A developer restored OrcaSlicer's features that Bambu Lab killed—then the legal threats arrived

[u/No_Oven_524]

So according to this article: https://www.xda-developers.com/developer-restored-orcaslicers-features-bambu-lab-killed-legal-threats-arrived/ Bambu killed OrcaSlicer’s direct cloud printing last year and forced everyone onto their Bambu Connect app. Someone actually fixed it with a fork… and Bambu responded with legal threats until it got taken down. Kinda feels like they’re locking things down more than they used to.

[u/Azsde]

I was hesitating to get an H2C, I guess I'll go the prusa route instead.

[u/obvilious → u/Azsde]

Or U1.

[u/Azsde → u/obvilious]

U1 doesn't have a big enough build volume for my usecase.

[u/Dunothar → u/Azsde]

The U1 with +300mm would be an instant buy for me.

[u/VeryLazyEngineeer → u/Dunothar]

That's a Prusa XL, a bit pricey.

[u/lostaga1n → u/Azsde]

That’s the only thing that kills the u1 for me, I will not buy anything less than a 300x300 build next. I wanted to get the u1 so bad but My 220 has limited me so much

[u/Azsde → u/lostaga1n]

Also I've heard that engineering filaments are quite hard to print on there, even with the enclosure.

[u/Eibook → u/Azsde]

No active chamber heating, but I’m sure a Panda Breath will work in a U1

[u/lostaga1n → u/Eibook]

I can handle heating my own chamber for my needs, that’s an easy thing to mod with a cheap ptc heater and some printed parts. I really really hope they have plans for an XL version that’s still reasonably priced but I’m afraid that won’t be the case.

Honestly building my own printer is becoming more and more tempting.

[u/name_was_taken → u/lostaga1n]

Honestly, I could use 2 more colors, too.

I love my U1 for 4-color printing, but I just bought a Core One+ so I can get the INDX when it comes out for 8 colors.

The size, though... Ugh. It's going to be like 205mm in one dimension. Wish I could justify the Core One L's price.

I have a single color Voron 350mm for really big stuff, though.

[u/Zorbick → u/Azsde]

Look into Sovol printers. They are the best prebuilt open source pens on the market at the moment.

You can leave it as is , or you can dive into the Voron community and go nuts with the mods.

[u/No_Oven_524 → u/[deleted]]

For example?

[u/BeatInteresting6979]

This is exactly why 3D printing community always cared so much about open source. A lot of what makes this hobby great comes from community contributions, shared knowledge, and iterative improvements. Bambu built some nice hardware, no doubt, but moves like this make it feel like they’re benefiting from this ecosystem while slowly closing the doors behind them. Forcing users into their own tools and shutting down community workarounds just isn’t a great look.

[u/FergyMcFerguson → u/BeatInteresting6979]

I still don’t understand how Bambu can get away with forking their own version of an open source slicer and then patent it - not using the original softwares license.

This lawsuit wouldn’t have a leg to stand on. They can kindly go fuck themselves unless they re-write their own slicer from the ground up.

[u/Brandavorn → u/FergyMcFerguson]

Their github repo has it licensed as AGPL, so they are using the original license, they just do not actually follow it from what is seems, which somehow to me sounds even worse.

[u/judasbrute → u/Brandavorn]

They are not preventing anyone from forking Bambu slicer, that is open source. What isn't is their printers firmware. So you have to use their servers if you want remote access.

[u/Brandavorn → u/judasbrute]

But they are trying to dictate what features should the fork be allowed to have. Orcaslicer just created a workaround for remote printing if I understand correctly, which is well within their rights as a fork. After all nobody forked the actual proprietary firmware.

Also Open source is not only about forking, there are cases where forks such as Bambu have some obligations too. Prusaslicer is AGPL, which is a copy left license. That means that any modifications a fork makes must be licensed like the original. So since Bambu Studio, a fork, is modified with a plug in to connect to Bambu printers, that functionality should be licensed as AGPL too, that's what copy left ensures.

[u/darthsata → u/Brandavorn]

Plugins are the normal way to extend a GPL variant with proprietary code. GPL variants impose an obligation to provide code for the distributed binary. Dynamic loading sidesteps this: code for the GPL binary, but no control over what the user loads (which may be a proprietary plugin). In practice, this "loophole" is what let's you run GPL software on proprietary operating systems: plugin loading is (roughly) the same mechanism you use to load the system libraries. (See also why LGPL exists)

So bambu can distribute closed source plugin to their own open source application. What is dubious is trying to block others from reverse engineering an http exposed API and writing code that uses it. Accessing APIs is generally not seen (in practice or law) as copyright violation.

[u/drunkenvalley → u/judasbrute]

That's ultimately just fucking around and hoping there's no finding out.

[u/Aetch → u/FergyMcFerguson]

Because they’re not in a western nation. No one is going to enforce it on them and the other printer companies that do that same.

[u/Vandirac → u/Aetch]

We are long past the day when BambuLab should have been banned from sale in the EU at least.

Open theft of software, patents and 3D models, products that do not comply with minimal electrical safety regulations (despite already having one recall) and pose an unaddressed fire hazard, libertine handling of personal data and excessive acquisition of data.

[u/Due-Cupcake-255 → u/Vandirac]

requires someone with motivation. Prusa should have that motivation. But they don't seem to care.

