For Our 10th, We Let Our Super Users Loose in Snapmaker HQ

The Snapmaker Team

10 Jul 2026 — 8 min read

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Editor's Note: June marked Snapmaker's 10th Anniversary. We celebrated with new tools, new colors, and new contests — but the part we'll remember longest happened inside our own walls. For the anniversary, we invited a group of Super Users from around the world — China, Austria, Poland, Germany, the UK, Japan, and the USA — to spend a week with us at Snapmaker HQ in Shenzhen. Not for a factory tour. For the real thing: product meetings, firmware debates, an internal Maker Faire, and more than a few late nights. Afterward, we asked them to write down what the week was like, in their own words. We've resisted the urge to polish. This is what they sent us.

For ten years, we've said that Snapmaker is built with its users, not just for them. It's the kind of line every company writes. This June, we decided to test it.

We brought our Super Users into the building for a week and gave them the run of the place. They sat in on hardware, firmware, software, and marketing meetings. They questioned our decisions — their words, not ours: they "threw some punches." They crawled over the office, distracted the team, cooked eggs on a U1, and left signatures on each other's bags.

Then they went home and wrote about it. Here's what they said.

"Sleep is overrated anyway."

Dmitrii Savin traveled from Key West, Florida to Shenzhen — roughly 30 sleepless hours, one delayed flight, and one canceled flight away. His recap opens with the widest hotel bed he'd ever seen, and the realization that he'd never get to enjoy it:

Immediately, you drop in and fit in with a group of like-minded people who are constantly in a "think tank, let's make it happen" mode... Group meetings with Hardware & Firmware devs, Sales & Marketing, Software devs — the discussions were so alive and positive it was hard to stop. The undivided attention and genuine curiosity from the Snapmaker team created an environment where every participant felt like This Is Meaningful. This wasn't just another meet, greet, and forget. We talked for hours outside of scheduled time about common pain points every user experiences, software issues, sales and marketing strategies, open source, firmware development, and of course, carefully, veeery carefully, about the future. We threw some punches at the Snapmaker team and we praised their achievements. In both cases, they took that feedback and made new plans with it!

Saturday was the anniversary itself — a Maker Faire organized by employees, for employees, mixed with a bring-your-kid-to-work day, celebration talks, and presentations. Dmitrii's play-by-play:

Paxx is leaving a signature on my back, and I'm holding a bag that already has a few signatures collected. Next moment, snap! And you are trying to beat Scott in a robot soccer match at his booth. Then you eat a freshly cooked egg from the "SnackMaker U1" (not the official name), while trying to evade another actual U1 rolling toward you and printing at the same time... You suddenly realize you didn't even get to see everything! And everyone here is a maker!

"It says a lot about how serious they are."

Henry Martinez came from Los Angeles, California, and took a more clinical look around Snapmaker HQ — up on the 8th floor of a gleaming new building in explosively growing Shenzhen:

You'll find multiple print farms — some focused on designing and testing great things for users to print and others dedicated to validating the U1 hardware design robustness and software testing. It is an impressive investment of space, machines and people, and says a lot about how serious they are about 3D printing.

What stuck with him most wasn't the hardware:

I think the thing that impressed me the most was the passion and skill across the entire Snapmaker team... they are very open and receptive to customer feedback. We had the opportunity to sit in on several product team meetings, and the things I heard give me confidence that the U1 is only going to get better: they are squarely focused on hard dates on which they will release the fruits of their continuous improvements.

"The very people I've been chatting with on Discord."

Paxx12 [Dontworryaboutit, GitHub] — yes, the same Paxx who was signing Dmitrii's back — had been talking with the Snapmaker team online for months before ever setting foot in the building:

During the visit, we had the opportunity to meet with members of the Marketing, Product, Firmware, Hardware, and Software teams — the very people I've been chatting with on Discord and Lark over the past several months. Hearing their ideas firsthand, learning more about their vision, and getting a glimpse of what they're working on gave us a much deeper understanding of the people behind the products and the direction they want Snapmaker to take.

I'm really grateful to have had the chance to visit Shenzhen, tour Snapmaker, and be part of such a special milestone. Taking part in the Maker Fair and all the anniversary activities made the trip even more memorable... Congratulations again on the milestone — I'm looking forward to seeing what's next.

