Bambu Lab pushes a “control system” for 3D printers, and boy, did it not go well

Abulia

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I weighed in earlier on my P1P experience and that I love it. A little explanation as to why:

My first 3d printer was a Artillery Sidewinder X1 that I did a fair amount of research on. A lot of failed prints and calibration and bed leveling, but it was...kinda fun? Upgraded the rollers, put on a PEI sheet, upgraded the fan, upgraded the shroud, upgraded the hotend, upgraded the extruder gears. Did a swap of the firmware over to open-source, which was much better and gave me finer control over settings. Was able to get nice prints and felt like the huge build area would future-proof me. Every time I went to print I had to dump the gcode files onto a USB and haul them to the printer. For the longest time, I just thought that's how 3D printers worked. All of them.

One day I realized I was spending more time fucking about configuring the printer than, you know, actually printing.

So I did some research and about a year ago got the Bambu P1P. It's totally changed my perspective on what 3D printing is like.

My first, uncalibrated print out of the box was about 10x faster than anything on my Sidewinder and the quality was already better than my painstakingly-calibrated X1. It was a game-changer. And the convenience of just pressing "PRINT" and it working made me absolutely giddy. And I could print from my phone. And I could abandon prints from my phone if I saw spaghetti (I never had to the first year; the damn thing JUST WORKS). This thing works with any kind of fillament I throw at it and the stock hotend (.04) has been a trooper. Plus I can swap hotends in like 5 minutes. The whole package is amazing. Converted to OrcaSlicer immediately and love it (was previously using Cura). And because my config settings for filament and such are stored in the cloud, when I replaced my Mac mini with a new M4 version, I installed OrcaSlicer, logged into Bambu, and BAM all my settings and filament copied over. I'm so much happier now, and I just print.

So go ahead and call me a filthy casual, I guess. :biggreen:

To repeat what I said on like Page 1, I don't like what Bambu is doing here, but I'm not losing my shit over it (yet). It's a beta and they're getting rightfully burned for it. But my printer works the same today as it did yesterday and I'll wager it'll work tomorrow the same way. And if Bambu does really go crazy, well, I just won't update my firmware. (Hell, there's even 3rd party firmware for the X1 Carbon!) But the FUD in these comments and the energy being spent by people who don't have a Bambu and have no intention of buying one, is just baffling.

I'm glad that Bambu gave the market a wakeup call and other companies are getting their shit together. I get that people like to tinker with their printers, but fuck that noise: I just want to print stuff. I suspect that I'm not alone in that and Bambu lets me do that.
 
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e2mtt

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At least in my local nerd community, more people are wanting a 3D printer to supplement their hobbies, not have the printers BE the hobby. It's still a geek toy but I think those days are numbered.
Yeah, I like hearing stories of people who have 3d printers that they use to make cool stuff that supplements their actual work, or other hobbies.

Nothing wrong with a hobby of 3d printing, always looking for cool new stuff to print and printer upgrades to make, but I already have too many hobbies.
 
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ERIFNOMI

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Because there is no evidence for the assertions, that are coming from "the same crowd" that has been saying stuff like this about Bambu for years now. The burden of proof is on them, not some "all things trend towards shit" cynicism.

I don't cheerlead companies. I have a Prusa, I have a Bambu, I have a Uniformation. I do not have a t-shirt for any of them. I have in the past recommended all of them to people.

Bambu excites me because they make good hardware, but more importantly they were the first ones to really crack the code to open 3D printing to a wider audience. Not people who wanted to tinker. Not open source enthusiasts. Not "get an Ender 3 and here's the list of upgrades".

If someone else can fill that void, great.

I'm interested in 3D printing as an essential tool. I would not live without a 3D printer again. Whoever helps me share that with other people has my attention.

My frustration comes from seeing all these comments saying "oh I was about to buy one, guess I'll skip". I think the idea that a $349 A1 is going to turn into a paperweight is straight up FUD, and that if someone was going to get one, or has one (see above) they should just enjoy it. They don't have to spend $999 for a Prusa instead, unless they want to.
I hear ya, but I think you're overcorrecting. Ignore the dumbasses who just make up shit that Bambu could do. There are still legitimate grievances with what Bambu has done and announced they will do.

I was interested in an X1, but their response to third party firmware put me off. Now they're locking down local network access. That's a pattern of behavior and it's one I won't support.
 
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Aurich

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Yeah, I like hearing stories of people who have 3d printers that they use to make cool stuff that supplements their actual work, or other hobbies.

