previously mentioned, I consider myself incredibly fortunate to have selected the Snapmaker 2.0 printer. The combination of its three-in-one functionality is truly remarkable, and I have struggled to find comparable devices on the market. Prior to my purchase, I had been working exclusively in software development and had no prior experience with laser engraving or CNC technology. As such, I was initially apprehensive about mastering these industrial-grade technologies. However, this device proved to be incredibly user-friendly, and while I have yet to use it in my professional endeavors, it has allowed me to successfully tackle a multitude of challenging tasks in my personal DIY projects.

From your perspective, what progress has Snapmaker made over these years? 

As a long-term user of both the Snapmaker 2.0 3-in-1 and J1 IDEX 3D printers, I have been impressed by the company’s unwavering commitment to innovation and improvement over the past several years. Despite consistently releasing new devices to meet evolving market demands, Snapmaker has also gone above and beyond to provide upgrades and improvements to its old models, ensuring that they remain up-to-date with the latest technology. Introducing features such as quiet printing, high-power laser, dual nozzles, and vibration compensation technology is a testament to the company’s dedication to excellence. As a software developer myself, I can appreciate the immense challenges that come with implementing such cutting-edge advancements.

What do you want to say to the Snapmaker team? 

I would like to express my gratitude to the Snapmaker team for their unwavering commitment to innovation and continuous improvement. I sincerely hope that they will continue to work tirelessly and develop more innovative products, thereby enabling an even greater number of people to experience the joy of technology.

At last, we would like to thank Dylan and his contribution to the community. Here are some of his contributions that have benefited lots of our users:

• Upload tool: https://github.com/macdylan/sm2uploader
• Post processor for other slicers: https://github.com/macdylan/Snapmaker2Slic3rPostProcessor
• Plugin for Cura (Public Archive): https://github.com/macdylan/Snapmaker2Plugin
• His designs: https://printables.com/@Dylan

Learn more about the 7th Anniversary Sale.

The post Snapmaker 7th Anniversary Column | Letter from Dylan appeared first on | Blog.

As you may have noticed, 3D printers play an important role in STEAM education. 3D printing technology is one of the emerging technologies that may change the way we design and manufacture in the future. It can also be combined with various subjects in school. That’s why 3D printers were introduced to classrooms and many curriculums were designed based on the needs of different education levels. For example, on MyMiniFactory, you can find tens of thousands of models that are categorized based on grade level and subject. Most of them can be further designed into a course that teaches students knowledge of a certain subject and skills to design.

As a 3D printer equipment and solution provider, Snapmaker provides 3-in-1 3D printers that not only develop students’ printing knowledge and skills, but also make it easy to learn the knowledge and skills of laser and CNC. The technologies of both additive manufacturing and subtractive manufacturing are all integrated into one machine, opening up more possibilities to combine different subjects in one course and thus helping teachers and parents to better achieve students’ holistic development.

Partnered with honored teachers in Nankai University, Snapmaker developed an education guidebook named Becoming a Smart Maker: Digital Technology Introduction. From a beginner’s perspective, it aims to help students to establish their understanding of three manufacturing technologies (3D printing, laser engraving and cutting, CNC carving) from the ground up. From mastering basic model design knowledge to experiencing actually making something, it can gradually inspire students’ awareness of innovation and help fulfill all-round development.

In the following weeks, we will share three courses in the education guidebook, which use the three functions of the Snapmaker 2.0 AT models respectively. Today, this blog will show you how you can use Snapmaker’s 3D printing function for educational purposes. This course’s task is to 3D print a terrestrial globe. In the making process, it’s recommended that teachers and parents explain relevant geographic knowledge to the students and show them how to design models. In this blog, we will use TinkerCAD as the design tool. You can also use more professional software if needed. If you are also planning to try STEAM education in your classes or at home, this course can be your starter.

To make the terrestrial globe, students need to understand basic information about the Earth before designing. Students can be easily involved and start thinking when teachers or parents guide them through questions:

• Question: Is the Earth a normal sphere?
• Answer: We always say that the Earth is a sphere, but the Earth is not a perfect sphere. The Earth is a spheroid slightly flattened at the poles and slightly bulging at the equator. The poles are the North and South poles, the two ends of the Earth and the two points at which the imaginary axis of the Earth intersects the Earth’s surface. The equator is the longest circumference on the Earth’s surface in the direction of the Earth’s rotation.

