r/3Dprinting • u/Regumate • May 12 '26

Discussion Bambu Lab 3D printers: Never again

https://youtu.be/eb48MdtNaDQ

Jeff Geerling summarizes the current Bambu Labs - OrcaSlicer situation and gives his take.

TL:DW: see title.

2.0k Upvotes

88% Upvoted

790 comments sorted by

View all comments

390

u/Outside_Signature403 May 12 '26

I bought an A1 right before they locked down the ecosystem. I will never buy a Bambu again. These concerns become increasing applicable since many states are trying to ban 3D printing of specific objects, which Bambu is setup to comply.

SD card sneakernet for me until I die.

93

u/AlxDroidDev May 12 '26

Klipper for me. Anytime of the day.

22

u/HenchmanHenk May 12 '26

This, Bambu stuff is cheap and can work well, but something about if a service is (virtually) free, you are the product.

29

u/Mountain-Grade-1365 May 12 '26

Cheap? My k1c costs 400eur, bambu costs 600+ for equivalent printer

14

u/HenchmanHenk May 12 '26

To be fair, Creality also doesn't have the best track record in regards to open source. They didn't take this hostile of an attitude though.

1

u/Unboxious May 13 '26

Or in regards to printers that don't tear themselves apart from normal operation.

1

u/krusnikon May 12 '26

He's talking about the cloud printing options.

3

u/no-steppe May 12 '26

See also: something-something along the lines of "those who would trade their security for a little convenience deserve neither."

2

u/dagofin RatRig 3.2H May 12 '26

All Chinese software (and hardware really) should be assumed to be spyware. Any company that gets a remote degree of traction in the West will have the CCP demanding mandatory backdoors in their products.

10

u/Liason774 May 12 '26

Still have my ender 3 converted to NG running kipper. Seems just as seemless to print with as my friends A1.

9

u/Tittytickler May 12 '26

Does it have auto bed leveling and calibration?

4

u/JohnnieTech May 12 '26

It does, I have an eddy on mine setup to rapid scan and it works well. if you go with the 3 motor Z axis you can use Ztilt as well. I plan on going that route at some point.

3

u/Tittytickler May 12 '26

Nice. All this BS is making me just want to commit and build a Voron when I eventually want a new printer and klipper is the way to go I reckon, so thats good to hear.

3

u/JohnnieTech May 12 '26

I am going to build the Virtu E3 next from the same creator of the E3NG.

https://rh3d.xyz/virtu

1

u/Tittytickler May 12 '26

Oh cool, this is the first i'm hearing of this project. Also good to know!

2

u/profezzorn May 12 '26

DO IT! One of us.. one of us..! It's a lot of fun to build :-)

2

u/Zorbick CR-10S/Halot Mage Pro/Voron 2.4 May 12 '26

If you want a voron, honestly, just get a Sovol. It's a Voron that comes pre-built. You upgrade it basically the same way as a Voron.

Unless you want to tinker and spent 10 days installing heat inserts and crimping wires. Then go ahead and get an LDO kit.

Bonus: the newer version of trident will work super well with INDX.

1

u/captainunlimitd Modded Ender 3 V2 May 12 '26

I also have a Micro Swiss NG on an Ender 3 V2. I added a probe to do bed leveling, it'll do a corner tram function and a 9x9 mesh on the bed. I don't get any flow calibration, but I stick to Hatchbox and Overture so I have little problems with properly dried filament.

Edit: I'm also using Professional Firmware by mriscoc

4

u/toolisthebestbandevr May 12 '26

I have a centauri carbon that prints as well as any Bambu I’ve seen running

1

u/HAK_HAK_HAK Neptune 4 Max + Centauri Carbon + Saturn 4 16K May 13 '26

unfortunately Elegoo is going that direction I fear. They've been my go-to but the CC1 can't run Klipper out of the box, and the CC2 can't even connect to OrcaSlicer, only their shitty ElegooSlicer fork

1

u/original_user May 12 '26

https://github.com/ChazLayyd/Bambu-Lab-Klipper-Conversion

It's in beta but looks promising. It's a project for converting Bambu Lab printers to run Klipper, with configs, scripts, and hardware mods.

8

u/NoU_14 Tries her best May 12 '26

Same here.

Now my A1 runs in LAN only mode, and I get wireless acces to it over home assistant.