Nothing wrong with a hobby of 3d printing, always looking for cool new stuff to print and printer upgrades to make, but I already have too many hobbies.
I honestly don't have a hobby I haven't supplemented with 3D printing. Some of the have 3D printing as a core component or basis, some are just extra bits that make things easier or better. But it's infused in pretty much everything I do.

I think most people who get a 3D printer have the same realization about how useful they are, it changes how you look at problems.
 
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Aurich

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I hear ya, but I think you're overcorrecting. Ignore the dumbasses who just make up shit that Bambu could do. There are still legitimate grievances with what Bambu has done and announced they will do.

I was interested in an X1, but their response to third party firmware put me off. Now they're locking down local network access. That's a pattern of behavior and it's one I won't support.
Fair enough, all I want is for people to focus on the real issues, and not the made up ones. We all have our lines.
 
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noraar

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As I mentioned earlier, I almost bought an A1 as my first 3D printer. Now I am looking for alternatives that allow a Slicer on my PC to talk directly to the printer without exiting my LAN just as I do with my Brother laser printer. Bambu Lab's poor explanations points towards mandatory cloud connections so I will avoid them until they clarify and show clear evidence that that will not be necessary..
That’s what LAN mode on Bambu’s is for - send gcode directly to the printer without having to go through the cloud.
 
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Aurich

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DB63

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Sometimes cloud services add value, but I just don't see what the value is in this diagram published in the Bamboo Lab blog. I only see an unnecessary man-in-the-middle:
Vk1sahT.png
In that diagram, note that there is Cloud Mode and LAN Mode, but they don't meet. You can effectively remove all the Cloud arrows leaving you with just the LAN.

What is new is the Bambu Connect box, previously there was just the Network Plugin. My understanding is that it used to be that all coms would go through the plugin. But now, while status messages still go through the plugin, control codes have to go through Bambu Connect, which has higher authentication requirements. The Network Plugin can be used from within 3rd party slicers, but Bambu Connect cannot, so you have to launch it as a separate application.

Initially that's an inconvenience (oh no, I have to click another icon), but I would have thought if Bambu Connect would just accept a file name in its launch arguments, then the 3rd party slicer would just have to save the file to a temp folder then launch BC with that as an argument. That would be about as seamless as the current Print dialog box.
 
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Aurich

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In that diagram, note that there is Cloud Mode and LAN Mode, but they don't meet. You can effectively remove all the Cloud arrows leaving you with just the LAN.

What is new is the Bambu Connect box, previously there was just the Network Plugin. My understanding is that it used to be that all coms would go through the plugin. But now, while status messages still go through the plugin, control codes have to go through Bambu Connect, which has higher authentication requirements. The Network Plugin can be used from within 3rd party slicers, but Bambu Connect cannot, so you have to launch it as a separate application.

Initially that's an inconvenience (oh no, I have to click another icon), but I would have thought if Bambu Connect would just accept a file name in its launch arguments, then the 3rd party slicer would just have to save the file to a temp folder then launch BC with that as an argument. That would be about as seamless as the current Print dialog box.
I believe, and it's getting hard to keep track, that the Connect stuff will just be built into Orca directly?
 
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DB63

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I believe, and it's getting hard to keep track, that the Connect stuff will just be built into Orca directly?
Yeah, I can't keep up either, but my understanding is that while Bambu has been talking to Orca, initially at least, it has to be separate.

Edit to add. Bambu would be crazy to lock out Orca. It's been acting as a sandpit for testing new features that then get upstreamed to Bambu for ages at no cost to Bambu.

Was just thinking tucu might be concerned that Cloud Connect is in the cloud, but I think it is local? I'd be cross if that's in the cloud ... my connection is not great so I really need LAN only modes.
 
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tucu

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I believe, and it's getting hard to keep track, that the Connect stuff will just be built into Orca directly?
Their blog update after receiving pushback shows a screenshot with the caption:

"Integration Demo: From Orca Slicer to Printer Through Bambu Connect."

Link to the pull request if anyone is interested.

Luckily this doesn't affect the A1/A1 Mini yet for those of us on Linux, because Bambu Connect is currently Windows/Mac only.

Edit: Silver lining in their blog although I'm disinclined to believe this is all just a big misunderstanding:

Acknowledging Community Feedback

We’ve received a wide range of feedback following our announcement, and we’re grateful for the insights shared. Many concerns have come from print farm owners who depend on reliable and uninterrupted access to their 3D printers. We understand the stakes for these businesses, and your feedback has driven meaningful changes in our approach.

