- I made the tragic mistake of getting a Bambu printer (an X1C, with AMS even...) right before they gave all of us the middle finger. I now have it offline, running out of date firmware, connected to a special WiFi network that is isolated from the Internet.
That upset me, but now I'm pissed. Now I don't even care about their stupid printers. Now I'd like to waste Bambu Lab's time and cause problems for them.
And also, while this X1C should be going strong for years, my eyes are on Prusa should I want another printer any time soon for any reason. Less polished or not, they seem like they're still better for consumers even though they are apparently less open than they used to be. But I'm of course interested in hearing what people recommend, too. (I got an X1C because I knew it would be simple, but I don't particularly mind getting my hands dirty or anything. I did build an Ender 3 kit before that.)
by ChristianJacobs
2 subcomments
- Bambu showed their true colours last year when they would've eliminated offline access altogether if not for public outrage. You don't own your Bambu printer, you're leasing it at a subsidised premium.
This move does not surprise me at all, and I'm genuinely happy that Louis is willing to shell out money to help those that can't defend themselves.
I'm happy that Bambu finally made Prusa care, but I will not cheer them even if they consistently innovate. It's just sad.
- Louis is one of the most passionate YouTubers you can watch. I don't think he gets it right 100% of the time, but when you are that vulnerable (and what appears to be authentic) you're bound to not make the the right call every once in awhile (as we all do).
I support him even though people can pick him apart.
- OrcaSlicer supports Bambu printers already. Does anyone have any better sources for what this other fork supposedly did?
EDIT: I’m not going to sit through another angry Louis Rossmann video, but from what I can see someone tried to make a branch of OrcaSlicer that interacted directly with Bambu’s private cloud APIs to impersonate Bambu Studio. I don’t agree with the legal threats but this case is about connecting to their non-public cloud APIs, not connecting to the printer directly.
- Bambu also tried to patent several widely used techniques in china, fyi.
https://www.mdpi.com/2411-5134/8/6/141
by PunchyHamster
5 subcomments
- Definitely gives me second thoughts about getting one. They look like easiest way to get into 3d printing as a tool (rather than another hobby), but their recent attitude just makes me think I should suffer a bit less advanced product just to not have to deal with that shit.
- I don't have a Bambu; previously, I had Prusa printers from the MK3 generation and I struggled to get good prints (poor bed adhesion and the extruder breaking frequently, requiring very intensive repairs); since not having a working printer slows my hobbies down, I ended up with two. Both broke down and I got tired of fixing them, but when I looked at the prices of new Prusa, they were high enough to make me pause.
Instead of a Bambu, I got a Flashforge Adventurer 5M. It is incredibly cheap (cheap enough that I am more than happy to replace it after two years if it stops working), and is pretty reliable (compared to the Prusa MK3 and MK3S I had), and most of all, the self-calibration works well enough that I don't spend any time debugging prints that fail at the first layer anymore; I just re-run calibration and it's fine, and if it's not fine, I clean the plate and it works.
It also comes with a terrible slicer (dervied from Slic3r I believe) with annoying "log into the cloud every time you start the app", but I moved to OrcaSlicer. I had to give up a few nice features but it hasn't truly impacted my workflow. And it does receive firmware updates (it's connected via wifi to my home network). My hope- just a hope- is that they don't do anything truly stupid with future firmware updates or end up getting in a hissy fit with prominent youtubers.
- “Our cloud services are inundated” … says company that killed product from working offline and forced it to be connected
- A classic ploy by Chinese commercial companies: offer a 'free-to-play' model with extremely high lock-in costs, all while claiming they’re just lowering the barrier to entry for your own good.
- Can someone explain to me like I'm 5, why you would need to communicate with a cloud service to use a 3D printer?
- Mind you, Bambulab has region Locks on Chinese-version hardware which are strictly disabled overseas. What's the difference between these version? Nothing. Just oversea versions are more expensive.
by darkteflon
0 subcomment
- This was shared here last year and was excellent. Relevant to this discussion: https://www.josefprusa.com/articles/open-hardware-in-3d-prin...
by syntaxing
1 subcomments
- I’m so torn about bambulabs. Prusa needs to redesign their core one so it doesn’t use 3D printed parts (I get how that’s part of their philosophy but it’s not working anymore), $400 cheaper, and have a reliable AMS system. There’s just no other brand that can compete with Bambulab right now in terms of price vs performance.
- > its cloud servers were inundated with roughly 30 million “unauthorized” requests per day.