Other questions that you may consider asking include:

• Do humans know the Earth’s shape from the very beginning? By asking this question, you can let students know that humans’ understanding of the Earth’s shape also experienced a long and difficult process. By telling them the interesting story and history of geocentric theory and heliocentric theory, they are better able to understand and remember these concepts.
• What are the points and lines you should know about the Earth? By asking this question, you can naturally lead to the concept of the North Pole, the South Pole, longitude and latitude. To make sure they understand how these concepts work in daily life, you can even ask them the approximate longitude and latitude of your location.
• What parts do we need to design and print to make the globe? Is the Earth’s axis vertical to the surface? By asking these questions, you help them imagine how to substantialize something they cannot see or touch in person. In addition, the relationship of revolution, rotation of the Earth and the four seasons can be explained thoroughly here.

All the above knowledge may be taught in 2 or 3 different courses in usual classes. Now it’s easily connected by one project!

After the students figure out all the above questions, we can start the design. The globe can be divided into the following parts. Today we will use the sphere as an example and show you how to teach students to design.

In TinkerCAD, with its basic shapes, you can easily get a sphere by dragging the shape to the workplane. But, is it what we really need? When designing the sphere, what we need to consider includes should the sphere be stuffed or hollow; should we print it as a whole or cut it into two pieces; what the size is; whether there is a design that saves the most time and material.

Some of the questions can be answered after we get familiar with 3D printing. If the sphere is printed as a whole, support is needed when slicing the g-code because of the limited contact area between the model and the 3D printer’s build plate and also the deep bridging. Otherwise, you will spend lots of time dealing with print failures and postprocessing the surface. Therefore, printing two half spheres and then gluing them together is a better choice.

Also, to save material and for easy assembly, the sphere is better designed as hollow. The thickness, however, may be best decided by trial and error as it is related to the size of the model. In our course, we use 50 mm as the outer diameter and 5 mm as the thickness. In this case, in TinkerCAD, all we need to do is set the two half spheres to the right size, align them, group them, and copy them. Quick and easy!

When the design is finished, the next step is to learn how a 3D printer works and how to transform design files into G-code files. We have put this in detail in our Quick Start Guides and User Manuals. Remember to check them out when you receive your Snapmaker! After this project, we are sure that students will have a strong sense of achievement. They will also have a new understanding and develop a deeper interest in related subjects.

This is how a project can help students learn knowledge of relevant subjects and design skills. A terrestrial globe may be common in almost every household, but a DIY one made by children is meaningful and unique. Whether STEAM education is beneficial to the country is debatable, but it will be beneficial to those who take advantage of it. So, don’t hesitate to take advantage of this blog and start a project with your students or children!

In the next blog, we will share the course using laser engraving. If you want to learn more about our case studies in the education field or you have an idea of 3D printing education to share, feel free to comment below.

A Snapmaker 3-in-1 3D printer is essential to turn the project into reality. Products you may be interested in: Snapmaker 2.0 AT Models, Snapmaker Artisan. US users can also have a look at our new Education Program.

The post How can you use 3D printing in education with Snapmaker 3D printer? appeared first on | Blog.

Hi makers,

We have some good news to share! Snapmaker has joined TikTok, one of the fastest-growing and widely used social media platforms. In addition to our website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube channel, we now have a new platform to engage with you guys! We posted our first video on TikTok on February 28 about our brand video.

Why Joined TikTok?

As for the platform itself, there’s no denying that TikTok has a huge impact to inspire people to try something new. Creators love making these short-form videos that are highly addictive for people to learn, explore, laugh or engage with, and there is no exception for the maker community. At the time of writing, there are over 7.6 billion views for TikTok videos with #3Dprinting, covering topics from 3D printing tips and tutorials, project showcases to even hilarious printing failures. 

Besides the increasing trend of people sharing 3D printing-related videos on TikTok and the advantage of these short bursts of visual creativity, we are also inspired by the power of the maker community and how tech like 3D printing could help. This heartwarming story that happened in January this year melts our hearts. Former marathon athlete Jimmy Choi shared his daily struggles with Parkinson’s on TikTok that he had difficulty in picking up small pills because of shaky hands. Multiple strangers worked together and invented a 3D printed dispenser that can isolate a single pill within days. “Together we could do more.” 

