> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://blog.snapmaker.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Built by Makers: Meet the 20 Snapmaker U1 Innovation Fund Winners - URL: https://blog.snapmaker.com/blog/built-by-makers-meet-the-20-snapmaker-u1-innovation-fund-winners/ - Published: 2026-10-16T04:44:15.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-16T04:44:15.000Z - Description: Meet the 20 Phase 1 winners of the Snapmaker U1 Innovation Fund, discover what makers are building, and get ready for Phase 2 on October 28. - Author: The Snapmaker Team *More ways to print, customize, and create—discover what our community is building, and get ready for Phase 2 on October 28.* Every maker knows the feeling: you’re working on a project, you spot something that could work better, and you start wondering, “What if?” What if you could use different nozzle sizes more flexibly in a single print? Add more filament options to your U1? Or customize your printer to fit the way you like to work? For the developers taking part in the Snapmaker Innovation Fund, those questions became projects. And today, we’re excited to celebrate **20 Phase 1 winners**, selected from 67 entries through technical committee review and community voting. To everyone who built, shared, tested, and voted: thank you. You’re helping shape what comes next for toolchanger 3D printing. ## Big ideas, built around everyday making We created the **$150,000 Snapmaker Innovation Fund** to give back to the community that helped bring U1 to life—and support the people taking it further. Since Phase 1 opened on June 9, 2026, makers have explored everything from slicing software and firmware to hardware modifications, modeling tools, mobile apps, and automated workflows. Behind that variety is something familiar: a maker finding a challenge and deciding to do something about it. These projects bring more options to the workbench and give others a starting point for their own ideas. ## Meet the U1 Pioneer winners ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/de/c4/dec4f18f-7220-4328-9e05-f4e130626473/content/images/2026/10/Screenshot-2026-10-16-at-12.40.45---PM-1.png) Three projects received the **U1 Pioneer Award**, the competition’s highest award tier. Here’s a closer look at what they make possible. ### [Full Multi-Nozzle Printing, by LixNix](https://github.com/LixNix-Swap-Org/Snapmaker-Orca/tree/main) Different parts of a model can call for different printing choices. Full Multi-Nozzle Printing gives makers more control over those choices within a single print. With support for fixed or dynamic layer heights per extruder, the project lets users match nozzle sizes and layer settings to different parts of a model. It opens up more room to experiment with how a print comes together. ### [multiACE, by decay71](https://github.com/decay71/multiACE) More filament options mean more possibilities to explore. multiACE connects up to four Anycubic ACE Pro or ACE 2 units to U1, providing **16 filament slots** and automatic filament changes during printing. For makers experimenting with color and materials, it offers more flexibility in planning their next project. ### [Paxx12 Snapmaker U1 Extended Firmware, by paxx12](https://github.com/paxx12-snapmaker-u1/SnapmakerU1-Extended-Firmware) For those who love getting under the hood, making also means understanding and customizing the tools themselves. Paxx12 Snapmaker U1 Extended Firmware unlocks SSH access and debugging, alongside tools for camera streaming, touchscreen applications, and printer metrics. It gives advanced users more ways to explore U1 and make it their own. *Projects above are listed alphabetically by name. Their order does not indicate scores or relative rankings.* These three projects are just part of the story. [Explore all 20 winners](https://www.snapmaker.com/innovation-fund) to meet the developers and discover what they’ve been working on. ![Tier 2 and Tier 3 winning projects, their developers, categories, and award amounts](https://storage.ghost.io/c/de/c4/dec4f18f-7220-4328-9e05-f4e130626473/content/images/2026/10/clipboard-3.png) ## Support that helps projects keep growing Choosing the winners brought together technical committee evaluations and community voting, with Steve from HueForge joining the judging panel as a guest judge. Projects were assessed on innovation and technical depth, openness and quality, and practicality and adaptability. Along with cash prizes, winners will receive official recognition, promotion through Snapmaker’s global channels, and access to selected product beta programs. Developers keep ownership of their work. Our hope is that this support helps them keep improving their projects, connect with more users, and discover new opportunities to collaborate. ## Giving back, building forward U1 builds on years of work from the global 3D printing community, including projects such as Klipper, Moonraker, Fluidd, and OrcaSlicer. The Innovation Fund is one way we can contribute in return: by supporting developers, helping useful projects reach more people, and encouraging makers to build on one another’s work. The program includes Founding Sponsorships and two open competition phases. U1 is at its center, but our ambition reaches across the broader toolchanger 3D printing community. ![$51,000 awarded in Phase 1 across 20 winning projects](https://storage.ghost.io/c/de/c4/dec4f18f-7220-4328-9e05-f4e130626473/content/images/2026/10/clipboard-4.png) ## Your next idea could be part of Phase 2 Have something you’d like to build? We’d love to see it. **Phase 2 opens on October 28, 2026, and submissions close on December 24, 2026.** Developers, makers, and U1 users worldwide can enter a new project or continue developing a Phase 1 entry. Whether you’re improving a workflow, exploring a hardware idea, or building a tool you wish existed, this is an opportunity to take it further. [**Visit the Innovation Fund page for rules and submission details.**](https://www.snapmaker.com/innovation-fund) Congratulations to all 20 winners—and thank you to everyone helping this community grow. Let’s make something wonderful. \- The Snapmaker Team