In response, we’ve made the decision to implement an optional LAN mode feature, to provide advanced users with more control and flexibility. Under the updated LAN mode:


  • Standard Mode (Default): By default, LAN mode will include an authorization process that ensures robust security. This option is ideal for the majority of users who prioritize security and ease of use. Despite claims to the contrary, LAN mode through Bambu Connect will require neither internet access nor a user account. This hasn't changed and won't change.
  • Developer Mode (Optional): For advanced users of the X1, P1, A1, and A1 Mini who prefer full control over their network security, an option will be available to leave the MQTT channel, live stream, and FTP open. This feature must be manually enabled on the printer, and users who select this option will assume full responsibility for securing their local network environment. Please note that Bambu Lab will not be able to provide customer support for this mode, as the communication protocols are not officially supported.
Editedit:

And this is the code that sends events files to your printer:
C++:
void Plater::priv::on_action_send_bamcu_conect(SimpleEvent&)
{
    auto gcodeResult = q->send_gcode(partplate_list.get_curr_plate_index(), [this](int export_stage, int current, int total, bool &cancel) {});

    if (gcodeResult != 0) {
        BOOST_LOG_TRIVIAL(debug) << __FUNCTION__ << ":send_gcode failed\n";
        return;
    }

    PrintPrepareData data;
    q->get_print_job_data(&data);

    if (data._3mf_path.empty()) {
        BOOST_LOG_TRIVIAL(debug) << __FUNCTION__ << ":3mf path is empty\n";
        return;
    }

    wxString filename = q->get_export_gcode_filename("", true, partplate_list.get_curr_plate_index() == PLATE_ALL_IDX ? true : false);
    wxString filepath = wxString::FromUTF8(data._3mf_path.string());
    filepath.Replace("\\", "/");
    std::string filePath = "?version=v1.0.0&path=" + filepath.ToStdString() + "&name=" + filename.utf8_string();
    wxString    url      = "bambu-connect://import-file?path=" + Http::url_encode(filePath);
    if (!wxLaunchDefaultBrowser(url)) {
        GUI::MessageDialog msgdialog(nullptr, _L("Failed to start Bambu Farm Manager Client."), "", wxAPPLY | wxOK);
        msgdialog.ShowModal();
    }

    return;
}

Essentially a Get request to a registered URL scheme that tells Bambu Connect the location of the file to print so it can can fetch and send on Orcas behalf.
 
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MrTom

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Seems like people have already forgotten Bambu's last major "security" kerfuffle? https://meincmagazine.com/gadgets/2023/08/3d-printers-print-break-on-their-own-due-to-cloud-outage/

Every time I've been tempted to consider one, I thought maybe it would make sense to give them a little more time to make sure they're actually going in the right direction with their software. Looks like I was right, and in the mean time Prusa seems to have been making progress on the reliability concerns.

In that article from August 2023, Bambu also stated: "After this incident, Bambu said it would update LAN mode to boost security and functionality, including file management and media download. It also said it would add User Certificate authentication for shared network environments."

I guess everyone should have seen this coming.
 
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S4WRXTTCS

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Recurring revenue is what all companies want, but they already have it. People who buy their printers end up buying lots of their filament, especially small businesses. Frankly, I'm surprised that people are treating this like a US company cash grab when it seems much more likely to be a Chinese company information grab.
Bambu does have to be careful though because that reoccurring revenue is partly driven by people printing 3D models posted on Makerworld

If you want to print something you see you're going to need not just the filament but any additional parts those prints might need.

For example my last purchase from Bambu was three different DIY kits that Bambu was selling. Things like an LED Lamp Kit collection.

If they piss off people developing 3D models they'll lose this reoccurring revenue.

As a X1C owner I hope Bambu can figure out how to balance the need for security, and also openness.
 
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S4WRXTTCS

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Their blog update after receiving pushback shows a screenshot with the caption:

"Integration Demo: From Orca Slicer to Printer Through Bambu Connect."

Link to the pull request if anyone is interested.

Luckily this doesn't affect the A1/A1 Mini yet for those of us on Linux, because Bambu Connect is currently Windows/Mac only.

Edit: Silver lining in their blog although I'm disinclined to believe this is all just a big misunderstanding:

Acknowledging Community Feedback

We’ve received a wide range of feedback following our announcement, and we’re grateful for the insights shared. Many concerns have come from print farm owners who depend on reliable and uninterrupted access to their 3D printers. We understand the stakes for these businesses, and your feedback has driven meaningful changes in our approach.