Aligning to our mission to enable everyone to create freely in the physical world, we hope to make a difference, even if it’s just a little bit, to connect with the maker globally on this platform. For 3D printing amateurs and professionals, sharing tips and tutorials, and cases on 3D printing to help them learn or get inspiration to aid their creative process. Though 3D printing is becoming more popular and accessible nowadays, many still haven’t tried it out, and we would love to engage with a wider audience and let them uncover the possibilities of 3D printing about it and the fun behind it. Or else, if we could make someone laugh or get something from our videos, it’s all worth it!

What to Expect?

More videos will be launched in the near future, including product guidelines, project showcases, reviews… We are new to this so thank you for being patient with us when we are building up our video collection. You can find us on @snapmaker_official! What type of content would you like to see on our TikTok platform? How would you like to engage with us? Welcome to share your thoughts and advice in the comment section below!

Happy making,

Team Snapmaker

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The articulated dragon model he designed went viral on social media, but there’s more than that.

Remember the 3D-printed dragon that went viral on social media? The video about the dragon we posted on our Facebook in December 2021 has by far received 15M views and 8.6K comments, which makes it the most popular case in the Snapmaker community ever! More than that, the incredible articulated 3D printing design also racked up millions of likes soon for the video posted on Tiktok and leads a trend in our community to print their own dragons. 

From left to right: images were kindly provided by community members Bob Boscarelli, Klaus Hagenlocher, and Eric Anderson.

Today, we’re thrilled to invite Javier Rodríguez, the model designer of the dragon, for the interview to share his thoughts on this popular model and the story behind it. Read on to figure it out!

Who’s Javier Rodríguez?

Javier Rodríguez is a Ph.D. Electronic Engineer based in Valencia, Spain. He has worked for 12 years in an R&D nuclear physics experiment, where he has developed his engineering and 3D skills. Printing since 2015, he designed his first popular model in 2019, the Cute Mini Octopus. Specialized in print-in-place articulated designs which don’t require supports and can be printed both with FDM and resin printers, he likes design challenges and adding something new to each model.

Interview with Javier

What was the inspiration for designing the articulated dragon model and the biggest difficulty you met?

I’ve always liked Dragons, and I was born in the Chinese year of the Dragon as well. I’ve been drawing dragons since I was a child, so it has always been in my mind. I thought about designing an articulated dragon more than a year ago, but my design skills were still not enough and I had to wait. The biggest difficulty was to develop a new kind of articulation that allowed me to make possible the idea I had in mind. I wanted it to be very flexible, but also hide the joints as much as possible. So I designed a bunch of prototypes, tested them, modified them, and went back to the test. This process took a while until I was happy with the result and then I started modeling the Dragon.

Did you read the comments on social media? Why do you think it became so popular? What makes it different?

I try to be aware of everything related to my designs, but I don’t like to spend all day on social media. For the Dragon, I missed lots of comments for sure, because its popularity grew mainly on TikTok and I didn’t have an account back then. I think it became so popular because it’s the first highly detailed articulated design (at least the first I’m aware of), and also because most people love Dragons. Probably nobody thought about making this kind of design, and now there are lots of similar Dragon variations around.

Your design structures take full advantage of 3D printing. We would love to know more about the behind-the-scenes in designing the model.

Well, I’ve been 3D printing since 2015, designing prototypes and enclosures at work. By the way, I’m an electronic engineer, but I’ve always been involved in electronics-mechanics integration, which requires this kind of 3D knowledge. Soon I started to learn what the printer is capable of, what are its limitations, and, more importantly, its advantages. Like many designers, I learned about printable angles, bridging, and I introduced that knowledge in my designs at work. Then it was easy to apply all that expertise for my designs. And as I said before, my designs always have a long process of prototyping iteration.

We noticed that most of your models are related to animals with articulated structures. Is there a specific reason for that?

That’s a great question. I’ve never thought about that hahaha. My first design was the Cute Mini Octopus, which became quite popular back in the day. I designed an octopus because it’s the mascot of the Valencia Roller Derby team, where I’ve been the bench coach for 5 years. And I just wanted an articulated octopus for the team. Then I guess the inspiration flowed towards the other animals, but I don’t really think a lot about that. I just design what I want.

How did you first get to know Snapmaker? How was your experience with the Snapmaker machine? 

The first time I heard about Snapmaker was when the first campaign was launched on Kickstarter. It caught my attention because it looked sturdy and professionally finished, unlike other printers. Now that I have a Snapmaker myself, I can say it looks even better in real life. The assembly was very straightforward, even though this machine is really heavy! The prints were just perfect on the first try, also thanks to the 3D printing community behind. I’m used to working with PrusaSlicer, and I found a profile that worked seamlessly and allowed me to start printing just in one minute. Now I’m messing around with the laser engraver/cutter, and I’m really impressed with the small details it can do. I have no previous experience with wood, and it has been super easy to have my own designs done.