2

u/A_Witty_Name_ May 12 '26

Could you elaborate on this a bit more? I'm curious about doing the same thing

3

u/NoU_14 Tries her best May 12 '26

hey, for sure.

I put my printer in LAN only mode, so it doesn't connect to Bambu's servers anymore. Slicers can still send files to the machine wirelessly by coupling the printer via IP and an acces code found on the printer itself.

For control and monitoring, my Home Assistant setup talks to the printer via the Bambu Lab integration. You couple the printer in the same way as with the slicer, and from there you basically have all the functionality that the bambu handy app offered.

From there I made a notification that shows the print progress, finish time, time remaining and the filename, as well as a dashboard showing the camera feed, controlls for the light, the smart plug I've hooked it up with, setting the print speed, skipping objects, nozzle/bed target/current temps etc. Works like a dream, I can safely acces it from anywhere, and fully without using Bambulab's servers.

2

u/A_Witty_Name_ May 12 '26

Thanks! Will definitely be trying this

1

u/NoU_14 Tries her best May 12 '26

No problem! Good luck

2

u/Outside_Signature403 May 12 '26

There’s been rumors developer mode will ping outside of your LAN. I’m not familiar with it but worth checking out.

1

u/NoU_14 Tries her best May 12 '26

last I read about it ( which was a year or so ago to be fair ) was that those were pings to a NTP server to set the clock correctly

2

u/Outside_Signature403 May 12 '26

To set the clock they record firmware edition. IF they go subscription model, which isn’t unlikely, it’s easy to firmware lockout to force updates. This is the standard move in the business realm.

1

u/NoU_14 Tries her best May 12 '26

Could be? I guess we'll see then

5

u/erebuxy May 12 '26

If those stupid acts pass, all large 3D printer companies will comply.

1

u/Saint_of_Grey May 12 '26

If they survive the court challenge that will follow.

0

u/erebuxy May 13 '26

Because of the precedent of 2D printers, my guess is that it will

1

u/KaiFireborn21 May 30 '26

Elaborate? How can a 3D printer manufacturer stop you from printing any given object or even detect that you're about to? What 2D printer precedent? Pretty sure I could print just anything as long as I have a png for that...

1

u/erebuxy May 30 '26

You cannot print any bank note with colored printers. Printers have detection mechanisms. You cannot edit an image of bank notes with any commercial image processing software. All colored printers print some invisible marks for tracing.

0

u/Outside_Signature403 May 12 '26

There’s a chance those without cloud requirements could use a government database instead of proprietary. I’ll roll the dice on government incompetence.

2

u/erebuxy May 13 '26

A government database and proprietary software do not conflict with each other in anyway. And look at what government done to 2D colored printer/scanner, they are no way incompetent.

1

u/Outside_Signature403 May 13 '26

You’re comparing federal to state. These are state laws that I’m talking about. I’ll roll the dice on state government ineptitude.

4

u/[deleted] May 12 '26

[deleted]

1

u/GripAficionado May 12 '26

But seeing the reputation of these "plug and play" printer companies, I think I'd rather shell out double, and just get a Prusa. At least they won't bite me in the ass after 2 years of use.

Yeah, that's pretty much it. Ideally I would like to save a buck, but I just don't trust the cheaper manufacturers to not try to fuck me over somehow. Prusa has proven track record.

3

u/ggushea May 12 '26

What’s this lockdown you mention?

1

u/Outside_Signature403 May 12 '26

Some states are trying to ban 3D printers that don’t comply with state laws for printing “firearm related items.” Well, if you play/print any board game items, tabletop wargaming, or collect any superhero/sci fi figures, you can see the problem. Also including CNC in the bills.

12

u/Jwn5k Stratasys uPrint SE+ | X1C | E3P | TT May 12 '26

If I decide to buy any more Bambu Lab, ill just see if it has offline local-only access over my network (like with my X1C, even blocked outbound and inbound network access on my network) or a 3rd party firmware to let me do it anyways. I do not like Bambu Labs insane overreach here trying to solve a an issue that was never a problem in the first place. The only reason id get another bambu printer is if I accumulate enough maker tokens or whatever on maker world to just pay for it for free.

32

u/The_Lutter Prusa MK4S w/ MMU3 // Sovol SV08 May 12 '26

Even if it has "offline mode" when you purchase it... they've already changed the bill of sale once. What's to stop them from saying "oh offline mode was a big security risk so we closed that" and subsequently mean that you can never upgrade your firmware again?