In response, we’ve made the decision to implement an optional LAN mode feature, to provide advanced users with more control and flexibility. Under the updated LAN mode:


  • Standard Mode (Default): By default, LAN mode will include an authorization process that ensures robust security. This option is ideal for the majority of users who prioritize security and ease of use. Despite claims to the contrary, LAN mode through Bambu Connect will require neither internet access nor a user account. This hasn't changed and won't change.
  • Developer Mode (Optional): For advanced users of the X1, P1, A1, and A1 Mini who prefer full control over their network security, an option will be available to leave the MQTT channel, live stream, and FTP open. This feature must be manually enabled on the printer, and users who select this option will assume full responsibility for securing their local network environment. Please note that Bambu Lab will not be able to provide customer support for this mode, as the communication protocols are not officially supported.
As I understand it Developer Mode will work with Orca slicer WITHOUT needing to use Bambu Connect?

Where all you're really giving up is the remote access capabilities, but didn't you already lose that by using LAN only mode?
 
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Aurich

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Here's how I feel, just in general about any company, not only Bambu.

Every company has the capacity to fuck up, and make mistakes. There are levels, and you can decide how you feel about motivations and motives and severity, but shit happens.

What matters most to me is how they respond.

If we say "hey, that's not cool" and they shrug? That's something. If they say "we hear you, we'll make adjustments" that's another.

If you feel that just by even trying something they've lost you, that's a call you can make. We all draw our own lines. But I don't think there's really a lot to be gained in not giving companies a chance to correct after we call them out.

I want Bambu to succeed. I want them to keep innovating. I want other companies to feel pressure. I'm not gonna say Prusa was coasting, but they were not feeling the need to break out of what they were doing until the heat was on. Creality and Qidi etc? They sure as hell weren't leading the charge.

The ecosystem can't be just open source and rep rap, we need the 'appliance' side to continue to be successful. Or at least I want it to be. Because I want to see 3D printing accessible to more than just hackers and tinkerers and people who aren't scared of taking things apart, adding Raspberry Pis to setups, and the kind of stuff that most of us in this thread find fun or at least not intimidating to figure out.

I don't believe Bambu is a force for evil, I think the scene is stronger for what they've done. Rather than see them die off, or be shunned I'd rather we kept them course corrected.
 
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skywolfblue

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For people looking for an alternative, I too will give a shout out for Qidi.

I've had an Qidi X Max 3 for about a year now and it's lasted well with almost nonstop printing, (printing custom trays for our Aeroponics).

It's slicer software is open source, and it will run off of a thumb drive or a network connection, so no need for fancy cloud stuff.

99% of the time it it makes it past the first layer, the rest of the print will go successfully unattended (most of my prints are between 15 and 24 hours long).

The default settings did need a bit of tweaking, its default speed settings for PETG are a bit on the "too fast" side which I guess works well for printing small objects, but not great when printing a giant tray that needs to be waterproof. Once we slowed it down we stopped having issues.
 
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bef

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Because there is no evidence for the assertions, that are coming from "the same crowd" that has been saying stuff like this about Bambu for years now. The burden of proof is on them, not some "all things trend towards shit" cynicism.
This sounds like moving the goal post; A lot of these people have been claiming that's were things were headed and this recent disaster proves them right, even if not accurate on the time line. How about you give any evidence that it won't happen again and not go any further?

Is this the first step towards a fall from grace like makerbot? Maybe, but probably not, the printers are too cheap and work too well for that. But also let's not act like this is a unique and innocent mistake after they were already caught retroactively changing warranty terms and the open source licensing kerfuffle with bambu studio being based on prusa slicer.

My hope is that Bambu says "our bad, we had what we thought were good intentions, we recognize we fucked up, we're gonna make it right". I feel like some people hope instead that Bambu just dies, or would cheer if they did.
Why would you expect Bambu to come out with a "our bad" apology when they already went back, edited their original post, and started gaslighting the community about "baseless allegations" for things that are obviously not true(tm)?

How about them getting community-noted on that gaslighting?
View: https://www.reddit.com/r/OpenBambu/comments/1i73g8a/bambu_lab_got_communitynoted_with_a_link_to_the/


The same Louis you don't agree with has released a nice summary on that one ( 0.85 replay suggested ;) ):


To be honest it feels a little bit as if the article and many(?) of the comments are exclusively based on the initial statement from bambulab and completely ignore any of the follow ups happening. There's a lot more to unpack, including on going censoring efforts on reddit.

edits for typos and readability

edit2: On the Orca side of things; If Orca keeps working directly it's because they "hack" their way around Bambus connection schemes:
heard back from their development team; they are not going to greenlight OrcaSlicer to send prints directly to their machine. It has to be done through their Bambu Connect application.
View: https://www.reddit.com/r/BambuLab/comments/1i48zii/bambu_s_response_to_orca_slicer_authentication_no/
 
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As I understand it Developer Mode will work with Orca slicer WITHOUT needing to use Bambu Connect?