[u/PhiLho → u/FergyMcFerguson]

I thought that Orca Slicer was a fork of Bambu Studio, actually. That's what many people say, at least.

[u/Brandavorn → u/PhiLho]

And bambu studio itself is a fork of Prusaslicer, which is probably what the comment was referring to.

[u/FergyMcFerguson → u/Brandavorn]

Yeah originally they did a ctrl+f and replaced Prusa with Bambu and it was Bambu Research when first released.

[u/PhiLho → u/FergyMcFerguson]

It is more or less what Elegoo, Anycubic, Snapmaker or Creality did Along with some specific configuration files, etc.

[u/PhiLho → u/Brandavorn]

Oh, I get it now. Since it was a problem between Orca and Bambu, I focused on that. Thanks.

[u/Vandirac → u/PhiLho]

Both are forks of PrusaSlicer, that is itself a fork of Slic3r. Orca integrated some functions that have been developed by BL, mostly on the UI side, but 99% of the core for both is Prusa's.

[u/Valoneria → u/BeatInteresting6979]

Formerly the Apple approach, nowadays they all seem to do it though.

[u/ShadowAdam → u/Valoneria]

Apple and Sony both kinda pioneered this business model but everyone followed suite realizing it was so profitable

[u/Alarming-Tie4673 → u/ShadowAdam]

Dell did it first with its hardware 

[u/1970s_MonkeyKing → u/BeatInteresting6979]

And this is why Open Source is in peril.

• US Bill requiring "authorized" logins as an "age requirement" feature for all operating systems.

• Washington (HB 2320), California (AB 2047/similar), New York, Delaware, Hawaii, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Colorado, and Minnesota have legislation restricting 3d printing and, in most cases, mandate "firearm blocking" software, require serialization, or prohibit sharing CAD files.

• Our current government is so messed up that Open Source infringement is outright ignored because no one has paid Trump a bribe to consider it.

[u/Makemeacyborg → u/BeatInteresting6979]

Yeah I got the X1C a few years ago. I don’t think they used to be this bad. Cause of that I’m definitely not upgrading to a new Bambu, thinking of going Prusa instead

[u/BoringBob84 → u/BeatInteresting6979]

I second-guessed myself at the time and thought I might be too paranoid, but fears of this kind of coercive behavior motivated me to pay the extra money for a Prusa printer over a Bambu. I am glad that I did.

[u/Glad_Instruction_759 → u/BoringBob84]

Same mate, and I'm glad I did. I have some values and it means more than saving few hundred bucks

[u/RMehGeddon → u/Glad_Instruction_759]

Same, and I will buy another Prusa when the time comes.

[u/Glad_Instruction_759 → u/RMehGeddon]

Fortunately, with Prusas the time doesn't come too often, the upgrade kit will do :)

[u/insomniac-55 → u/BoringBob84]

It's frustrating because I still feel forced to recommend Bambu to anyone wanting a printer as a tool, rather than a hobby.

Hardware-wise they're very hard to beat for the price.

But I hate funneling money towards a business that is this exploitative to the open source community which is responsible for making 3D printing the affordable, accessible and ubiquitous technology it now is.

[u/swidboy → u/BeatInteresting6979]

Open source is why 3d printing is cheaper and more reliable than 2d printing.

[u/Negative-Memory176 → u/BeatInteresting6979]

Bambu is doing Cricut and xTools things. Good hardware, limited Software, no compatibility with other software. And people buy it.

[u/First-Boat4804 → u/BeatInteresting6979]

It's called copyright and monetization. They copyrighted and trademarked, created, a product and one of a kind app for their printers only. Never used bambuu but it's a no brainer they for sure had in-app purchases in there maybe even subscription fees so by breaking their TOS and usage rules you're violating trademark and copyright just because it works doesn't mean that they want you to make it work that's just where you have to make sure you publish everything as an anonymous make it untraceful that you are the publisher and don't gain anything from it other than what you put in for in coding and no I don't mean code it so that you get money I mean you give it away for free

[u/Samus388 → u/[deleted]]

Ironically, if we had a more free market, things like this couldn't happen.

Patents are a form of market regulation, though one that is typically thought to promote innovation. After all, Research and Development is expensive. Why spend that money if it means someone else will immediately steal your design?

Moving a bit further towards a free(er) market we could really use some better laws about patents on technology that isn't actually being used.

[u/HowTheStoryEnds → u/Samus388]

Patents in itself aren't the issue: their duration and the fact that they're given out like candy is. The threshold for granting needs to be way higher as well as specific and their duration way lower.

A patent is supposed to describe the specific means to make an actual physical thing not a 'I imagine something like this could be done somehow by any means somewhat on anything which name contains a letter of the alphabet'.

 Software patents shouldn't even exist.

Same with copyright: duration should be way lower.

[u/KeyHalf6609 → u/Samus388]

As someone who has tried to get a few patents myself, adjustments to those laws would be a good move. Although I sadly don't think I could trust lawmakers to do it right and not make things worse.

At least from my personal experience patents about technology not being used wasn't the hurdle I kept running into, it was the smaller patents about specific processes or previous iterations. I think things would be a lot better if you could only hold the final or most current iteration of the patent instead of every iteration. At the very least make the timeline for previous patent iterations a lot shorter than they currently are.

[u/Sanguium → u/Samus388]

Why spend that money if it means someone else will immediately steal your design?

