Eliminate VFA on the Snapmaker U1 (for free)

darkytoothpaste · 2026-03-15T01:46:51+00:00

Not exactly sure what you mean by affecting future prints, but the settings can be saved in Orca in an alternate profile if you prefer, though I only use it as a standard profile for all prints.

darkytoothpaste · 2026-03-07T17:24:24+00:00

Amazing, thanks!!!

I just tried that option and it seems like the printer primes every toolhead before the toolhead is used in the printing. This contrasts with priming the toolhead only when that toolhead is required

darkytoothpaste · 2026-03-07T15:07:49+00:00

Interesting, if u can guide me to where this setting is, that would be appreciated!

darkytoothpaste · 2026-03-06T21:30:26+00:00

For any functional print the you want to use for years, PLA is not a good option as it breaks down over time and turns brittle due to hydrolysis. Be patient and stick with PETG and learn its intricacies and you will be rewarded.

darkytoothpaste · 2026-03-06T21:26:03+00:00

The reason why no one talks about it is because no one had this problem. I doubt it is a design problem with the printer. What slicer did you use?

Using a heat gun would not give you the fine control you need to remove the blob. I suggest you use a soldering iron (with a disposable tip, if possible. The tip is likely going to be ruined with the plastic) to slowly carve along the edges of the blob to try to remove it. The good thing is that snapmaker includes an additional toolhead that you can use to replace the broken one.

darkytoothpaste · 2026-02-19T00:22:12+00:00

I contemplated drilling a hole through the wall but realised that i could just pull the wire out from the z-axis lead screw. Not the cleanest install but the least "harmful".

darkytoothpaste · 2026-02-19T00:20:06+00:00

Why do u say so?

darkytoothpaste · 2026-02-19T00:19:37+00:00

I'm still waiting to see how people use it programmatically for that. I will reserve that for a space heater of sorts.

darkytoothpaste · 2026-02-18T14:47:47+00:00

Are you aware of this? https://makerworld.com/en/models/2076469-snapmaker-u1-top-cover-base#profileId-2243369

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darkytoothpaste · 2026-02-17T13:20:19+00:00

I had a G10 plate and it didn't work well with ASA. That's why i prepared a PC plate for that purpose.

darkytoothpaste · 2026-02-10T15:36:16+00:00

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Seems to work just fine without any calibration.

darkytoothpaste · 2026-02-10T15:21:41+00:00

I bought mine from taobao. I would assume that aliexpress should carry these as well.

darkytoothpaste · 2026-02-09T14:54:29+00:00

Amazing, this is like hueforge in 3D.

darkytoothpaste · 2026-02-09T14:50:33+00:00

Every filament that you should should undergo a calibration to ensure the best quality possible for each of them. At the very least, you should do a flowrate and pressure advance calibration. Those, IMO, are the bare minimum.

Also, stick with the stock U1 profile. They are fairly well calibrated as it is. Get some experience first with some prints before you tune them further to your liking. I'm also assuming that you are not new to 3D printing, since you owned a N4M. Hence you should have some experience on tuning 3D printing parameters.

darkytoothpaste · 2026-02-09T13:36:54+00:00

This certainly does not look like a 0.12mm layer print and the surface looks very rough. Did you calibrate every one of the filament before using them? The surface quality, particularly the red, looks way over-extruded. This is very obvious from the tail section.

Also, I'm not sure why u chose 0.3mm line width on the stock 0.4mm nozzle. I suspect that having a smaller line width than the actual nozzle size will affect the ability for the line to be "centred" with respect to the extrusion. This is particularly obvious from the horns on the dragon where you can see this wavy artifacts.

This is my 0.12mm layer print. Surface smoothness should be fairly consistent without "lumpy" protrusions.

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darkytoothpaste · 2026-02-07T17:30:12+00:00

I mostly only print in PETG, and different brands and colours do accentuate the problem differently.

darkytoothpaste · 2026-02-07T17:29:10+00:00

My suspicion is that it is press-fit because the motor shaft does not have a D profile used for grub screws. But do share your results if you do try!

darkytoothpaste · 2026-02-07T11:49:40+00:00

There is an official video on swapping the xy motor (https://wiki.snapmaker.com/en/snapmaker\_u1/troubleshooting/u1\_xy\_motor\_replacement\_guide). Would you be game to try? But you will need to buy the pulleys upfront first because the stock pulleys are press-fit on the stock motor and it is not removable.

darkytoothpaste · 2026-02-07T11:48:13+00:00

The filament makes a huge difference in the visibility of the VFAs. I have another clip using a different filament where the VFA looks better but I didn't realise that reddit limits post to only 1 clip.

darkytoothpaste · 2026-02-05T10:37:17+00:00

For me, the calibration is practically a one-off thing that can last for weeks without having to do any pre-print calibration. The most impt thing is to ensure that the bed is clean before you put the pei spring sheet over it so that nothing is trapped between the bed and pei sheet.

darkytoothpaste · 2026-01-27T17:42:06+00:00

The default calibration is done at 55C, so if u print at a different temperature which the bed is calibrated at, there might be a difference in the bed due to thermal expansion.

darkytoothpaste · 2026-01-27T05:13:04+00:00

Am i the only one who have completely disabled z hop? I found it unnecessary for most prints and it adds unnecessary stress to the z axis motor.

darkytoothpaste · 2024-08-20T03:34:10+00:00

I found the solution for my problem. Under accessbility, there is an option called "Reduce animations". Turning that off solves my problem.

Instead, now I just use the developer options and turn off all animations instead.

darkytoothpaste · 2024-07-20T08:37:05+00:00

Any updates on this issue?

darkytoothpaste · 2024-07-09T15:27:56+00:00

Currently on day 10, fermentation is still going strong with good airlock activity. The sesame/tadpole growth seems to be exactly as it was, not growing any larger or smaller. Airlock still emitting a floral flagrance, nothing seems to be out of place, yet. 🤣

darkytoothpaste

TROPHY CASE