Where all you're really giving up is the remote access capabilities, but didn't you already lose that by using LAN only mode?
I edited my post but they essentially open "bambu-connect://import-file?path=path_to_some_3mf_file" in a browser, which Bambu Connect picks up, then fetches the file and proceeds to send it to the printer.

Sorry if I'm poor at explaining myself and words in general.. Pretty stressed out atm...

Edit: Bambu Connect will have registered the URL scheme "bambu-connect" so opening an URL with that rather than "http(s)://" will get the text string sent to Bambu Connect.
 
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Aurich

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Tons of printers just have a simple web server on them that allows access to these features from any device with a browser. I think requiring an app to do this would suck, do Bambu printers have this?
Nope, it's through their app. If you don't care for that sounds like they're not for you.

Personally I find it one of the better features of their printers. This is my X1C right now.

Screenshot 2025-01-22 at 2.33.53 PM.jpeg
 
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It's unreasonable because it doesn't pass the smell test, that's why.

Like, leaving out everything about it that doesn't make sense from a business or market perspective, and there's a lot, the simple fact is the printers don't have a mechanism to even do it.

AMS units have RFID, but not the printers.

The real truth is Bambu is a lot like Apple, and not because of the company or their products, but because the name alone is enough to turn discussions into weird fanboy wars. This "they're about to get you!" talk has been around for years.

This new development sucks, I'm not defending it, but I'm not into the way people try and turn it into more than it is either.

3D printing is awesome, I am a huge fan of it. I do not care what company is "winning". I'm very happy with my X1C. I was very happy with my Prusa Mk3 when it was new. If Prusa made a new printer that was compelling feature and price wise I'd be happy to buy it again. Just because the Core One isn't it for me doesn't mean anything, I just personally will only upgrade to a larger printer now.

Or Qidi or Creality or anyone else, I really don't care if the product is good.

I 3D print to make things, not to cheerlead companies, and honestly not to tinker with or hack my printers anymore. I enjoyed the era of being able to upgrade my Mk3 to a Mk3S+ (I think? I updated it twice, that sounds right). But I'm very happy to be in the "just works" appliance phase of things.

That there's still a community making Vorons etc is great too, I just don't want 3D printers themselves to be my hobby.
If I understand what you are saying correctly, the add-on Babu sells to handle filament for their printers has integrated RFID. That certainly isn't the sort of move a company that has "no plans" to integrate filament detection into their systems would typically make.

But, more to the point, It looks like the AMS unit is effectively the only mechanism that provides multi-material support for the printers. There doesn't appear to be any way to get the multi-material functionality without using the unit, and they don't appear to offer any alternative feed systems. So it appears to be standard equipment for any turnkey setup - which seems relevant.

And clearly the AMS thing has full digital integration with the Babu printer's electronics. If the AMS can tell the printer to stop because it's out of filament, why can't the AMS can tell the printer to stop because the filament is unathorized? And how is this fundamentally different than the "printer" having a mechanism to do it?

Seriously. How WOULD you build the capability "into the printer" if not by building it into the part of the printer that handles filament? The RFID is in the spool - not the filament itself. So it's not like you could build it into the hotend. When you suggest putting the mechansim "in the printer" .... what would you be talking about if not building it in to the material-feed system somehow much like it's been built into the AMS?

All of this adds up to make your certitude feel absurd. By your own telling, certainly looks like they've already built the capacity.
 
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ERIFNOMI

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Nope, it's through their app. If you don't care for that sounds like they're not for you.

Personally I find it one of the better features of their printers. This is my X1C right now.

View attachment 100743
One of the big benefit of an open platform like Moonraker or Octoprint, for me, is integration into Home Assistant. Here's mine right now.

1000001724.png


There are also dedicated apps if that's more you jam. E.g. http://mobileraker.com/ And of course multiple web interfaces to choose from, which works quite well on mobile too.

Personally, I don't need an app for everything, but I love integrating into Home Assistant. As you can see, I have a live feed of the camera plus a thumbnail of what's printing. Above that you can see some of the stats I'm interested in (ETAs are off because it's doing the first layer right now). Further above that, I have toggles for the lights in the room and a switch for the printer itself so I can turn it off if it's not being used. And since that switch can track usage, I can tell how much power I use (and pay for) for a print (it's fuck all, but it's cool to know printing something at home cost a few cents in electricity and a buck in filament). I also have the status of my dry boxes on that page, so I can make sure my hygroscopic filaments are staying dry. And since it's in HA, automations! Notifications when a print completes or fails or is cancelled. If the printer is idle for a certain period, kill the power to it. Get creative with the lights in the room based on print status. Etc.
 
