Hands-On Review
Snapmaker Artisan Premium 3-in-1 Combo
Snapmaker has recently celebrated the company’s 8th anniversary, and to mark the momentous event, they released the all new, upgraded Snapmaker Artisan Premium 3-in-1 combo.
Overview
The upgraded version of the Artisan Premium boasts a dual extruder 3D printing module, a 200W CNC module for tougher materials, and a spacious 400mm x 400mm x 400mm workspace. It also features a more powerful 40W laser module, with an air assist pump for cleaner cuts.
The Artisan Premium’s modular design allows you to quickly switch between functions, making it perfect for tackling a wide range of projects. Both the toolheads and their dedicated work beds are easily swappable, and the machine’s safety features will detect that everything is correct before allowing it to progress with the job.
The system comes with its own enclosure, for added safety during machine operations, and both the machine and enclosure must be assembled before use.
Setting Up
The Artisan Premium combo arrives in three boxes, containing the machine, the enclosure, controller, air pump, and all accessories. Vital to operating the machine are the 3 individual toolheads, and corresponding beds/worktables.
Assembling the Artisan is no small task, and you might want to commit a whole weekend to setting everything up properly and getting everything working and tested.
Sure, you could probably speed up assembly if you’ve already done it a couple of times, but for the first time builder, they’ll need a full day and a lot of space to assemble this beast of a machine.
When assembled, the enclosure measures 665 mm × 943 mm × 705 mm, and don’t forget, you will need extra space for the controller too. This is not something you want to build in your bedroom.
The setting up process starts with the one box containing the machine, followed by the second box with the enclosure. The third small box contains the air pump unit.
Overall, the machine took the whole afternoon to set up, and the enclosure took a few hours the following day. The instructions for each build process are clearly written in the manuals, and if you get stuck, Snapmaker has set up guides for the machine and enclosures over at their YouTube channel.
After setting the machine and enclosure up, I was ready to test the Artisan Premium combo, starting with the laser module.
Laser Engraver / Cutter
The Snapmaker Artisan Premium’s new 40W laser module is a significant upgrade from previous models, offering enhanced cutting power and precision. It integrates seamlessly into the modular system, supporting engraving and cutting of various materials, including wood, acrylic, leather, and even some metals.
Installing the laser module is straightforward but requires careful attention to detail. The module attaches securely to the machine’s toolhead mount, and the work surface must be leveled precisely for optimal results. Calibrating the laser focus is critical to ensure clean cuts and accurate engravings. This involves adjusting the Z-height of the module to focus the beam on the material’s surface. Snapmaker provides a calibration guide in the manual, which simplifies the process, but it does demand patience and precision.
The air assist pump connects via a flexible hose, directing airflow across the cutting surface to clear debris and reduce burn marks. The connection is straightforward, but the hose management is crucial to avoid interference during operation. The enclosure’s ventilation system effectively handles smoke, ensuring a safe and clear working environment.
The 40W laser module impresses with its ability to cut through 8mm thick wood with a single pass, delivering smooth edges and minimal scorching. When engraving, it achieves fine detail with consistent depth across varying materials. The air assist significantly improves the quality of cuts, especially on delicate materials like paper and fabric. However, achieving optimal results requires careful adjustment of speed and power settings depending on the material thickness and type.
I played around with the Lubian software, and was fairly impressed with how easy it was to set up jobs for engraving and cutting a variety of woods.
3D Printer
The FDM 3D printer module allows extrusion of filaments across the whole area of the build plate, enabling large prints. It features dual extruders, for printing dual materials, or for printing with a separate support material.
Like the other modules, the 3D printer can be operated through the controller screen, and the setup and calibration process is easy to follow through on screen instructions.
Installing the 3D printing module is straightforward, thanks to the machine’s modular design. The module attaches securely to the toolhead mount, and connecting the filament feed tubes is a quick process. However, setting up the dual-extruder requires some additional attention. The Artisan Premium’s software assists with filament loading and calibration, ensuring proper alignment between the two nozzles. The auto-leveling feature greatly simplifies bed calibration, reducing the time typically spent manually adjusting the bed height.
For the first print, the initial steps include loading filaments into both extruders and performing a nozzle offset calibration. The touchscreen interface guides users through this process, making it accessible even for those with limited experience with dual-extrusion systems. However, fine-tuning may be required for optimal print quality, especially when working with different material combinations.
The large build volume allows for ambitious projects, although print times for large objects can be substantial, because the 3D print speed could be considered a little on the slow side, especially for those who may be used to a particular brand of desktop machine.
Of course, this is no mere desktop machine, and it appears to be aimed at more professional users who might not care about 600mm/s print speeds.
CNC Router
The Snapmaker Artisan Pro Combo features an advanced CNC module with a large work area making full use of the 400 x 400 x 400 mm volume within the frame. The spindle can reach speeds up to 18,000 RPM, allowing it to efficiently mill wood, acrylic, carbon fiber, and soft metals like aluminum. The system is equipped with a high-precision linear module that ensures a stable and precise machining process.
There is a range of end mills such as Flat End Mills, Ball End Mills and V-Bit End Mills included. These allow for general-purpose milling, carving, and engraving, making them suitable for materials like wood, acrylic, carbon fiber, and soft metals.
As with the other modules, all the setting up work for the job is done in the Snapmaker Lubian software. You can see clearly how the different parameters such as tool-type, cutting depth and speeds affect the finish time for a job.
I downloaded a relief of a mythical character from the internet to see how the parameters affected the time to complete the job, and got times ranging from 4 hours, up to 12 hours for a finer job.
Unfortunately, as I live in a quiet residential block, I was unable to fire up the CNC portion of the Snapmaker Artisan, due to noise restrictions in the building.
I did spend an exhaustive amount of time going through the various settings and options available in the Snapmaker Luban software however, and gained some idea of the capabilities (and speeds) of the CNC portion of the machine.
Final Thoughts on The Artisan Premium Combo
My first thought of this highly versatile machine was to ask who it is intended for. It’s a little on the expensive side for a regular hobbyist, not to mention quite large for anyone without a workspace.
So it seems that this machine is aimed at the more dedicated hobbyist, or to professionals wanting the benefits of CNC, laser cutting and 3D printing, without needing to clutter up their factory with 3 separate machines.
It would be well suited to a prototyping company, or even to a full manufacturing company (such as a furniture company) for smaller runs of items such as brackets and whatnot.
As someone with a small business, I would consider this machine as something that can definitely add value to a company, especially for smaller jobs, and if you have regular customers buying trinkets, there is no reason this machine can’t pay for itself after a few weeks or months, depending on usage.
Overall, we would say that the Snapmaker Artisan Premium Combo is a fine addition to any workshop. So if you would like to know more about it, then head on over to the Snapmaker website at the link below for more information.
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This Snapmaker device is a powerful 3-in-1 3D printer + laser cutter + CNC
- - Print size: 400 x 400 x 400 mm
- - comes with enclosure
- - dual extrusion
- - a 200W CNC module for tougher materials