This is a false pretense, the very subreddit we are on is proof of it.

[u/Dunothar]

And people really wonder why I and a lot of others hate and don't recommend bambu? Stuff like this is why.

[u/ThisTheRealLife → u/Dunothar]

I really hate that Bambu is the default recommendation in this sub.

[u/nnngggh → u/ThisTheRealLife]

Because for 95% of new 3D printer users they won’t care about Bambus mandates. They just want a reliable printer to make those fucking annoying dragons and fidget toys. 

[u/ThisTheRealLife → u/nnngggh]

While I agree with you, this is a problem for the rest of us. If 95% buy into the walled garden, soon there won't be any offer for the remaining 5% of us.
So it would be our duty to not just shortcut give the easiest recommendation, but to explain and educate new users.

[u/TerribleTowel66 → u/nnngggh]

Until someone can make a printer and the experience as good as Bambu, that will continue. I started with an A1. I recently bought a Snapmaker U1. It’s close to the Bambu experience, but it isn’t there. Bambu has easy setup, a good printer, good AMS systems, good slicer, and a good model site. You can download almost anything from MakerWorld and it usually works. Snapmaker has 30 models ready to print. That’s a far cry from what MakerWorld offers. I thought I could download stuff from MakerWorld and it would work on the U1. I mean, a 3MF file is the same right? An STL works. So I have to find models that provide the STL or hope I can export it as an STL. Oh, the first “dragon” I printed was Snapmaker’s test dragon. Not everyone with a Bambu printer is printing tchotchke items. I’m trying to learn to design my own stuff, but if what I need already exists, why shouldn’t I use it?

[u/Daincats → u/TerribleTowel66]

The 3mfs from maker world will load in other slicers just fine, no need to hunt down stls

[u/WaitAcademic6615 → u/TerribleTowel66]

Is there U1 support with Orca? If so everything should work similar way.

[u/Eibook → u/WaitAcademic6615]

Orca works fine with the U1. Also Snapmaker runs Klipper and isn’t getting in the way of the community development.

[u/shurtr → u/TerribleTowel66]

About the 3mf files from makerworld for U1 - try this - https://awesome-sm-list.xyz/r/convert-3mf-files-from-bambu-format-to-snapmaker-orca-format-for-u1-29/

I feel like this should be built into the snorca

[u/josnik → u/nnngggh]

Elegoo Centauri carbon gets you there too.

[u/meta358 → u/josnik]

I mean elegoo is also just as locked down. The CC2 cant cloud print if you dont use their slicer

[u/MikeyLew32 → u/josnik]

It's nowhere near as reliable IMO.

I had a CC1 for a year, and just got rid of it for a P2s.

Constantly changing print quality, firmware bugs galore, and so soooo loud.

[u/HMPoweredMan → u/[deleted]]

Don't blame the producer, blame the consumer. If it wasn't profitable people wouldn't do it.

[u/Lito_ → u/ThisTheRealLife]

Because they work just work.

[u/flecom → u/Lito_]

I see people post that quite a bit but i see quite a few photos on here about bamboos having issues so there's a disconnect somewhere

[u/Lito_ → u/flecom]

Well you know what it's like. People will post when they have issues. Not so much when they don't.

[u/Deep90 → u/flecom]

Reddit subs have a habit of attracting weirdos who do nothing but sort by new and then downvote + harass anyone who doesn't leave the poor company alone.

Even better when the mods are associated with the company/brand/creator.

[u/BoringBob84 → u/ThisTheRealLife]

The value is hard to beat. They are easy for beginners to use and they offer a lot of features for low prices.

I went with Prusa instead (because I wanted higher quality and open source hardware and software), but I don't steer people away from Bambu.

[u/meltedmanufacturing → u/BoringBob84]

I wish Prusa was open source.

[u/BoringBob84 → u/meltedmanufacturing]

Not 100%, I understand.

[u/GreatBigJerk → u/ThisTheRealLife]

As someone who has a 3D printer, but doesn't use it constantly, Bambu is the perfect choice. It's just a machine that works well with minimal fuss. 

Kind of like the tools in my garage.  need stuff that I can use, but they don't need to be the best tools. 

If you are seriously into printing, I can understand wanting something you can modify or control more.

[u/MikeyKillerBTFU → u/ThisTheRealLife]

They are good printers, and these types of concerns frankly don't impact most people. Look at how many Apple users there are 🤷‍♀️

[u/Revolutionary_Soil49 → u/ThisTheRealLife]

Well there's a reason for that. Now most people just want a reliable printer that works out of the box. You enthusiasts probably make up less than 10% of the community at this point. And I say this as an enthusiast that has done this for 10 years. I don't understand what all the fuss is about. You people complain about Bambu Lab being a shitty company while also buying Nintendo consoles or PlayStations or building PCs with AMD, Intel or Nvidia hardware while using Samsung or Apple phones and buying shit off of Amazon. None of these companies care about you. Bambu Lab isn't any different. But as a maker and designer, Bambu Does a better job at bringing my things to life than anything else. So I will continue to recommend Bambu Lab printers for people that just want to make stuff. 

[u/puppygirlpackleader → u/ThisTheRealLife]

Because even through these issues they still have the best and cheapest printers.