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Aurich

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One of the big benefit of an open platform like Moonraker or Octoprint, for me, is integration into Home Assistant. Here's mine right now.

View attachment 100761

There are also dedicated apps if that's more you jam. E.g. http://mobileraker.com/ And of course multiple web interfaces to choose from, which works quite well on mobile too.

Personally, I don't need an app for everything, but I love integrating into Home Assistant. As you can see, I have a live feed of the camera plus a thumbnail of what's printing. Above that you can see some of the stats I'm interested in (ETAs are off because it's doing the first layer right now). Further above that, I have toggles for the lights in the room and a switch for the printer itself so I can turn it off if it's not being used. And since that switch can track usage, I can tell how much power I use (and pay for) for a print (it's fuck all, but it's cool to know printing something at home cost a few cents in electricity and a buck in filament). I also have the status of my dry boxes on that page, so I can make sure my hygroscopic filaments are staying dry. And since it's in HA, automations! Notifications when a print completes or fails or is cancelled. If the printer is idle for a certain period, kill the power to it. Get creative with the lights in the room based on print status. Etc.
That's great. And I'm a little jealous of your 6x6 grid lol.

I don't have Home Assistant, and have no particular interest in smart home stuff. So I personally appreciate the Easy Mode that Bambu offers. I don't have to set anything up, I don't need to know my printer's IP, I just open the app and check.

But the beauty of this hobby is that it's full of people who love to be creative and make solutions.

I'm currently experimenting with combining 3D printed shells for my grid with laser cut foam. It's not for everyone, not everyone has a laser. But it's a way for me to solve something, and I'm enjoying the approach.

IMG_6463 3.JPG
 
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wagnerrp

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You can flash the firmware remotely and remove any safety cutoffs on extruder temperature. The idea would be to print out a bunch of material and ignite that with the hot end, which can reach those temperatures.

https://www.snapmaker.com/blog/3d-printer-fire-safety-causes-prevention-best-practices/#:~:text=a) Thermal Runaway Failure,countermeasures are implemented in advance.

But please, by all means ignore this advice.
The firmware can just fail all on its own without malicious intent. Mosfets can fail closed, preventing the firmware from cutting power, if there aren't backups in series. This sure sounds like somewhere that could and should have a $0.25 thermal fuse, like most consumer heating appliances.
 
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DB63

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If I understand what you are saying correctly, the add-on Babu sells to handle filament for their printers has integrated NFC. That certainly isn't the sort of move a company that has "no plans" to integrate filament detection into their systems would typically make.

But, more to the point, It looks like the AMS unit is effectively the only mechanism that provides multi-material support for the printers. There doesn't appear to be any way to get the multi-material functionality without using the unit, and they don't appear to offer any alternative feed systems. So it appears to be standard equipment for any turnkey setup - which seems relevant.

And clearly the AMS thing has full digital integration with the Babu printer's electronics. If the AMS can tell the printer to stop because it's out of filament, why can't the AMS can tell the printer to stop because the filament is unathorized? And how is this fundamentally different than the "printer" having a mechanism to do it?

Seriously. How WOULD you build the capability "into the printer" if not by building it into the part of the printer that handles filament? The RFID is in the spool - not the filament itself. So it's not like you could build it into the hotend. When you suggest putting the mechansim "in the printer" .... what would you be talking about if not building it in to the material-feed system somehow much like it's been built into the AMS?

All of this adds up to make your certitude feel absurd. By your own telling, certainly looks like they've already built the capacity.
With the X & P series, the AMS is an option, you don't have to buy it. There is a side port where you can feed other filaments manually, including colour change-overs if you like. There is no RFID on the side port.

The more recent A-series have a different AMS Lite; AFAIK it doesn't use RFID at all (Edit just checked, it does have RFID)

Up until recently Prusa+MMU & Bambu were pretty much the only automated colour systems available in the consumer space.
 
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Aurich

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So ... basically feature-comparable with a basic Octoprint setup?
Sure, or Prusa Connect. It's built in with the camera, works without needing to set anything up, or having to worry about your IP or accessing your network remotely etc, so it's very simple for anyone to use. But anyone with a little tech savvy can do it with other printers.

My Prusa is too old for Prusa Connect, and I haven't bothered to try it because I already have a Pi setup on it for Octoprint. I haven't fiddled with a camera though.

1737590745724.png



There's nothing that special about Bambu, except that it's all easy to use, well integrated, well supported, and priced very reasonably for what you get.