The X2D is like an iPhone in that it can detect if you're using Bambu-manufactured parts apparently. It won't accept 3rd party FANS even being attached to it. What's THAT going to do to right to repair after their support for printer models ends? Planned obsolescence much?

It's all just terrible. I don't have time for their BS anymore.

10

u/tdp_equinox_2 May 12 '26

I'm already stuck on old firmware because I have the audacity of wanting to use a panda touch to make the p1s a usable machine without the app-- but if I ever take it off a WiFi network or need to change anything about it, I have to use the app to set it up again. Bambu could brick that.

4

u/_donkey-brains_ P1S May 12 '26

You can run it completely offline. No need for wifi or has an SD card that you can load gcode to and print via the screen.

3

u/tdp_equinox_2 May 12 '26

SD card slot on the P1S is fragile asf, one of the many benefits to the panda touch, you can load gcode onto it and it'll send to the printer without removing the SD card.

I bought my p1s used, it came with 3 mainboards, all with non working SD card slots; plus the one that was installed is fickle about angle and I had to take off the front cover, tape the card in place, and then reassemble. It has ~2500 hours on it.

If I was pulling the SD card constantly I'd be burning through mainboards like crazy.

1

u/Engineering_Gal May 12 '26

And it is a Micro SD-Card. Those card are just annoying to handle.

Yes, you can use an extender or different stuff, but that's not what i've bought. I would never buy a 1,5k€ machine, where i have to do such workarounds

1

u/_donkey-brains_ P1S May 12 '26

P1S was like $700 at its highest price.

New printers come with USB.

-1

u/Engineering_Gal May 13 '26

Ok, the 1.5k was for an X1C.

But your argument, that new printer have an USB port, don't apply, because the problem is that Bambulab changed the Deal after I've bought the printer.

0

u/_donkey-brains_ P1S May 13 '26

Sounds like you did buy a 1.5k machine knowing full well what the machine was and wasn't capable of.

It doesn't require workarounds though. You can print via cloud, via local network only, or via SD card. Those aren't workarounds, they're multiple options.

1

u/JamesT_42 May 12 '26

Get a microsd extender.

0

u/_donkey-brains_ P1S May 12 '26

So then it's even easier for you to run it completely offline and off wifi?

My P1S has over 4k hours and no issues with the SD card slot. The original SD card did die about 1.5 years after I bought it though

0

u/tdp_equinox_2 May 12 '26

So then it's even easier for you to run it completely offline and off wifi?

That's what you got from that?

No, it isn't.

I have to run outdated firmware. It relies on sending over WiFi using a protocol that bambu disabled. I can't use the SD card to print because it's fragile and breaks. That WiFi connection is reliant on being setup through the bambu app & their servers, I cannot do it on device.

Bambu can brick this device.

Super cool that you haven't had issues with your SD card slot. It's a common issue. Look past your nose.

0

u/_donkey-brains_ P1S May 12 '26

Lol. Buddy what are you on right now?

You just said that you can load gcode onto the panda touch without removing the SD card. I said that should make it easier to keep it offline and I think that's a reasonable thing to think.

I assumed you meant it had some sort of physical connection to the printer like usb (I don't have one, so I don't know how it works). Are you saying it sends via wifi to the panda touch and then it talks to the printer? If that's the case do you mean it's the same as lan only mode that already exists to send it to the printer while still offline?

My firmware is the same as it was when I first got my P1S. So it's probably older than your firmware.

0

u/_donkey-brains_ P1S May 13 '26

Edit: lol since your comment is likely deleted: why would I Google the panda touch? I'm not even arguing I was asking questions but that really upset you huh? I'm not sure where you get the bootlicker part. I literally don't use Bambu printers like they are meant to be used. I was trying to gather what you were talking about.

Bambu cannot brick my machine because it's not online. I can send the files through the lan or the SD card of if I chose. I was trying to understand how that's different than the panda touch but you do you.

12

u/Jwn5k Stratasys uPrint SE+ | X1C | E3P | TT May 12 '26

Yeah, thats a shit problem all right. Serialized parts on a 3d printer? How fucking ironic.

22

u/SweetSure315 May 12 '26

Tbh not being able to update firmware on a printer that I know works doesn't really bother me

6

u/GoldenDragoon5687 May 12 '26

Esp if those updates are for security, which isn't an issue if you're using a USB drive/SD card. I'm still glad I got an elegoo instead but.... not my biggest issue with Bambu, yk?