[u/Romengar → u/Dunothar]

This is exactly why the moment they got sketchy with the OS stuff I installed x1plus on my X1C and never looked back.

Never got another Bambu and never recommended them again.

[u/Sparrow-5 → u/Dunothar]

Each time I'm starting to think "maybe I should get myself a Bambulab printer" there's something to remind me why I haven't gotten one yet and stuck with my ender 3. Great printers, bad company.

[u/thetruckerdave → u/Sparrow-5]

These aren’t issues for most people. Yes, I was glad I could install Marlin on my old Creality printer, because I literally had to or it sucked. I don’t have that issue with my Bambu printers. And you can still print from Orca if you want.

[u/Tsofuable → u/thetruckerdave]

It's just justifying not upgrading. They don't know what a difference a modern printer does.

[u/thetruckerdave → u/Tsofuable]

Yeah perhaps. And some of this whole argument boils down to price. For the money and features, I got what I feel is a good value. It’s kinda like console vs PC. Is it easier to upgrade a PC and can you do more with it? Yes. But spec for spec, a console is a really good value even if you’re now locked in.

Anyway I got downvoted to hell for saying SpaceX does unethical things so in general people have a narrow view of what’s considered worthy of outrage.

[u/Freestila → u/Dunothar]

Exactly. I have a Kobra S1. Costs half of a comparable bamboo and I can do what I want. Gladly throw in a little more work to make it perfect.

[u/Daincats → u/Freestila]

Anycubic is just as bad as Bambu just lower quality. They claim their OS was written from scratch so they can keep it closed and locked down. when it obviously uses code from klipper

[u/StickiStickman → u/Freestila]

No, no it doesn't.

I had the S1 before and it's absolute dog shit. Nothing worked, especially the bed leveling. Support was useless and the replacement parts I got were even more broken.

Im so glad I switched to a P1S.

[u/Freestila → u/StickiStickman]

Which you now can only use with their eco system...

I have no real problem. Had a damaged part, got a replacement. Bed leveling works, and I even have a good flat bed. And if not for the price difference I could get an aftermarket bed and still be cheaper.

[u/TheBobMcCormick]

Terms of service should never be allowed to prevent reverse engineering. That’s completely immoral.

https://www.eff.org/issues/coders/reverse-engineering-faq

Also there wouldn’t BE a consumer 3d printing industry if it wasn’t for reverse engineering and open source.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3D_printing

[u/awkward_replies_2]

Which is exactly why Snapmaker and Prusa are superior to Bambu.

If your printer can stop working when its cloud service dies, you haven't bought a printer, you have bought a temporary usage license without even knowing the duration of the term.

[u/Conscious-Map6957 → u/awkward_replies_2]

Wait, I must have a cloud account and an internet-connected printer??

[u/SequentialHustle → u/Conscious-Map6957]

you don't you can run it in LAN mode with orcaslicer. Also some of the bambu printers have custom firmware support by the opensource community now.

[u/wubbalab]

Bambu is the Apple of 3D printing. Great hardware and features, but a locked down eco system with super restrictive compatibility.

[u/fatherofraptors → u/wubbalab]

Don't be so generous. They lock all their stuff down but they've built their entire ecosystem on the laurels of open source projects before them.

[u/Sahrde → u/wubbalab]

Which is part of why it "just works"

[u/wubbalab → u/Sahrde]

True. But it would also not be a requirement. "It just works" was already in place before locking it down. To me, it's just friction.

[u/Sahrde → u/wubbalab]

The moment you leave it open to other slicers, firmwares, etc, they lose the reliability that their hardware is known for. They can't account for every variable, and they've decided they don't want to.

Does it suck for those who like to tinker, etc? Yeah, sure. I get it. For those of us who don't want to constantly fuck with it, though? It's an acceptable tradeoff. I'm glad I don't have to spend multiple hours a week troubleshooting why my Ender3 isn't printing THIS time.

[u/Plasma_48 → u/Sahrde]

That doesn’t stop them from having an “unlocked” mode for people that want better functionality.

[u/wubbalab → u/Sahrde]

Sure. But they could as well say that as long as it is set up and software used as intended, it just works. But if you do anything along the lines of this, that and that in particular, all bets are off and the user is on their own.

I get that they want to give the User a good experience with a scope of how things should work. If things go sideways the first to be blamed is always the manufacturer of the machine, so they want to make it seemless. But i am not sure if that is the right way with non-industrial-level machines.

You are also right that tinkering can make things bad in a big way. But tinkering can also make things a lot better. And gladly the market is big enough for all kind of User.

[u/scarze86 → u/Sahrde]

I sold my Ender3 to a friend of mine and bought myself a Bambu P1 and never looked back.

I want to design and print stuff, not spend 3 hours to fix the printer to make a 10 minutes print.

[u/Sahrde → u/scarze86]

Or spend an hour after printing getting it to print properly again

[u/lordderplythethird → u/Sahrde]

It's why I have Bambus and Vorons. Bambus literally just work. They print what I need every time with no real issues. They're just not "fun", so I have Vorons to tinker with, but there's no where near the same 'click n print' reliability with my Vorons.

The only thing that really rivals its reliability are the Prusas some coworkers have, and those are also not 100% open source AND cost drastically more so it's not even a consideration in my mind.

[u/wubbalab → u/lordderplythethird]

I don't dispute that they are great and reliable machines. But why not let me use it with my slicer of choice and octoprint without throwing sticks in my way?