You can get other fast Core XY printers, you can get quality prints out of other printers, you can do remote monitoring and file management with other printers. Bambu just makes it all super accessible.

I don't personally have a real use case for going onto Makerworld through their app, and sending a model to my printer through it. If I wanted a pizza oven tea light I'd download it and load in my slicer because that's my preferred work flow.

But the fact that this exists means my 6 year old nephew can 3D print on his own, and that's rad. I'm a fan. They make it really easy to do these multicolor too if that's your thing. If you'd prefer something else, a Voron with Octoprint or whatever, that's great.

Screenshot 2025-01-22 at 4.07.49 PM.jpeg
 
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ERIFNOMI

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That's great. And I'm a little jealous of your 6x6 grid lol.

I don't have Home Assistant, and have no particular interest in smart home stuff. So I personally appreciate the Easy Mode that Bambu offers. I don't have to set anything up, I don't need to know my printer's IP, I just open the app and check.

But the beauty of this hobby is that it's full of people who love to be creative and make solutions.

I'm currently experimenting with combining 3D printed shells for my grid with laser cut foam. It's not for everyone, not everyone has a laser. But it's a way for me to solve something, and I'm enjoying the approach.

View attachment 100763
Yeah, the 6x6 grid fit pretty nicely. Actually, I forgot what I was printing. It's a 6x7. A 7x7 would fit really satisfyingly, but my drawers aren't that big. The 300mm³ build volume (or really the 300mm² build plate, I haven't gone anywhere near that tall yet) has been a really nice improvement over my previous printer. Almost as nice as the improvement in speed. Consumer/hobbiest class printers have come a long, long way in the last 4-5 years.

There is one downside though. I never went through spools of filament like this on the old printer! What used to be overnight or even day-plus prints are now done in hours. Someone can be hanging out and ask "hey, can you print this" and instead of "yeah, I'll get around to that for you when I have a free weekend" it's "let me throw it on before dinner and you can have it before you leave tonight."

But I totally get you on the "set it and forget" mentality. I can't vouch for any of it because I explicitly do not want my printer to be connected to the internet and like I said, not big on the single purpose apps, but out of the box that's the behavior of Creality's new printers like the K1/K1 Max. Without being too disparaging of Creality, they're obviously trying to copy BambuLabs. I've never touched their slicer or app, but if you want that integrated experience, it's my understanding that's what it does.

But also out of the box, you can get local control via their web interface. There's no reason BambuLabs can't have it both ways. Let people sign up for an account, manage everything through "the cloud", send prints directly from MakerWorld, proxy for the app so people can just sign in on the app and it'll work everywhere, etc. None of that prevents them from running a tiny webserver on the printer and letting people have control over it entirely locally without needing to check in with the mothership. Make it a toggle in the settings, default off, but allow people to get to it without making an account and putting their printer online if they don't want to.

E: none of the above should be interpreted as endorsement for Creality machines for someone who wants in on an ecosystem like that. I have no idea how their "cloud" shit stands up, and my purchasing decision was largely driven by the fact that you can forego all of that and just run klipper/Moonraker very easily. They even support ssh root with a simple toggle in the settings on the machine. That's my jam, but I know it isn't for most people. When it comes to the cloud based shit, you have to ask yourself how much you trust the brand, not just in terms of security but also longevity. Creality has been around for awhile, and they've supported the Ender 3 since basically home 3D printing first got started, but you may trust them to keep their cloud infrastructure for their new printers differently than you'd trust them to keep shitting out one of the best selling printers year after year.

I don't know that I'd recommend any 3D printer to "normal" people who aren't tinkerers, but I'd feel a damn sight more comfortable pointing them to Creality's new printers than their old ones. BambuLabs is definitely up there from what I've seen of their actual usability. It's a philosophical choice for me to avoid them, and I know most people couldn't give less of a shit about that. But most people are fine with robot vacuums with high resolution cameras and lidar driving around other house phoning home, whereas I find that absolutely insane and didn't get into that game until I could run something completely locally either.

What I really don't want is to normalize the "everything's in the cloud forever" mentality. What if BambuLab goes under tomorrow, or we get some insane president that decides executive orders means he's godking emperor of the free world and cuts us off from software run by a Chinese company (hey, wait a minute)? Maybe not tomorrow, but what if you want to keep that printer (or vacuum cleaner, or RGB disco light bulb, or whatever the next cool widget is) going for a decade plus? I really just want to normalize local control as an option, without requiring any unlock keys or authorization or anything from a remote party, for all hardware. Sell your cloud shit as a value-add, that's totally fine, but it should be strictly an add-on. The hardware should be perfectly functional locally. And I mean equally functional. If it's networked so you can push prints from "the cloud" then you should be able to push it prints locally as well and not have to fall back to running a flash drive back and forth across your workshop.
 