It’s hard to strike a balance between your job and part-time model design. How did you manage that? What motivates you to become a full-time model designer? Which part of 3D printing attracts you the most?

Yes, it has been really hard. Having a full-time job left me just a few free hours per day, and usually with no energy remaining. So I did most of my designs on weekends, while the weekdays were dedicated to social media. I’ve been thinking about becoming a full-time designer for a long time, and the final decision was due to the Dragon. Its popularity was so overwhelming, and I spent 2-3 hours per day just responding to emails, messages, posts… So I had to make a decision, keep my work or keep designing; and I wanted to give it a try. 3D printing is like a dream becoming true. You can imagine something, and have it in your hand in just a few hours (well, or days… even weeks… depending on your imagination hahaha).

Besides articulated models, are there any new forms you wanna give a shot in the future? How do you think Snapmaker 3-in-1 Modular 3D Printer can help you with that? When will we be able to see the new collection you’re working on?

I would like to do more realistic modeling, but there are awesome designers out there. Something not many people know is that I’m developing a 3D printed tabletop game, together with a friend. I can’t give you details yet, but I’m really excited about this project. In fact, the first thing I thought about when I opened the laser cutter was this game, as it will allow for easy board and box prototyping. And of course, many 3D printed parts.

I hope I can keep delivering new models frequently, but as the complexity increases so do the time required. 

What do you think of the current trend of maker culture? Are there any trends within the maker community that you’re excited about?

The best thing about this community is the support and honesty of most people. As makers, we know how much work is behind each design, which helps to appreciate it even more. The thing I’m most excited about is not knowing what I’ll be able to create in a few years, the same way as some years ago I couldn’t imagine I’ll be right here, writing on a Snapmaker blog about my designs!

What does your model design process look like? 

The process is quite standard, I guess. I just wander around with several ideas and I pick one. Then I do some sketches, identify the articulations needed, and then I start modeling. Usually, I do the articulations first, as they are the key and the rest of the model depends on them. I model in Blender, but sometimes I use other CAD software for quick tests and concepts, to be sure they’ll work before creating them in Blender.

Do you have any advice for newcomers of model design or 3D printing?

The best advice I can give them is not to be lazy, and enjoy the process of learning. 3D printing is continuously evolving, so we have to keep learning new things every day.

Hope you guys enjoy this interview and find it as interesting and inspiring as we do. If you wanna learn more about Javier’s works, click to visit his Instagram and Tiktok. Don’t forget to share your thoughts in the comment section below!

Happy making,

Team Snapmaker

The post The Mind Behind the Trending “Articulated Dragon”: 3D Model Designer Javier Rodríguez appeared first on | Blog.

Hi makers, 

Do you remember the first project you made with the help of Snapmaker? Maybe you were a newbie who just bought your own 3D printer, walked through the steps of setting up and the basics of using it, then get started on your first work. Maybe you’re already an experienced user trying to explore more possibilities and getting your hands on different functions.

But anyway, no matter the first attempt is a success or not, you did it! We encouraged the community to share their first project with Snapmaker and win the 5th-anniversary gift box and received dozens of showcases. We gotta say it’s impressive to see all the fantastic works made by our users, even if it was just the first project! Let’s take a closer look together.

Pierre Marty Hacquard

“Here is my first project with Snapmaker 2.0, a custom-made facade for a pc, inspired by the Apollo capsule. I did it to learn how to use the Snapmaker (4 months of work with a lot of failures but a lot of learning with the 3 modules).”

Jan Ern

“Here is my first project with the Snapmaker. The one coaster got lost.”

Marlous Vogel

“Half an octopus… It was eaten by the x-axis breaking down mid-print. Which was swiftly replaced by customer service. But it was the first thing I made after calibration.”

Tim Mallos

“I used the laser for my first project.”

Avishay Rebibo

“I etched on glass. AMAZING.”

Tim Chase

“A set of coasters for an office going away present. The logos are my organization’s official and moral patches.”

Devin Hensel

Ross Fraser

Jessica Morse

“First project: Making everyone on our film crew (over 40) a custom-made Ulu (Alaskan Knife). I drew the design, uploaded it to Luban. And cut and engraved the handles for the Ulus. Then stained and packaged them.”

