Snapmaker J1 - FDM 3D printer

Snapmaker, most famous for the first 3-in-1 desktop machine, specializes in the development and manufacturing of multifunctional machines suitable for private users, design studios, small engineering companies or educational institutions. The Snapmaker J1 3D printer is another of Snapmaker’s creations for ultrafast dual extrusion printing (up to 350 mm/s printing speed and up to 10000 mm/s² acceleration) in multiple modes with advanced materials. J1 is equipped with an independent dual extruder structure, which can be compared to two printers printing two objects simultaneously, with two separate extruders moving independently of one another through the X-axis.

Video 1: Introducing the Snapmaker J1 high speed IDEX 3D printer. Source: Snapmaker.

It is a user-friendly printer with a sturdy and durable structure, intelligent calibration and leveling, a 5 inch intuitive touchscreen, and easy to swap hotends with built-in nozzle wipers. The J1 3D printer comes almost completely assembled. The user only needs to unbox it, mount the filament holders, doors and panels, and the 3D printer is ready to start the printing process.

High quality structure and components

The extrusion system of the Snapmaker J1 3D printer is an IDEX (Independent Dual Extrusion) direct drive system with excellent extrusion accuracy for all kinds of standard and advanced materials, including flexible filaments thanks to the unique compact extrusion path. The dual direct drives are highly responsive, which makes the deposition faster, smoother and more precise.

Image 1: The IDEX direct drive extrusion system. Source: Snapmaker.

The inbuilt filament sensor notifies the user of filament runout, nozzle clogging, and other extrusion complications, and pauses the print job. The enclosed extruder space provides stable ambient conditions for high temperature materials and prevents warping in materials such as ABS. The hotends and nozzles of the Snapmaker J1 3D printer can extrude at temperatures of up to 300 °C and the anti-clogging design makes the flow as smooth as possible. These features come in handy when working with high-temperature filaments such as nylon, reinforced nylon, and PC.

Image 2: The high temperature hotend with an inbuilt nozzle wiper. Source: Snapmaker.

The silicone hotend socks prevent heat loss and the built-in nozzle wipers remove excessive materials off nozzles to avoid blobs and stringing. The Snapmaker J1 switches seamlessly between extruders during dual extrusion printing. The inactive extruder preheats while on standby, and starts printing right after the working extruder leaves, significantly reducing waiting time.

Video 2: The Snapmaker J1 printer allows for seamless switching between extruders. Source: Snapmaker.

The body of the Snapmaker J1 3D printer is made up of four rigid and durable aluminum alloy bars, and of an upper frame and base made by one-piece die casting. This solution is inspired by the automotive industry and facilitates precision assembly by reducing the number of elements that need to be put together. The aluminum alloy frame ensures optimal heat dissipation for the main board and power supply and the solid structure reduces wobbling and deformation. This in turn makes it possible to 3D print large projects one after another and get consistent quality.

Image 3: The sturdy die-cast structure of the J1 printer allows for easy assembly and printing accuracy. Source: Snapmaker.

The industrial-grade linear rails guarantee precise, smooth and steady movements with repeatability of ±0.03 mm for the X/Y axes and ±0.02 mm for the Z axis. The expected lifespan of the Snapmaker J1 chassis is an impressive 10 years. The build surface of the J1 printer is a custom PEI glass plate with glossy glass on one side and PEI coating on the other side, capable of reaching temperatures of up to 100 ºC. The sheer flatness makes the first layer smooth and adhesive regardless of the material used. The plate can be easily removed, making maintenance and print removal quick and convenient.

Multiple printing modes and materials

Thanks to the IDEX extrusion system, the Snapmaker J1 3D printer can print in multiple printing modes, which requires less time to change filament and creates less waste than normal dual extrusion (through one nozzle).

Dual mode

The Snapmaker J1 not only allows the user to print with advanced materials but also to combine two materials with different properties to create functional parts that can stand daily wear and tear impressively. Multi-part objects can be printed as a whole object in just one printing session, with no further assembly required. This creates parts with stronger interconnections, less prone to damage under stress. With the Snapmaker J1 printer, two different materials can be used for the walls and the infill, for example a more affordable material as the infill, printed with a large-diameter nozzle for quicker completion of the model. It is also possible to use breakaway or soluble support materials to create objects with complex geometry, hollow structures, and exquisite details. In dual mode, IDEX prevents cross-contamination between materials, creates a clean interface without stains and awkward blending along the seam, and makes support removal easy and effortless.

