this post was submitted on 14 May 2026
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My next printer is definitely going to be a Snapmaker.
They one-upped Bambu with the fully open approach of the U1, did a better tool changing printer at a lower cost, and are now supporting the good fight. I really hope it's not a publicity stunt before enshittification begins, but so far, I'm liking them a lot.
Fingers crossed for a slightly improved U1 - primarily, a larger print volume (I'd be super happy with a ~5cm increase in all directions, making it 320x320x320), which I'm buying the moment it becomes available.
How's the repairability of the printer? Can you get replacement parts from 3rd parties? Can you get different nozzle sizes?
I currently just use an Ender 3 Pro, and it's comforting to know that I can easily get replacement parts and upgrades for anything on the printer. And I can trust that'll continue for years, even if Creality goes out of business
I also use 0.2mm nozzles fairly often for smaller, more detailed prints like tabletop minis. I can get quality that almost matches SLA printers
Unless they've changed in the past few years, most parts are proprietary and will have to come from Snapmaker or their resellers. Swaps are usually at the module level. So the flexibility in parts sourcing is much lower than your Ender 3. On the plus side, they're usually good about honouring warranties.
Nozzles with other aperture sizes are available from Snapmaker for the U1. It's possible that the nozzles are a standard size (my older Snapmaker 2 uses the same nozzles as your Ender 3), but I can't find a specification anywhere.
TL;DR: If your priority is varied parts sourcing for longevity, maybe look at a different manufacturer.
No idea, I do not have a Snapmaker... I fell for the Bambu marketing and the lack of availability of good alternatives circa 2 years ago, and hopefully this X1C will serve me for the next two three years - but I am feeling the limitations of a single print head and the build volume.
X1C at least has a custom 3rd party firmware. So you can keep control of your machine at the very least.
it's not really a custom firmware, and it only works with a year old official fw.