Justin Bennett

“My first project with the laser and 3d printer burned many pieces of paper and learned some 3d modeling for the box.”

Erik Golm

“Here’s my first CNC/Laser combo project.”

Daniel Esser

Shaina Spann

I made garden row labels

Mike Hermon

“I’ve been making Halloween decorations for the house, we take Halloween seriously here. I’ve made a few pairs of hands that mount to the wall and look like they are reaching through it. A couple of skulls etc. Just have a couple of photos right now. So far a pair of these “creepy” hands, look like zombie hands I guess, like old-school Romero zombies. And a large skull. I have a pair of demon hands started now but they take about 25 hours per hand. The large skull I printed was 43 hours.”

Ethan Roy Morrill

“Celtic knot puzzle.”

Graham Smith

“My first project was to sort cable management and glass print bed with auto bed levelling and filament feed from top in a filament dryer box for the Snapmaker A250.”

Kevin Guylaine Young

“This was my first project laser cut cardboard recycled from the box my snapmaker came in.”

Ben Weiss

“First CNC and laser project. Cribbage board that I donated to a charity ride in August.”

Steve Johnson

“The first project i made on my A350 was a sign for my brother-in-law’s woodturning shop. Combination of laser engraving and cnc on oak with a danish oil finish.”

Chris Christiansen

“My first laser project. Doing a gray scale photo of myself at about age 19.”

Martyn Wright

“+3Over terrible CNC on acrylic was my first.”

René Blaser

“My first print was a little ghost. that thing actually started to haunt me in my dreams until i had printed it.”

Jason Cook

“One of my first custom jobs for someone I work with.”

Trevor Harned

“Still in the process but here’s my first.”

Florent Reymond-Gaudry

“A nice token holder for my tabletop game.”

Tracy Lyon

“First Laser project.”

Lina Koulou

“This was my first print with movable parts in Snapmaker 2.0 A350! An endless cube, print in one part. I was quite impressed with how it turned out! “

Gil Ramirez

“First custom project was an EVE drone from Wall E. Printed in glow in the dark PLA.”

Francis Fitzgerald

“First mixed cut engrave job I worked out myself and did. Looks ok to me. Snapmaker got me through the lockdown in Ireland with working out settings and making different things. Thanks.”

Sue Ann Selman

“My first ever 3D print designFun medals for my team at work.”

Juan Carlos Soto

”Just took 16 hours on white tile 6×6 I’m really new doing all this, My Snapmaker is the first machine ever.”

William Bond

Created this 3d pop up poster of my favorite movie.

Matthew Prescott

“My Destiny 2 ship lol.”

Erik Justin de Vries

My first project was a deck box for my brother. The laser burnt the graphics into the leather. Tip to the wise: ventilation. My house smelt like burning flesh for three days.

Scott Smith

First Laser portrait of my Daughter and granddaughter even burned border.

Paul McCaskill

Thank you all for your participation to share your work. We’re excited to see what you have made and grateful to learn that Snapmaker is serving you well during your creative journey!

Keep on making!

Team Snapmaker

The post SnapmakerShowcase | Share Your First Project with Snapmaker! appeared first on | Blog.

Collaged and machined by: Eugene Fedorov (https://www.facebook.com/eugene.fedorov)

CNC instrument: Snapmaker 2.0 A250 in the Enclosure

Dimensions: 150x192x17 mm

Supplies and Tools:

1. Pine wood board, 8”x7”x3/4”    x1
2. STL files with 3D elements for the Collage (from free and paid sources)
3. LLPT Double-Sided Tape for Woodworking
4. ¼” ER11 Collar       x1
5. SpeTool Carbide Flat End Mill Upcut  ¼” (6.35 mm) diameter     x1
6. SpeTool Carbide Tapered Ball End Mill R0.5mm         x1
7. SpeTool Carbide Tapered Ball End Mill R0.25mm         x1
8. MinWax Wood Finish Penetrating Stain Red Chestnut 232
9. MinWax Wood Finish Penetrating Stain Natural 209
10. Dremel 4000 rotary electric hand tool or analog
11. Horsehair brush 1” wheel for Dremel
12. Cotton 1” polishing wheel for Dremel
13. Medium sandpaper

Software:

1. Blender
2. Fusion 360 (hobby licence)
3. Snapmaker Luban

Total machining time: Approximately 12 hours

Total number of CNC paths: 4

Being laid off before retirement makes thinking of transforming a hobby into a source of revenue, since getting a new job looks not straightforward. That was the idea behind starting a Halloween collection of wooden bas-reliefs to test the market and the potential to sell such crafts created with Snapmaker. Meanwhile, I got hired again, so the urgency to sell is not here anymore, unless I decide to retire soon…

Looking for ready-to-cut STL models that would fit into Halloween aesthetics on free and commercial sites, I noticed that they are rather scarce. Overall, I could locate and buy few of them on eBay. Obviously, I have cut those bas-reliefs first, after adding frames to most of them in Blender:

Machining was done using the same Fusion 360 workflow as described a bit further.