So make it possible to connect directly to printer over LAN? Prusa supports that, you can use the printer without ever connecting it to internet.
by kamranjon
2 subcomments
- Does anyone know if there is another printer manufacturer that has an equivalent to the Bambu A1S with it's custom AMS system. I don't think people realize how good that printer and AMS system is (the AMS system for the X1C pales in comparison), and I'd love to support another company, but haven't really seen another bed slinger with the simple center-rotating AMS style system seen on the A1S AMS. For context I run a business where I sell 3d printed parts for old film cameras - and the A1S is a workhorse.
- Pawel Jarczak could consider donating the code to an anonymous random friend who happened to upload it to a chinese code forge where development could continue.
by TurdF3rguson
0 subcomment
- 30 Million requests per day is not coming from hobbyists, and even if it were, a $40/month VPS can handle that easily.
by h4kunamata
0 subcomment
- My X1C lived for 3 months, never ending quality issues, never ending CF rod noise, etc, etc.
Mind you, LAN mode didn't exist, we had to use SFT to send files to the printer locally.
I build a DIY LDO Voron Trident and it is slice and print.
by 999900000999
0 subcomment
- More people should be angry companies are stealing products from customers by effectively bricking them for certain use cases.
Louis Rossmann isn't polite, but he cuts though the corporate speak.
by meta-level
0 subcomment
- Currently looking for a printer, and stories like this one are what I'm looking for, thanks.
by billy_bitchtits
0 subcomment
- Well great. I bought an h2c a couple of months ago before learning this was going down.
- Who are some 3D printer vendors that are worthy of support?
- Damn this is like a variation of the Streisand Effect [1]
I am not involved in this industry so I never heard of the company or the youtuber before reading this. I am tempted to buy one just to make some things (that I don't need but might be fun to make).
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streisand_effect
- Reminds me of:
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/tQIdxbWhHSM
by echelon_musk
1 subcomments
- Nowhere in TFA did they say what OrcaSlicer does. I must be expected to go to the GitHub and find out for myself!
by kristofferR
0 subcomment
- Found a clone here:
https://github.com/unS0uL/OrcaSlicer-bambulab
by shevy-java
0 subcomment
- We see again and again how companies, even those affiliated with open source, want to milk the ecosystem dry. In this case Bambu Lab does so via the golden cloud. This is not ethical to try to sabotage the ecosystem, so Bambu Lab indeed needs to go bleep itself here.
- I have to say the Bambu A1 Mini has been a game changer for me. I wouldn't own a 3D printer otherwise. While it doesn't really "just work" as the hype would have it (I believe this is impossible with current tech), it comes pretty damn close. Probably the printer that does it best.
I didn't want another hobby, fiddling with settings and materials, and generally going down the 3D printing rabbit hole. I just wanted to print stuff for my actual hobbies. And the A1 does this, with little fuss, for which I am forever grateful.
by iwontberude
0 subcomment
- They just can’t help themselves, they want market share and the margins
- I like Rossman and usually agree with him, but imo hes a very bad speaker. I cant watch his videos. His problem is that, instead of getting to the point, he spends an inordinate amount of time pre-defending against bad faith arguments he assumes he will receive in response to his point. Thats just pointless imo, he should just make his point and if idiots dont get it then who cares, I dont think theres anything we can do for them anyway.
by somelamer567
0 subcomment
- I trust BambuLabs about as much as I trust the Chinese Communist Party. That's to say, that they are obviously a cat's paw of the CCP, and bring the reactionary, authoritarian attitude with them, whilst using every underhanded, sneaky trick in the book to put Western manufacturers out of business, and ultimately compromise the West's ability to defend itself.
As a Westerner, I value my freedom, so I will happy pay way over the [Chinese-imposed] odds to build a 3D printer of my own than suck on the teat of the CCP and buy a subsidised 3D printer that attacks our freedoms.
I would encourage other right-thinking people who value freedom, democracy and rule-of-law to do the same: build your own or -- at the very least -- support Western 3D printer vendors like Prusa who share our values and contribute back to the community.
- I mean considering how absolutely fucked the 2d printing space has been (HP) It's not surprising that 3d printing will involve identical shenanigans once it becomes even slightly mainstream. And that's what Bambu does, make 3d printing accessible.
by selectively
0 subcomment
- Oh boy, the lunatic libertarian that maintains a Kiwi Farms account and engages in a great deal of harassment has opinions.
This is HN. This isn't YouTube. Rossman is beneath this place.
- [dead]
- [flagged]
- When was the last time Rossmann had anything nice to say? He seems utterly miserable. I don’t doubt this is an important issue, but when he inserts himself into a dispute, it only gets more overblown and vitriolic on all sides.
(The ridiculous NYC to Austin thing is pretty representative. Complained incessantly about loony liberal New York, moved to Austin, now he complains about Texas. Sorry! Turns out there is no utopia for pathological contrarians.)
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