Push Button Metal: SnowX – 3DPrint.com

In addition to MetalBase and ScrapLabs, we now have a new competitor in the low-cost LPBF space. Chinese firm SnowX aims to release its SnowPod through Kickstarter. The 80 × 80 × 100 mm build volume machine is meant for 316L stainless steel. The company uses a 200W fiber laser. Powder handling will be done by enclosed cartridges. It’s unclear whether this means it will work only with their material or their cartridges. This would be a notable difference since all the other systems from MetalBase to Xact Metal and FastForm are all open. Powder management seems to be internal, and the machine can recover powder internally as well. Theres Dual HEPA 13/14 filtration, paired with PM2.5 monitoring.

The company wants to include its own slicing and management software, likely based on OrcaSlicer. They also want to make a SnowX World-style Bambu Lab MakerWorld file-sharing tool. The printer has a layer camera which uses AI to detect errors. There’s an optional extra NitroPod nitrogen generator. SnowX also says that it has snap-off supports, which is super cool, and I´m not sure how they do it, but that could be interesting.

Layer heights can be 30 or 60 microns. The system has been developed for use in office-like environments. The system weighs 40 kilos and measures 360 x 360 x 660 mm. The Z-stage, the firm says, is precise to 0.003 mm. You can approach and set many of the machine’s settings via G-code. Unlike other systems, such as the ScrapLabs, the Snow uses a galvanometer system instead of a gantry.

Overall, it’s remarkable that the Snow uses Fiber lasers rather than the less expensive diode lasers. The company also uses more expensive galvos rather than a value-engineered gantry stage. So it’s betting on its buying power or the overall package to keep costs down, subsidizing the initial system, or it has found some truly low-cost components.

Snow is owned by Suzhou-based Rongspeed Technology based in Jiangsu, China. The firm is also known as Suzhou Rongsu Intelligent Manufacturing Technology Co. Rongsu is an industrial Wire DED company. Founded in 2020, the company makes its own Wire DED and WAAM systems. It also makes software for toolpath planning and has a range of systems. The firm has contracts from large Chinese industrial firms such as CRRC, CSSC, and AVIC. In September, Rongus got $14.9 million in Series A+ funding led by Kunlun Capital. Previous investors in a previous $14 million Series A include Zhongyuan Yuzi Group, Suzhou High-tech Rongxiang Fund, and Mingshi Capital.

Right after Rongshu made public the first teaser sites for the SnowX 3D printer. HeyGears started in the consumer space before moving to industrial dental systems. But just after a round, it too pivoted back to industrial to produce desktop inkjet 3D printers. It seems investors in China are bullish on the prospects of desktop machine tools and the deskside manufacturing evolution.

What’s immediately apparent is that SnowX’s marketing is much more accomplished and slicker than the other entrants in this segment. It’s also a much more complete proposition. This system is marketed in a consumer-friendly way. It has a lot of good features and makes you feel safe. I think that this firm will do very well on Kickstarter. It seems to have the right marketing to push it hard. At the same time, developing a software offering seems to be a great way to capture the user experience and improve results. And through having an app, file sharing, and the like, it can capture investors’ hearts as well because they can see the benefits of building and owning that ecosystem.

SnowX is coming out of nowhere, but already it seems poised to become one of the biggest players in this market segment. Will the machine work? How well will it work? Is it safe? How will the software work? How many people actually want one? We don´t know yet, but by being slick and offering the whole shebang, SnowX is on the path to growth.

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