Snapmaker U1 Multi-Material 3D Printer Pre-Orders Open at $849

Shenzhen-based Snapmaker opened pre-orders for the U1, a desktop FDM/FFF 3D printer built around one of the community's most stubborn frustrations: the filament waste and downtime that comes with multi-color and multi-material printing. The machine goes on sale April 10 in most major markets, with pre-orders priced at $849.

The U1 is not arriving cold. It originally surfaced on Kickstarter in 2025 and raised $20,161,265 from 20,206 backers as of September 30, a figure that 3D Printing Industry described as making it the most funded 3D printer project in the platform's history. Before the campaign closed, Snapmaker ran a beta testing program where early adopters put the machine through its paces, and the company took the U1 out publicly at Maker Faire Hannover, PrintedHub in Germany, and 3DPrintopia in the United States.

On the hardware side, the U1 tops out at 500 mm/s with an acceleration of 20,000 mm/s², and offers a 270 x 270 x 270 mm build volume. Filament loading is automatic, which removes one of the more fiddly parts of the setup process that multi-material printing typically demands.

The software stack is built in-house. Snapmaker is bundling the U1 with Snapmaker Orca, its own platform carrying tested profiles for its materials and machines, so you are not starting from scratch dialing in settings. A companion app covers remote monitoring, print management, and time-lapse recording. Snapmaker has also announced AI-based detection for print failures and workspace obstructions, though specifics on how the system operates, whether on-device or cloud-based, have not been disclosed.

With a Kickstarter community of more than 20,000 backers already invested and public demos completed on two continents, Snapmaker is walking into its April 10 launch date with considerably more momentum than most desktop printer releases carry.