During my research for those STL models, I noticed that different skulls, skeletons, pumpkins, bats, spiders and witches are also available as STL models, so I got an idea to create my own design compiling those elements into a single collaged bas-relief.

This was done in Blender by thoroughly scaling, rotating and aligning individual objects on a common working surface.

Overall, 27 different objects (including rough terrain and elements of the frame) are included in this design. Some were purchased, some found in free STL collections, other, like stones, were designed in Blender itself. That was the most laborious part of the whole project.

Then the final design was exported in STL format, thus started the manufacturing itself.

The workflow, already fine-tuned with previous models, consisted of following four CNC paths, calculated in Fusion 360:

1. 3D Pocket path (to remove major part of the stock):
   1. ¼” Flat End Mill bit
   1. 750 mm/min (to be reduced to 400 mm/min or less on hardwood, can be increased up to 1500 mm/min on rigid polyurethane foam)
   1. 1mm step down (to be reduced to 0.5mm on hardwood)
   1. 0.5mm stock to leave (radial and axial)
2. Parallel path (to render the relief):
   1. R0.5mm Tapered Ball End Mill bit
   1. 600 mm/min (to be reduced to 400 mm/min or less on hardwood, can be increased up to 900 mm/min on rigid polyurethane foam)
   1. 0.15mm stepover
   1. Direction perpendicular to wood grain (very important!)
3. Pencil path (to accentuate the fine details):
   1. R0.25mm Tapered Ball End Mill bit
   1. 400 mm/min
4. 3D Contour path (to cut the relief out of the stock board):
   1. ¼” Flat End Mill bit
   1. 400 mm/min (to be reduced to 300 mm/min or less on hardwood)

To simplify tool changing and zeroing (as explained by Rodney Shank in his tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfqBKqzxl44 ), the stock in Fusion 360 was defined in a way that its X dimension was 15-20mm larger than the real stock board. This way it was easy to choose a virtual stock point residing always on the surface of the wasteboard as the Snapmaker instrument zero point:

The stock board was fixed on the wasteboard using a special double-sided tape for woodworking. This way there is no potential interference from fixtures, and all the surface of the stock can be machined. Yet, care should be taken to minimize eventual sliding of the stock board.

The transfer of CNC paths to Snapmaker was performed via WiFi using Luban software:

Once the machining completed, the sides of the relief were slightly sanded, and the relief itself was cleared from wood debris using Dremel rotative tool with a horsehair wheel (for hardwood, use thin steel wire wheel).

There are different options for finish, this bas-relief was treated with a mixture of Red Chestnut and Natural oil-based (1:5) penetrating stains and wiped after 15 minutes (according to the manufacturer’s instructions). The second layer was applied the same way 24 hrs later with Natural stain alone. After drying the second layer (24 hrs at least), the relief was polished with Dremel (cotton polishing wheel).

In short, to obtain best results, it is important to start with dry aged wood and sharp bits. Everything else will be handled by Snapmaker!

DISCLAIMER

The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of Snapmaker, and the mentioned sites/links are not related to Snapmaker.

About StarMaker Program

StarMaker Program is a series of long-term plans aiming at stimulating the communication within our community as well as the connection between users and the Snapmaker team. Leading users who contribute to skills teaching, inspiration sharing, product feedback and community maintenance will be awarded star honor and other rewards.

Previous Works

• StarMaker | Turning Wood into Art with Your Ideas
• StarMaker | My Miniature Dreams. A Bed for Royalty
• StarMaker | 3D Printing Allowed Creation for My Channel
• StarMaker | A Jump Rope Prosthetic for My Dear Niece
• StarMaker | Fusing Traditional Ceramic Processes with Modern Making Methods
• StarMaker | SpaceX Crew Dragon Capsule Model Build | Snapmaker

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