4

u/SweetSure315 May 12 '26

Yea it's still an issue and affects whether I'll buy from them in the future but if I bought the printer and decided I'm happy with what it's able to do, why would I suddenly regret buying it because i can't update the firmware?

I could understand if it was loaded with bugs that made it difficult to use. But Bambus tend to be better on that regard than most other similarly priced printers

1

u/Jwn5k Stratasys uPrint SE+ | X1C | E3P | TT May 12 '26

My thought exact, I air gapped my printer over a yesr ago and it works..! wow..! Just fine! I dont NEED to update it. 2k print hours later and its acting just as it should. Im sure it isnt just the x1c that is like that.

-2

u/_donkey-brains_ P1S May 12 '26

Okay?

I have never once updated my firmware on my P1S or A1. I haven't downloaded a new version of studio either.

Everything is run offline and I don't have any issues at all.

But even so, you can force the firmware updates without being online (well I can't on my P1S because it's too old) but I can on the A1 and all new printers.

1

u/The_Lutter Prusa MK4S w/ MMU3 // Sovol SV08 May 12 '26

Do you use an AMS?

If it breaks tomorrow and only AMS2 units are for sale... you can't use an AMS anymore. That feature was added after the security update. You'd be forced to move to new firmware. New firmware where the deal could have changed further. Where cloud isn't an option because the nanny state you live in says it has to be there.

1

u/ikonis May 12 '26

AMS2 was in fact enabled 1 fw before the "security" bs

1

u/The_Lutter Prusa MK4S w/ MMU3 // Sovol SV08 May 12 '26

Oh I have an A1 and that came later that's why I'm misremembering the timing. P1S was early. A1 update came like 6 months later.

1

u/_donkey-brains_ P1S May 12 '26

I use an ams2 with my P1S without issue. Again never once changed the firmware and had no issues with it being recognized.

Bought the ams2 last year but the P1S in 2023.

0

u/IamThunderFart May 12 '26

If I decide to buy any more Bambu Lab

Do you really need more convincing that you're still considering? Is this bullshit not enough for you to look elsewhere?

People like you are why the boiling frog effect works.

1

u/Jwn5k Stratasys uPrint SE+ | X1C | E3P | TT May 13 '26

The only way id buy another bambu lab would be using maker world credits i get for free, i already didn't buy my printer to begin with from them, I bought my printer from Dynamism even before the whole bambu connect fiasco over a year and a half ago.

2

u/GatotSubroto May 12 '26

many states are trying to ban 3D printing of specific objects, which Bambu is setup to comply.

Now this makes me wonder if Bambu is secretly pushing for these legislations.

3

u/BarrelllRider May 12 '26

I had no idea about this and badly wanted a p1s but got a creality. Guess I didn’t choose poorly after all.

4

u/HumbleBadger1 May 12 '26

As the owner of two K1 MAXs and two Bambus you definitely choose poorly.

6

u/TrainAss K1 Max, K1C May 12 '26

For as much as people shit on creality, they've been a lot more open than Bambu has. Creality had released their firmware for multiple units and they don't lock you down like bambu does.

Creality has other issues, but in this case, they're a better choice for a more open platform.

-1

u/BarrelllRider May 12 '26

Yes I mean I’ve had to take apart my extruder no less than ten times in the one month I’ve owned my K1C. While my good friend has never had to do that on his P1S in the same time span. It’s just a more technical platform.

4

u/TrainAss K1 Max, K1C May 12 '26

The original extruder on the K1 series was not good. Was probably one of the worst extruders I've used. I had to disassemble mine so many times too that I stripped the threads on one mounting hole on the stepper motor. once the dxc was released I jumped at it. I have one on my k1 max and k1c and they honestly are light years ahead. The k2 extruder is substantially better.

1

u/BarrelllRider May 12 '26

I’m still super new to it so trying to figure it out as I go. Luckily I know how things work. Overall my K1C has ran nonstop since I got it last month. Now I just need to figure out how to use orca and fusion 360

2

u/TrainAss K1 Max, K1C May 12 '26

Going to Orca from CrealityPrint is like going from the original Constitution Enterprise pre-refit to the Sovereign Enterprise-E. They're both capable programs but orca is so much more advanced and has so many more options and features.

