Bambu has some explaining to do

I have long been a fan of your printers and bought the X1C as a preorder. Since then, I have enjoyed the reliability and ease of use. Bambu Labs as a company have made great strides in pushing the industry forward and driving a wave of innovation. This is made manifest in the numerous models now being released that mimic the X1C in everything from aesthetics to function. Because of this value proposition of getting so much bang for the buck, I’ve been willing to turn a blind eye to what I consider to be missteps along the way. The notable level of proprietary software and hardware seemed an acceptable tradeoff for rarely having to deal with failed prints. At least in all the ways I cared at the time, it was “open-enough” for me.
However, let me say in no uncertain terms that the recent changes to the terms of use are disturbing. To sell a cloud-based hardware package to later put onerous restrictions on the usage thereof and change things so drastically can only be regarded as entrapment. Furthermore, threatening to withhold key functionality of hardware I have paid for unless I perform a software update is a level of dystopian that I could hardly imagine.
I am not okay with a company making themselves the sole arbiter through which I can use hardware I’ve purchased. Even with the release of Bambu Connect, which in theory restores most of the functionality we had before, you’ve placed yourself as the only lane through which I can access my printer. This is not okay. You can cite security concerns, but we all know that there are other ways to manage this that doesn’t see such a fragmentation of base functionality. Network jobs are hardly a new feature for 3D printers overall. It does not hold water that the only safe way to send my printer a job must be through some level of Bambu controlled software. For so many users, even needing to export to a program to then send to their hardware presents a serious hurdle in both workflow and ease of use. This effectively kneecaps the ability of 3rd party slicers like Orca Slicer to compete as most users will likely default to Bambu Studio if only to avoid needing yet additional software. At the same time, Bambu Studio, having benefited greatly from the open source work done by the community in developing improvements that find their way into the studio seems to be holding the knife to themselves. Bambu Labs has reaped the benefits of the open source community and this move betrays that same community.
None of us are looking forward to a day where 3D printers lock themselves down the same way an inkjet does. Will a 3rd Generation Bambu printer only allow Bambu Studios, Bambu filament, and Bambu approved files? The democratization of 3D printers has served to prevent exactly this kind of thing from occurring. We’ve already had to deal with older companies strangling progress that kept 3D printing from the masses for decades. Because of the litigious and petty nature of such older companies, I can’t mention them by name. Though, I’m sure everyone can guess who I’m referring to. I do not want to see Bambu follow those footsteps.
What then can we do? If indeed there are security risks with the network API that was previously available that truly prevent us from using that in the future, then I expect to see a proper alternative presented. Bambu Connect, which is a separate software and strictly controlled by Bambu, is not a real solution. Bambu needs to present our 3rd party allies with a solution that allows native job requests from other slicers as before. This needs to be open to the degree that it can not be taken away from the community. For instance, I will not see my hardware become inaccessible to me because of any future subscription model.
Until such time that Bambu corrects course and presents a real solution, my models on makerworld will be set to private and I will not be sharing new projects publicly on the site. I also will not be buying any additional printers. I encourage others to do the same.
If Bambu does the right thing, I will happily revert my changes and resume promoting Bambu as I have done in the past.
I know Bambu Labs is filled with dedicated team members that want to create the best printers they can. I hope cooler heads will prevail and Bambu can continue producing the best printers on the market.
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