Image 4: The Snapmaker J1 3D printer offers five different extrusion modes - default, backup, dual, mirror and copy. Source: Snapmaker.

Copy Mode and mirror mode

These two modes allow the printing of two identical objects or symmetrical structures in one go, thus making the printing process about 50 % faster, a feature especially valuable for printing in batches at design studios or workshops where prototypes of final parts need to be made and delivered on a tight schedule. If one of the prints fails for some reason, the printing can be stopped without affecting the other model in both the copy mode and the mirror mode. The copy mode offers a printing volume of 160 x 200 x 200 mm while the mirror mode allows for a build volume of 150 x 200 x 200 mm.

Default and backup mode

Apart from the default mode where only one extruder is used, the Snapmaker J1 3D printer also makes it possible to print in backup mode, offering a build volume of 300 x 200 x 200 mm (just like default mode). In the backup mode, only one extruder is used in a given printing job while the other extruder is left on stand-by. If the working extruder runs into a problem, the stand-by extruder can take over the job smoothly where the other extruder left off, and still deliver an impeccable model.

Compatible materials

Thanks to the unique extruder design with great heat dissipation, the enclosed build chamber, and the high temperature and wear resistant nozzles, the Snapmaker J1 printer can work with many kinds of materials with different printing profiles and requirements, such as PLA, ABS, HIPS, PC, TPU, TPE, PETG, ASA, PP, PVA, PA, PA-GF, PA-C. This wide range of compatible materials includes flexible materials, high temperature filaments, glass/carbon fiber reinforced filaments and materials prone to warping and shrinkage.

Image 5: Complex multimaterial parts 3D printed with the Snapmaker J1 printer. Source: Snapmaker.

It should be kept in mind that printing with fiber reinforced filaments requires an abrasion resistant nozzle with an increased diameter. The nozzle included with the Snapmaker J1 printer is a standard 0.4 mm nozzle and nozzles in other diameters and materials need to be purchased separately (0.2 mm, 0.6 mm, and 0.8 mm diameter nozzles and a hardened steel nozzle).

User friendly solutions

The Snapmaker J1 3D printer was designed not only with versatility and advanced printing in mind, but also with user friendliness. The J1 printer uses electrical conduction to locate the two hot ends and the printing bed, which allows it to quickly and accurately measure the distances between those three elements of the printer. This creative solution solves the problem of calibration in printers with the IDEX extrusion system, saving the user time and effort of manual calibration by allowing for a full calibration in under 10 minutes with the Assist Mode. The Z offset calibration is done with the help of a thumb wheel and guided on the touchscreen through an intuitive user interface. This XYZ calibration system ensures perfect alignment that helps prevent layer shifting and improves the success rate of dual-material prints. The bed leveling system uses only 3 points instead of the usual 9 or even 16 points, reducing the printer’s downtime by 70-80 % with equally accurate bed leveling. Similarly to the XYZ calibration, the bed leveling is done by turning the leveling wheel as guided on the touchscreen.

Image 6: The user interface of the Snapmaker J1 printer. Source: Snapmaker.

Apart from the easy calibration and leveling, the Snapmaker J1 printer offers a handy feature called cornering optimization. By analyzing the extruders' moving directions ahead of time, the J1 printer is able to prevent problems like corner bulge, delivering better print quality at corners. Furthermore, the Snapmaker J1 printer is equipped with a vibration compensation technology. This solution reduces the vibrations caused by high-speed movements, minimizing ringing to enhance print quality. With the maximum acceleration of 10 000 mm/s², highly detailed small models can be realized with extreme precision and efficiency.

The user interface of the Snapmaker J1 printer is displayed on a 5 inch touchscreen. The printer is operated through the Luban software (third party software is also allowed), equipped with over 300 parameter settings. The software allows the user to select printing modes, configure the extruders, display the printer’s working status, preview files, and much more. The Snapmaker J1 offers three different data transmission methods: through a Wi-Fi connection, a USB cable, or a USB flash drive.

Professional printing with Snapmaker J1

The J1 3D printer by Snapmaker offers the luxury of multi material printing with advanced materials at an affordable price. The printer comes almost fully assembled and the automatic calibration feature and inbuilt filament sensor saves the user time, effort and material, ensuring precise printing at all times. The multiple printing modes allow for efficient production of small batches and the printing of intricate and complex objects in a single printing session. The sturdy structure of the Snapmaker J1 printer guarantees many years of stable, precise and reliable 3D printing.