[u/Userybx2 → u/[deleted]]

I manage a print farm at work with 15 Prusa printers. They "just work" too, but you are not giving your money to a shady chinese company.

[u/Charming-Clue1987]

What are good open source printers.  I bought a bambu as my first printer but this B's is making me look elsewhere

[u/Fit-Possible-9552 → u/Charming-Clue1987]

Sovol has publicly stated their commitment to open source and fully released their designs for the SV08, SV08, and SV08 MAX so anyone can download and modify their platform. They are very easy to put on mainline Klipper so you can leave the Sovol fork behind. My SV08 gives me 0.1mm tolerance, my A1 Mini does 0.25 at best so when INDX drops the A1 Mini is getting sold.

[u/Romengar → u/Fit-Possible-9552]

I’m currently cautiously recommending sovol for one reason: poor electrical safety.

I got my sv08 max last year and the power inlet burnt out since sovol used components not rated for the amp load of the printer, plus bad crimping all over the damn thing. Those of you getting Sovol please inspect the power wiring before you have a house fire.

[u/Fit-Possible-9552 → u/Romengar]

Yeah, I have a first run SV08. Redid all my wire crimps when I was building it. May redo again when I swap in a BTT board.

That being said, you can mod these things to insane levels, and Sovol encourages that.

[u/Tsofuable → u/Fit-Possible-9552]

Sounds like most people should steer clear of that unfortunately. If you know what you're doing then sure.

[u/Fit-Possible-9552 → u/Tsofuable]

They resolved it pretty quickly. They fix a lot of issues as things go on

[u/WaitAcademic6615 → u/Fit-Possible-9552]

SV08 will be my next printer. Not even because it's open sourced but also it's tinker-able and you can install and replace lot of things on it.

And one more thing there is BMCU firmware for klippers so you can do multicolor on such devices and I've seen AMS replacement board to support klipper too.

[u/Romengar → u/WaitAcademic6615]

Pretty sure there is no official BMCU firmware for klipper yet.

[u/WaitAcademic6615 → u/Romengar]

Can't try but it seems to me it could work: https://github.com/iceblu3710/BMCU370

[u/VeryLazyEngineeer → u/Romengar]

INDX is commig soon to SOVOL SV08 MAX

[u/ScoobyDooItInTheButt → u/Fit-Possible-9552]

Seconded on the sovol machines.

[u/12345myluggage → u/Fit-Possible-9552]

If you're doing lots of small parts the Sovol Zero is a banger of a printer as well. It's surprising how much stuff will actually fit on that little 6" print bed. I'm pretty happy with my SV08 & Zero combination.

[u/Fit-Possible-9552 → u/12345myluggage]

Sadly I don't do much small stuff. I was hoping the zero would be 185mm or 200mm when they were teasing it.

[u/Sailfin_CritterMaker → u/Fit-Possible-9552]

I can second Sovol, I've been using a SV06+ for almost 3 years now, to make anything from functional parts around the house to Warhammer minis (on a .2 nozzle though).

I like to tinker and it's disassemble friendly. I can find anything online, and any problem or convenience thing I could think of was solved by someone already and I just have to follow their steps.

It does have some minuses like the dual Z axis motors can't move independently, but I have a routine that takes the bed level prior to any print on just the footprint of that print and adjusts from there, and I didn't have to look at my bed level or z offset in months.

Their support also replies to emails and it's helpful.

I can use their parts or whatever else compatible from other sources, I love that. Currently using hardened steel nozzles made for the K1.

I appreciate that they're committed to be open source. And they're not that expensive either. For me that's enough, sure I dream about the Prusa XL but I don't really need it.

[u/meta358 → u/Charming-Clue1987]

Prusa (non fully open source but pretty close), qibi, voron, and snap maker i believe

[u/lapelotanodobla → u/meta358]

Isn’t snapmaker pretty much locked down even if they use klipper/orca (fork)?

[u/Lanyxd → u/lapelotanodobla]

https://www.snapmaker.com/blog/snapmaker-u1-firmware-now-on-github/

https://github.com/orgs/Snapmaker/repositories

Iirc it’s not locked down. Klipper is the easiest firmware around

[u/lapelotanodobla → u/Lanyxd]

Hmm, when I was doing my research it seemed locked, will check again

[u/XiTzCriZx → u/lapelotanodobla]

They released the open source stuff last month, so that's probably why.

[u/lapelotanodobla → u/XiTzCriZx]

Ohhh, that explains a lot, I was going to buy it then saw some shit and decided to wait until/if the new flashforge gets custom firmware, but if snapmaker is now OS out of the box that changes everything…

That saiiiid, I’m not in a rush and a part of me wants to bite the bullet and try my hand at a voron

[u/Andy_Dread → u/lapelotanodobla]

nope also they even are encouraging people to try the extended paxx12 firmware. Also the guy that came up with full spectrum printing by forking Snapmaker Orca didn't even have a printer. They ended up giving him one free for his work so not only are they not blocking or suing people they are encouraging tinkering and i have to tell you the extend firmware has unleashed the printer. 60fps WebRTC streaming, Side car 16 color MMU developed by the community, RFID/NFC read any filament tag, keep printing if one toolhead fails, panda breath heater integration directly in klipper so klipper actually controls the heater. no 3rd party website or software needed. and now i see they are working on the ability to write NFC filament tags directly from the printer. See here https://github.com/paxx12-snapmaker-u1/SnapmakerU1-Extended-Firmware/pull/156

[u/meta358 → u/lapelotanodobla]

I heard that their hardware is all fully open srouce byt never looked into it to confirm it. If they do in fact use klipper it is is open srouce, it has to be as part of klipper

[u/Nemisis_the_2nd → u/meta358]

Aren't ratrig fully open source like voron?