"More than just a job."

Michael Winkler came from Stans, Austria — a Tyrolean village of about 2,000 people — and went home and gave his own teammates an hour-long debriefing about the trip. His recap was written to answer the question they all asked: So? How was it at Snapmaker?

What impressed me most was not the machines themselves, but the people. Everywhere I went, I met team members who were genuinely passionate about what they do. Whether it was engineering, software, marketing, customer support, or management, everyone was deeply invested in creating the best possible experience for their users.

That spirit became especially apparent during the internal Maker Faire. Snapmaker staff and Super Users showcased their projects, exchanged ideas, and inspired each other with everything from practical tools to highly creative builds. It was a reminder that many of the people behind Snapmaker are makers themselves, with the same curiosity and excitement that drives the community.

I left Shenzhen with far more than just photos and memories. I came back with new ideas, stronger relationships, and even more motivation to continue creating educational content for the community.

"Never in my life have I felt such a strong sense of belonging."

Rüdiger Neuweg [Frankfurt, Germany] arrived after a 16-hour journey expecting a pleasant meetup with people he'd only known online. He got more than that:

When I received the invitation to Snapmaker's 10th-anniversary celebration, I initially thought it would be nice to finally meet in person the people I'd only communicated with online. I never imagined, however, that genuine friendships would develop so quickly...

The meeting and the following day were truly productive; rarely have I seen a company engage so deeply with user questions... It wasn't just the friendly reception by the Snapmaker team; the level of trust we "Super Users" built with one another made the trip worthwhile in itself. Never in my life have I felt such a strong sense of belonging in a new place in such a short time.

And after visiting other tech companies during the rest of his stay:

I was surprised by how eager they were to invite us to marvel at their new technology. But nowhere else did it feel quite the same as it did with the Snapmaker team... I will, of course, gladly come back to meet all my new friends.

Usamari flew in from Japan, and reached for a word that doesn't quite exist in English — 盟友 (meiyū): not merely a friend or colleague, but an ally who shares your aspirations. (Editor's note: this reflection was translated)

I've been thinking about how to express the many people I've met through Snapmaker. The Japanese word 盟友 — "ally" — might be appropriate. It refers not just to friends or colleagues, but to those who share the same aspirations. I'm not good at speaking either English or Chinese. But strangely enough, when I met everyone, I immediately felt that "we share the same thing in our hearts." Even now, looking back, it was a special experience.

We don't mind taking action to make today a little better than yesterday. No one asks, "Why bother doing something so troublesome?" That's because for us, making things is a more interesting adventure than anything else. Please keep a close eye on us from now on! We will surely show you wonderful (and sometimes silly) creations!

"A reminder that making is something worth pursuing for the long run."

竹子 [Shanghai, China], a long-time user and maker, wrote about the founder's speech and what it felt like to be heard:

What moved me most was not just the energy of the event itself, but the sense of pure dedication the Snapmaker team has toward "making." The founder's speech, in particular, gave me a very direct feeling of his persistence, passion, and long-term commitment as a maker. In that moment, I felt that Snapmaker is not simply a brand that builds tools, but a group of people who truly believe in creation, understand creators, and are willing to work with users to turn ideas into reality.

Many discussions were not just one-way presentations, but real exchanges around actual usage, real problems, and future possibilities. As a long-time user and maker, I felt that my work, experience, and voice were genuinely seen, which meant a lot to me... To me, Snapmaker's 10th Anniversary was not only a celebration, but also a reminder that making is something worth pursuing for the long run.

What we're taking from it

We didn't invite our Super Users to HQ so they'd write nice things about us. We invited them because after ten years, the honest feedback of the people who use our machines every day is still the most valuable input we have. They pushed us on software stability, on connectivity, on materials, on the things that frustrate them — and every one of those conversations turned into notes, owners, and plans.

That's the part of "Always Making" that doesn't show up on a spec sheet. The machines will keep getting better because the people who use them keep telling us how — and because we keep listening.

To Dmitrii, Henry, Michael, Rudiger, 竹子, and every Super User who spent their week (and their sleep) with us: thank you. The doors stay open.

Here's to the next ten years of making, together.