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Aurich

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But also out of the box, you can get local control via their web interface. There's no reason BambuLabs can't have it both ways. Let people sign up for an account, manage everything through "the cloud", send prints directly from MakerWorld, proxy for the app so people can just sign in on the app and it'll work everywhere, etc. None of that prevents them from running a tiny webserver on the printer and letting people have control over it entirely locally without needing to check in with the mothership. Make it a toggle in the settings, default off, but allow people to get to it without making an account and putting their printer online if they don't want to.
Yeah, even if it was opt out just give power users options. Which they are getting closer to, but tbh I'm just not sure how close yet. It's kinda hard to keep up with the speed of the changes right now.

And, I'm not super interested in trying it all myself. I have projects I'm working on, my work flow works, I'm good. I'm content to let the dust settle.
 
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mysciencefriend

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One of the big benefit of an open platform like Moonraker or Octoprint, for me, is integration into Home Assistant. Here's mine right now.

View attachment 100761

There are also dedicated apps if that's more you jam. E.g. http://mobileraker.com/ And of course multiple web interfaces to choose from, which works quite well on mobile too.

Personally, I don't need an app for everything, but I love integrating into Home Assistant. As you can see, I have a live feed of the camera plus a thumbnail of what's printing. Above that you can see some of the stats I'm interested in (ETAs are off because it's doing the first layer right now). Further above that, I have toggles for the lights in the room and a switch for the printer itself so I can turn it off if it's not being used. And since that switch can track usage, I can tell how much power I use (and pay for) for a print (it's fuck all, but it's cool to know printing something at home cost a few cents in electricity and a buck in filament). I also have the status of my dry boxes on that page, so I can make sure my hygroscopic filaments are staying dry. And since it's in HA, automations! Notifications when a print completes or fails or is cancelled. If the printer is idle for a certain period, kill the power to it. Get creative with the lights in the room based on print status. Etc.
For what it’s worth, bambulab printers also integrate really well into home assistant (at least for now…). It’s also all done locally, no connection to the cloud for this (again, for now…). This guy created a very cool website to autogenerate yaml for a pretty fancy HA Bambu lab printer dashboard: https://www.wolfwithsword.com/bambulab-home-assistant-dashboard/

Here’s my dashboard, I also have a camera feed on it.
IMG_6590.jpeg
 
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ERIFNOMI

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For what it’s worth, bambulab printers also integrate really well into home assistant (at least for now…)

Here’s my dashboard, I also have a camera feed on it. View attachment 100777
Hopefully they continue to allow it, though it looks like some of the features require your cloud creds and pulling from the cloud. Looks like nothing too critical so you could get by with local only, but the sensors that are exposed only through the cloud are awfully arbitrary, like the weight of the print.

That's another issue I have with the cloud stuff. Why does the cloud need to analyze my print jobs? Not that I print anything all that exciting, but I'm not really interested in feeding more of my data to the ever-hungry data machines. Maybe they're just looking to stop people from printing ghost guns. I'm not interested in getting pop-up in some app trying to sell me ifixit kits because I just printed a desktop screwdriver holder or something, but you know someone else has had that idea.
 
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NicoleC

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A childhood friend bought a Bambu with the color option four months ago and its been very frustrating. Lost prints, parts being ejected from the bed hit by the head and two firmware crashes.
They need to contact Bambu support. I know about a dozen people with Bambus (plus me) and they all work flawlessly. They clearly got a defective one, and don't need to live with it that way.
 
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mysciencefriend

Smack-Fu Master, in training
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Hopefully they continue to allow it, though it looks like some of the features require your cloud creds and pulling from the cloud. Looks like nothing too critical so you could get by with local only, but the sensors that are exposed only through the cloud are awfully arbitrary, like the weight of the print.

That's another issue I have with the cloud stuff. Why does the cloud need to analyze my print jobs? Not that I print anything all that exciting, but I'm not really interested in feeding more of my data to the ever-hungry data machines. Maybe they're just looking to stop people from printing ghost guns. I'm not interested in getting pop-up in some app trying to sell me ifixit kits because I just printed a desktop screwdriver holder or something, but you know someone else has had that idea.
Interesting… I wonder if it’s pulling that info from the cloud for every print, or just the ones that are sliced by the cloud slicer from the app… not that the printer couldn’t be reporting that info locally either way. I should sniff my mqtt traffic next time I print something to see what it’s doing locally in different scenarios.
 
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