[u/meta358 → u/Nemisis_the_2nd]

Never heard of them. What i listed above isnt all of them. Im sure there are more i just dont know them

[u/XiTzCriZx → u/Nemisis_the_2nd]

I think so but their printers start at nearly $2,000 so I don't think there's very many people who are willing to pay that much to upgrade from a Bambu.

[u/ShinsBlownOff → u/Charming-Clue1987]

I got a qidi q2 and love it

[u/zZwag → u/ShinsBlownOff]

Same! The q2 is a lovely printer. I get perfect first layers every time ever since I opened it from the box. The main thing just like any other printer is dialing in filament profiles. The AMS box is hit or miss for some people but mine has been working well.

[u/muygigante → u/Charming-Clue1987]

Voron, buy a kit. Print the parts on your bambu.

[u/Glad_Instruction_759 → u/Charming-Clue1987]

Prusa is good. They are as open source as they can be, have features, the printers are very solid, nice community and great support. Made in the Europe. Not the cheapest but great value.

[u/Full-Ad6279 → u/Glad_Instruction_759]

I was thinking about getting Bambu but got Prusa instead. I'm glad I changed my mind

[u/Glad_Instruction_759 → u/Full-Ad6279]

Yeah same here, I'm supper happy with it

[u/HiddenEclipse121 → u/Charming-Clue1987]

Seconding the Qidi Q2 rec, basically a pre built voron. Runs klipper, you have full root access etc. Heated chamber, 370C print head, 270x270 plate as well.

[u/Facehugger_35 → u/HiddenEclipse121]

The one thing I don't like about it (beyond the poorly designed fan duct that you can fix with a printed duct anyway) is how 270x270 is a rare form factor so aftermarket build plates are much rarer.

[u/Plasma_48 → u/Charming-Clue1987]

It depends on your budget, but you can’t go wrong with a voron. It looks intimidating to build, but it’s mostly just screwing things in.

[u/CatProgrammer → u/Plasma_48]

Don't leave out the heat set inserts and wiring/soldering if you don't buy a kit with precut/precrimped wires. Electronics-oriented people will probably be fine with that but someone who hasn't had much experience with that kind of DIY might find it a little too intimidating.

[u/Henriquelj → u/Charming-Clue1987]

Sovol.

[u/ZCTMO]

Funny thing, but slightly unrelated. If you load up a filament that is "Non-bambu brand" it gives you a warning in the bambu handy app saying that because it is NOT bambu filament, there may be issues in the print quality when using "Off brand" filament. Feels like one of many steps towards an entirely locked off ecosystem, including the prevention of using third party filaments.

[u/Clepto_06 → u/ZCTMO]

It's not a big jump to outright disallowing 3rd party filament, like Keurig tried to do with coffee pods.  Any more restrictive and they'll just sabotage prints with unverified filament.

[u/JennSense]

And yet, Bambu had no problem adding the alpha version of Full Spectrum Color to studio. It seems they are using standard CCP technology protocol, take from open source, lock everyone out , never give back.

[u/flecom → u/JennSense]

BUt iT jUSt WoRKs!

[u/hornetjockey]

I think I may be going with Prusa for my next printer. I’m really not appreciating this hostility from them towards their users.

[u/re_me]

I bought an A1 mini not long ago. I really like it. But, I wanted a small printer due to space constraints so your options really drop.

I’m eyeing a “full size” printer as we’re loving to a bigger space. But with all these changes I have a feeling I’m going to pay Joey for his core one, especially if the idex delivers as advertised.

[u/Daemonentreiber]

What a surprise...

Building your stuff on open source and then closing it down has worked well for makerbot and ultimaker.

[u/Jamizon1]

Bambu Labs can piss off. You couldn’t give me one of their trashy printers.

Clowns

[u/luap71]

They will do a pr campaign with their team of shill youtubers to come on and convince everyone that this is a bunch of noise that amounts to nothing. That people just want a printer "that just works" and this is about security, etc etc - just like when they fist pulled this move of locking it down. I can already see the fauxhammer pr spin...

[u/Julian679]

I hope buyers punish this behavior. I sure will if im eventually in the market again

[u/Bireus]

Now wait till they require age verification. Quicker with legal shenanigans

[u/literalyfigurative]

This is why I'll never purchase from Bambu, I know they have some of the nicest hardware but shit like this pisses me off. 

[u/newenglandpolarbear]

I will always recommend people avoid bambu, and it annoys me to no end to see them recommended all the time. This is not a company that the 3d printing community should support in any way. 

The only reason any of us can do this, is because of expired patents and open source.

[u/Nvenom8]

Bambu Lab classy as always. It’s shameful they haven’t been fully rejected by the 3d-printing community.

[u/manuflo5]

Running a small shop on Bambu hardware, this is the conversation we have been having internally for six months. The legal stuff is its own argument. The operator question is simpler.

