Community developers bring new ideas to life through software, hardware, and workflows, with Phase 2 opening October 22
(Shenzhen, China, October 15, 2026) Snapmaker, a leading manufacturer of 3D printers and maker hardware, today announced the 20 winning projects in Phase 1 of the Snapmaker Innovation Fund. Selected from 67 projects through technical committee review and community voting, the winners show what happens when makers have the support to take their ideas further, from more flexible slicing to new ways to customize the Snapmaker U1.
The $150,000 fund was created to thank the community that helped bring U1 to life and to support the developers building what comes next. Its first open competition recognizes projects that turn everyday printing challenges into useful tools, giving makers more ways to work with their machines.
Meet the U1 Pioneer winners
Three projects received the U1 Pioneer Award, the competition’s highest award tier.¹
- Full Multi-Nozzle Printing, by LixNix, gives users more control over how a single print is sliced. It supports fixed or dynamic layer heights per extruder, helping makers match nozzle sizes and layer settings to different parts of a model.
- multiACE, by decay71, expands what makers can do with color and materials. It connects up to four Anycubic ACE Pro or ACE 2 units to U1, providing 16 filament slots and automatic filament changes during printing.
- Paxx12 Snapmaker U1 Extended Firmware, by paxx12, gives advanced users more ways to make U1 their own. It unlocks SSH access and debugging, with tools for camera streaming, touchscreen applications, and printer metrics.
The full list of winners, along with project descriptions and developer information, is available at the Snapmaker Innovation Fund page.
Built by the community
Phase 1 opened on June 9, 2026, attracting work across slicing software, firmware, hardware modifications, modeling tools, file conversion, printer and filament management, mobile applications, and automated workflows.
Scores combined technical committee evaluations and community voting. Projects were assessed on innovation and technical depth, openness and quality, and practicality and adaptability. The judging panel also included Steve from HueForge as a guest judge.
Winners will receive cash prizes, official recognition, promotion through Snapmaker’s global channels, and access to selected product beta programs. They keep ownership of their work.
“The projects recognized in this first phase show how community developers can turn everyday printing challenges into practical tools and new capabilities,” said Xiaoye “Leo” Liu, Software Engineering Lead at Snapmaker and a member of the Innovation Fund judging panel. “We want to help these developers continue improving their work and bring their benefits to more users.”
Giving back and building forward
U1 builds on years of work from the global 3D printing community, including open-source projects such as Klipper, Moonraker, Fluidd, and OrcaSlicer. The Innovation Fund is one way Snapmaker gives back to that community, by funding development, helping projects reach more users, and creating opportunities for developers to work together.
The program comprises Founding Sponsorships and two open competition phases. While U1 is at its center, the goal reaches further: to support ideas that benefit the broader toolchanger 3D printing community and help more makers build on one another’s work.
Phase 2 opens October 22
The next round opens on October 22, 2026, with submissions closing on December 24.
Developers, makers, and U1 users worldwide can enter new projects or continue developing their Phase 1 entries. For rules and submission details, visit the Snapmaker Innovation Fund page.
About the Company
Snapmaker makes products that empower everyone to change the world, literally. From 3-in-1 desktop fabrication machines to the Snapmaker U1 multicolor, multimaterial, toolchanger 3D printer, to the software that powers it all, Snapmaker is building an ecosystem that democratizes creation. Snapmaker: Make Something Wonderful.
For more information, visit Snapmaker.com.
Disclaimer
¹ Projects within this award tier are listed alphabetically by name. The order does not reflect their scores or relative rankings.
Media Contact
Hao Jiang Senior PR Manager, Snapmaker
Email: jianghao@snapmaker.com
Website: www.snapmaker.com
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