H2D vs Snapmaker Artisan

Bambu Lab H2 Series
1

How did no one think of this comparison?

PC_Artisan-compressed
PC_Artisan-compressed2880×1407 254 KB

So, I’m sure all of you know the H2D, but probably not the Snapmaker artisan. It was made 2 years before the H2D, costs about 3,000 USD if you’re getting the 3D printer, dual-nozzle head, 40W laser cutter, CNC drill head, and enclosure and an extra 1,500 USD for the air purifier and rotary laser module.
So the Artisan is roughly the same price as the H2D full combo with a 40W laser and air purifier which costs roughly 4,100 (and hopefully Bambu gives us the laser rotary module cuz that looks epic).

-Major noticeable differences-

Downsides:
The Artisan is a bed slinger (ewwww) and I honestly can’t seem to comprehend how it’s CNC milling drill doesn’t ruin the swinging of the bed… but ig it works :expressionless:
Instead of adding the laser module onto the toolhead, you have to replace half the toolhead itself, remove the 3D printer head and replacing it with whatever other toolhead you want.
The Artisan full combo does NOT come with any equivalent to an AMS unit, nor does Snapmaker sell things like that :confused: but oh well, ig they like being unique and not js Bambu or Prusa rip-offs. Credits to them.

Upsides:
The Artisan’s enclosure is orange acrylic (makes sense, cuz that’s their signature color I think) but because of the fact its orange, it actually absorbs more of the blue light coming from the laser compared to acrylic that’s green.
Oh yeah and the most MAJOR difference, the Artisan can output 200W from its CNC milling drill. Which the H2D doesn’t have and is instead replaced with a cutting/drawing plotter since it has too many interior stuff that could get messed up from all the saw dust made by milling.

So, what are the differences other than the ones listed above? What has hybrid machines with dual nozzle 3D printing and laser cutting tech achieved in 2 years? I have an H2D full combo but not an Artisan so I ofc wouldn’t know.

2

Snapmaker has a mixed reputation for a reason ;p

3

Nice side by side, Artisan wins on CNC power, H2D wins on speed + AMS. Hybrids are cool, but still jack of all trades

4

Yuh, but what IS that reason?
I still have yet to know so please tell me
(and no, I’m not talking about the crazy U1 stuff going on right now, I want to know what’s Snapmaker’s deal before the U1’s teaser)

5

Not necessarily, while the H2D gives mediocre cutting and (arguably bad) laser accessories, its printing is still exceptional and is one of (if not) the best consumer-grade 3D printers on the market.
The Artisan is more leveled out in laser cutting and 3D printing, its laser cutting being backed up by much better firmware, but its 3D printing is still somewhat primordial. Its real spotlight is the milling, which is genuinely very good despite its small size for a CNC mill.

1 Like
6

If you look into the Snapmaker Reddit Community quite a few call the Artisan the most expensive paperweight they’ve ever bought. Especially in 3d printing it seems to be very unreliable. You find also people trying to sell their 3k-4k Artisan Sets for 1k because it seems to be hard to sell second hand.

From what I often read, and the experience a friend made with his previous SnapMaker 2.0 printers is that they can be super unreliable especially in the 3d printing area. They still seem to fight issues many of us had 3 years ago before we got Bambu printers. First layer issues, unreliable extruder / filament feeding, clogging etc - beside some Software quirks.

1 Like