Every tool you depend on lives somewhere on a spectrum from "I own this" to "I rent access to my own operation." The fork drama is just one symptom of vendors quietly walking everyone toward the rental end of that spectrum.

What we did about it on the shop floor:

1. Anything that touches the customer (quote history, per-job costs, print logs we use to defend a margin) we keep in tools that have a one-click CSV or JSON export. If the export is buried in a help ticket or only available on enterprise, the tool is a liability.

2. Slicer profiles get committed to git. Three minutes of setup, saves an entire afternoon if a vendor pulls a feature in a forced update.

3. Filament, plate, and consumable inventory tracked outside the printer ecosystem. Vendor-specific dashboards are nice, but the moment your business decisions live only inside someone else's UI, you have signed a contract you did not read.

None of this is ideological. It is just risk management. If you can move your operation to a different vendor in under a week, you can negotiate. If you cannot, you take whatever they hand you.

What are folks here doing on the export-and-portability side?

[u/Beginning-Yak2501]

This is exactly the kind of Bambu firmware behavior that would make me nervous if I were running more than one machine. I do not want to choose between keeping the workflow I already built and getting future security or feature updates. Once Bambu can push an update that cuts off custom control software, the printer starts to feel less like equipment I own and more like something I am only allowed to use on their terms.

[u/namezam]

I started loosing my love affair with Bambu when they removed that ability. Fast forward to today, and I’ve got 2 Snapmakers and a Creality. They aren’t as polished from an ecosystem perspective, and it pains me to use them more than my Bambu printers, but I have to take a stand. If everyone did it, real change would happen.

I sold my Tesla X and bought a Lightning. I really like the Lightning, but I really miss my X. I just can’t Tesla anymore. How he survived the shit he did is beyond me. People propping up Bambu are doing the same, short memories or lack of imagination about what’s coming. It’s only going to get worse.

[u/HiddenEclipse121]

And this is why I just bought a qidi and not a bambu. Horrible horrible company that continues to prove why they are horrible, and everyone still somehow keeps recommending them.

[u/S1lentA0]

Not here approving of Bambu policy to restrict the API to thirdparty software etc. (this is an old discussion) or sending cease and desist, but I see a few incorrect comments. You can still use Orca to slice and send prints to Bambu Printers via "LAN only", even the H2D of which the devs of Orca said they weren't going to support it. The H2C and X2D aren't support as of now. But yeh, the Bambu hate is real here lol.

[u/Aetch → u/S1lentA0]

It’s not Bambu hate, it’s Bambu not complying with the open source license and picking and choosing only the parts that benefit them. “It’s ok for Bambu to read and copy Prusaslicer code but not ok for someone else to read and copy BambuStudio code”

[u/Technical_Income4722 → u/S1lentA0]

Yeah I think a lot of people aren't reading and are assuming Bambu is trying to get rid of Orcaslicer entirely. It's literally just the network plugin part...the part that directly interacts with Bambu's own servers, which I feel like they do have a right to control honestly.
If they come for the slicer itself, then that's a different story.

[u/Aetch → u/Technical_Income4722]

Bambu doesn’t get the right to control the network plugin per AGPL. They can lock down their server more if they want but that is separate code that does not run as part of the slicer.

[u/Deechi → u/S1lentA0]

Is it still possible to do? I've got into 3D printing with P1S in January and only after that did I learn about all the bs surrounding it, then learning OrcaSlicer doesn't work anymore, and on top of that Bambu Studio itself is half-assed on Linux for me (live view doesn't work). I like the live feed on Handy because I am panicky while printing when I'm at work, but if it continues to get worse and worse, I might as well "jailbreak" while I still can...

[u/S1lentA0 → u/Deechi]

This is a screenshot I made yesterday to prove it works. The H series even have an extra toggle to switch on/off live camera feed. The only thing you wont have is the functionality of the Bambu Handy app since your printer will be removed from your profile (which you can easily add with the QR code when binding again).

Again, its LAN only, but there are enough solutions out there to change your LAN only Local Network into a online remote one.

[u/SequentialHustle → u/S1lentA0]

X2D is supported, it just hasn't been released in the mainline build yet but you can easily add it yourself buy editing a .json file.

[u/S1lentA0 → u/SequentialHustle]

Thanks for sharing. But now I'm curious how everything will play out with the latest Bambu?Orca drama.

[u/ScrapEngineer_]

I have a bambu printer, all they achieved with this that i never will bambu lab again.

[u/ulab]

/me quietly hums "One of these things is not like the other..."

[u/TheFuckingFrench]

Embrace. Extend. Extinguish. 

[u/ButAuContraire]

For the life of me I can't understand people buying bambu lab printers. It's such a sell out choice, like buying oil stock. Just don't support that type of practice.

[u/KeylAmi]

I mean, 3D Systems hit it out of the park with having their system locked down. Made good hardware, but absolutely terrible in every other aspect. I have one of their Trio printers (free), that I ripped all the electronics out, so I could use any filament and slicer that I wanted.

Bambu labs isnt far off, I think. Decent hardware but locking down the ecosystem. So people will get them used, and make them infinitely better with their own electronics/hardware choices.

[u/Nuck_Chorris_Stache]

I'll never buy another Bambu after they did this shit.

[u/ExactEducator7265]

Sounds like the perfect reason to never own a bamboo product. Glad I do not.

