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

Security measure? Boxing out third-party tools? Or something more complex?

See full article...

 

[MlautheFilthy]

I recently bought a certain "just works" small printer/AMS combo + a Sovol SV06 Refurb for tinkering...

Guess what's sitting box opened, not even unpacked in my closet...

So what now? If you want multicolor, there is literally nothing as straight forward or economical.

I almost want to sell it at a loss and look into finding a used Prusa Mini or Voron 0.1/0.2 or some other small printer and then look into getting a BoxTurtle AFC or something; but then theres nothing economical or "just works" about at it anymore.

It was kind of supposed to support my tinkering efforts

Maybe just VLAN the A1 Mini and hope someone magicks up Klipper support including the AMS Lite?

 

[MlautheFilthy]

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:

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.

 

[MlautheFilthy]

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.