Bambu Lab Controversy Deepens: Firmware Update Sparks Backlash
-
This post did not contain any content.
Welcome to January. I thought something new happened
-
While I agree with the most valuable users statement, I can't imagine that is how they see it. Or that they even should realistically care from a purely financial standpoint. Most users buy their printers and just use them with whatever software came with them. And most of those didn't even watch or read reviews. Or worse: they did, and possibly heard about the firmware and online thing and just didn't care.
I disagree with your second part though. Voron is only relevant for the complete opposite end of the spectrum. People who are multi-discipline tinkerers (electronics, hardware, ...) and capable and interested in building their own printer. Actual overlap with all Bambu customers is probably sub-1%. The commercial printers that are Voron-adjacent (inspired by or based on the design in some way) still have a different demographic and severely lack in software polish and especially out of the box experience. It isn't remotely close. Even if they innovated over night and made it even with Bambu, there is nothing that would cause that to be actually relevant in the market without millions in marketing. They might be able to gain momentum, but only slowly and I highly doubt they can catch up to Bambu momentum even in years.
The overlap might be greater than you think. I hesitated to buy my P1S but in the end bought it with a view to printing Voron parts and eventually having best of both worlds, felt like I was never going to get my CR10-S to where I wanted it to be. As it turns out I'm a serial 3D printer starter lol. I'll get to the Vorons, but I'm feeling the pull of the Rook MK1 right now.
-
Any good alternatives to Bambulab printers?
Don't want a printer that I habe to tinker with, want one that just works
wrote last edited by [email protected]Any good alternatives to Bambulab printers?
absolutely, see other comments
Don’t want a printer that I habe to tinker with
nope, and this is why I have a P1S and not one of the alternatives (and the one time I did need to tinker, because my AMS' internal hub unit failed and needed replacing, Bambu CS handled it well and fairly quickly)
-
This is Lemmy, I come here for the long winded and nonsensical.
whew
I still mostly lurk but I really want to see the 3d printing scene grow on Lemmy so I'm trying my hardest to participate and maybe even add content.
-
My Q1 Pro was awesome for weeks without issue, but now the motor is jammed (I can see the little gear trying and failing to move) and I've been too afraid to take it apart.
I'm sorry to hear that! Have you contacted customer support yet? I've heard and found them to be very helpful, but I can't speak for that issue directly
-
This post did not contain any content.
I blocked my printer from having internet access and blocking its random DNS attempts as well 2 months after I bought it. They are amazing printers for beginners and priced very well IMO. I love my printer bit will never update the firmware because of this enshittification.
-
I'm sorry to hear that! Have you contacted customer support yet? I've heard and found them to be very helpful, but I can't speak for that issue directly
I have not yet - I did join the relevant discord, but it hasn't been much help at this point. Thank you for the recommendation.
-
This post did not contain any content.
I've set my P1S to print through LAN and it works fine. I don't want or need to use an app to control the printer so I'm not concerned by that loss of functionality. IMO printing via LAN makes more sense anyway for most users. Having to upload some multiple megabyte file to the cloud just to download it back down to a machine you're sitting beside makes no sense.
I like Bambulabs hardware but I don't get their obsession with locking down the firmware. Ultimately it's just a 3d printer that takes an STL and prints it. There is very limited IP in a firmware that needs protection or that couldn't be figured out by monitoring the I2C or whatever protocol it uses to send instructions to various systems like AMS, camera, printer board etc. Somebody could reverse engineer it already and all this controversy just makes it more likely that someone will.
-
I've set my P1S to print through LAN and it works fine. I don't want or need to use an app to control the printer so I'm not concerned by that loss of functionality. IMO printing via LAN makes more sense anyway for most users. Having to upload some multiple megabyte file to the cloud just to download it back down to a machine you're sitting beside makes no sense.
I like Bambulabs hardware but I don't get their obsession with locking down the firmware. Ultimately it's just a 3d printer that takes an STL and prints it. There is very limited IP in a firmware that needs protection or that couldn't be figured out by monitoring the I2C or whatever protocol it uses to send instructions to various systems like AMS, camera, printer board etc. Somebody could reverse engineer it already and all this controversy just makes it more likely that someone will.
I mean, I kinda understand where they are coming from. I don’t agree with their implementation though.
Why add this? Public/unsecured/shared wifi. The moment someone is on the same network, they had full access to the printer. Yeah, technically the fault of the end user, but I can understand them not wanting the potential hate for it.
But in reality, all they needed to do was add a proper local API with full access behind a login/token system. It would suck in the short term as all previous tools would break, but it would solve both problems.
-
I get the appeal of Bambu printers, I've been tempted myself to get one... but the thing that keeps me away is that they are closed source and I don't want a world with closed source 3D printers because when the company goes evil - and they all eventually do - I don't want to be held hostage. I've fallen in that trap before and don't want to again.
Don't give them backlash, instead stop using their printers. Release your models under a license that requires the printer that prints it to be open source. Let friends and colleagues know the dangers of supporting such a company.
Genuine question, are there any "just hit print" open source printers on the market yet? I don't have the time for maintaining a printer on it's own, which is why I've enjoyed my A1 mini so much (it just works), but I'm of the same opinion as you and would love a viable open-source alternative.