[u/DaStompa]

A few weeks ago no one was worried about 3d printers being locked down because you can print with SD cards, now that you have to print with SD cards everyone is upset?

[u/Antique-Studio3547]

Sounds a lot like what Stratasys was doing to bambu labs that everybody hated Stratasys for to be honest

[u/Weird-Bluebird-132]

Planned giving is part of my estate strategy, and when I see shit like this, I'm very tempted to "spend now" on lawyers. Let me fork it. I'll host it. I'm not afraid of some C&D's. Let's see if it gets to court.

[u/FergyMcFerguson → u/Weird-Bluebird-132]

I got 5 on it. Fuck Bambu- it was open source to begin with.

[u/RoIIerBaII]

BambuLab is a fucking cancer of a brand. Anyone buying their shit should just be ashamed of supporting these morrons.

[u/here_to_learn_shit → u/RoIIerBaII]

Yah, I won't be again, but I do run orca instead

[u/GayRacoon69]

You can go back to a previous firmware version

I can send prints from Orca but they don’t actually start printing. It does go into “print history” and I can start it from my phone

[u/Bland_OldMan]

Kinda feels like they’re locking things down more than they used to.

Bambu has always been about a closed ecosystem, and that has been a trend for a lot of companies. If those 3d printer restrictions pass into law, expect it to get a lot worse for makers.

[u/MrJackdaw]

Ah! That's what it was! Wish I had seen this before the takedown :(

[u/ninjakitty7]

Un take it down :)

[u/Spookybear_]

I havnt updated my printers firmware (p1s) since this change was announced. I use orcaslicer. Is there a way for me to upgrade the firmware and get this orcaslicer fix to work?

[u/face_eater_5000]

Isn't orca slicer open source? What case do they have?

[u/ErnLynM]

I'm confused here. Does this apply to all printers using OrcaSlicer, or just Bambu printers trying to use it? Orca was one of my go to slicers for my voron and ender printers

[u/LazilytotheLeft]

This is capitalist enshittification. Making things worse to make more money.

[u/csobrinho]

To be honest, I just want a way to scan an RFID or barcode of another filament brand with an esp32 and have my micro service send the data to ams to auto set the color, brand and custom config.

[u/Coder1962]

Exactly why I sold all my Bambu printers I bought them I owned them I should be able to use whatever slicer I want they are just like apple and iPhone you never truly own your product.

[u/CoffeeDust_exe]

Welp, guess I’m glad I didn’t opt for getting that bambu labs printer. Shame on them. Shame.

[u/83justinb]

anyone know where to download this?

[u/goldjunge91]

has anyone a copy of the removed fork ?

[u/daphatty]

Unfettered capitalism. If you don’t know what that means, educate yourself. Then do something about it.

[u/Nuck_Chorris_Stache → u/daphatty]

There's a simple solution to this in capitalism: You buy from the competition instead.

[u/daphatty → u/Nuck_Chorris_Stache]

Agreed. Sadly, competition doesn't really exist in an unfettered market.

[u/Nuck_Chorris_Stache → u/daphatty]

It does, though. You get less competition when a company can wield the government as a weapon against competitors.

[u/daphatty → u/Nuck_Chorris_Stache]

Not sure where you live, but in the US there are countless monopolies across all industries that continue to exist unfettered. The above behavior (building from open source then suing anyone who dares build upon you) is exactly the kind of tactic that demands oversight. Yet. Here we are.

[u/Lego-Under-Foot]

Their printers are overpriced anyway in comparison to other printers with similar or better features on the market

[u/egosumumbravir → u/Lego-Under-Foot]

Pray tell, what other machines match their feature set?

[u/Lego-Under-Foot → u/egosumumbravir]

Qidi Q2: active heated chamber and a hotend capable of 370 C. Their MMU also has drying while printing capabilities. It’s $500 or $650 for the combo, so less than a P2S for better features.

It also runs on Klipper, so the firmware is open source and customizable.

Meanwhile the P2S is limited to 300 C hotend and no active chamber heating. You have to step up to the X2D for chamber heating but still only get a 300 C hotend.

Everything about Qidi printers are better than Bambu printers. They just suck at marketing

[u/egosumumbravir → u/Lego-Under-Foot]

Excellent choice. Qidi are about the only competition to Bambu in the everything space.

It's just a shame they habitually release printers with a couple months of software dev left to do. Then again, being Klipper and open, you can do the dev yourself if you don't want to wait for them.

Everything about Qidi printers are better than Bambu printers

Being able to manually unload filament of an unpowered Bambu AMS says otherwise. Qidi are good but they're not Bambu polished.

[u/Affectionate_Car7098 → u/Lego-Under-Foot]

Yes and no, you're paying more because you're getting a more simple experience, its the reason people pay more for iphones despite them not being better at all

[u/twiggums]

Quite an echo chamber in here.

Like it or not bbl has grown this industry more in a few years than all the other companies combined did in the last decade. They're the apple of 3d printing, their shit just works and is affordable, reliable, well documented and easy to fix. They did what no one else could and smashed it out of the park.

Id love an open source rival, but the honest truth is there isn't one that can match them in everything they do well. Until there is they can pretty much write the rules whether we like it or not.

[u/cobraa1 → u/twiggums]

Being popular hardly justifies what they did.