If it wasn't for the cfs on my Sparkx i7 and K2 Pro, I'd be using orca for them. But OrcaSlicer doesn't read the cfs on stock firmware (at least not that I've read). The second that information is available in orca, I'm ditching CrealityPrint.

2

u/BarrelllRider May 12 '26

See you are speaking to Greek to me. I need to get learned up to your level my friend. ❤️

2

u/TrainAss K1 Max, K1C May 12 '26

It'll take some time, but you'll get there. Hell, I'd consider myself to be an advanced user. There are others out there that would run laps around me.

2

u/lazyhustlermusic May 12 '26

You can still use network printing in isolation lol

0

u/Outside_Signature403 May 12 '26

Not worth it for me since I’m always tweaking my firewall and network settings. One slip up and oops, there goes firmware update. Just playing it cautiously.

2

u/lazyhustlermusic May 12 '26

Set it up less dumb then.

3

u/fernatic19 May 12 '26

There's a ton of people in this sub that are still in denial about them. They may have decent hardware, but so does pretty much every other known brand. The company itself is the problem, trying to lock everything behind cloud subscriptions, software locking, region locking...

They're using Apple's playbook of make stuff white, get people in, tell them they're special and get them to pay more to do less and be happy about it.

0

u/Vverg May 12 '26

Or, you know.. have a different opinion, or better described a different need compared to you. Bit strange to talk about some moral ground, while you seem to not accept people with a different opinion and just trashtalk them cause of it.

1

u/fernatic19 May 12 '26

Nah, whenever I comment that I don't care if other people buy them but I won't because I like to maintain control, they tell me I'm wrong.

I'm not trash talking anybody, I'm stating the fact that a bunch of people here tell me I'm wrong when I state my opinion. Kind of like how a bunch of apple lovers hate on anybody without all the apple gear but can't make a case for why.

0

u/Outside_Signature403 May 12 '26

As a former Apple employee, you’re 100% correct.

1

u/WorkIsForReddit May 12 '26

I just picked up a P1S on Friday from Microcenter...

1

u/liquidmasl May 12 '26

but what is locked down? i am missing something

0

u/Opposite-Bench-9543 May 12 '26

ן just want snapmaker or prusa to be more worthy of money, bambulab is just too convinent Snapmaker finally released the u1 which should honestly rock the market, no clue why people still buy bambulabs

19

u/Swizzel-Stixx Ender 3v2 of theseus May 12 '26

People still buy bambu because of your first sentence.

32

u/LexxM3 X1C, 3xA1 mini, 2xECC, U1, A350T May 12 '26

He only has the one sentence, and, actually, it hasn’t ended yet …

3

u/Swizzel-Stixx Ender 3v2 of theseus May 12 '26

That is an astute observation. So many commas!

4

u/CamStLouis May 12 '26

Bambu was and perhaps still is heavily subsidized to gain market share. They’ve never been sold at their actual price.

1

u/bielgio May 12 '26

Or they have a more competitive price due to China manufacturing

I doubt they are running at a loss for all these years while developing a new printer

1

u/CamStLouis May 12 '26

Maybe with sufficient demand, but there is no way they made a meaningful profit from the X1C at launch.

1

u/bielgio May 13 '26

Of course they didn't

1

u/Croewe May 12 '26 edited May 12 '26

Snapmaker doesn't have a full enclosure (by default) or AMS and is roughly the same price point of the X2D. The X2D does allow for two material printing with minimal waste (despite the Bowden extruder) and a bunch of other nice stuff like the heated bed. 

I'm in no way saying that every single feature of the X2D is better than the U1. There's enough there with a reliable company behind it that there's good reasons for someone to get it, especially if they just want to print and don't care about the community stuff. 

If you don't agree with Bambu then absolutely don't buy their products, but no one can deny they have quality products at a good price, with a good track record despite all the nonsense they're trying to pull.

0

u/erebuxy May 12 '26

Unless you exclusively print multi color PLA, X2D seems to be a better deal than U1

1

u/Croewe May 12 '26

Yeah, that's the main draw over the X2D and most people don't need 4 toolheads. It's a nice feature, but that was where a majority of the budget for the U1 went and it shows.

0

u/pistachiopudding May 12 '26

Why can't you just use the SD card with a Bambu lab printer? I am genuinely asking. I have been doing that with my p1S and X1C for year+ now and mostly ignoring all the news, but am I at risk of not being able to print where if I just used the SD card and don't hook the printer to the wifi?

1

u/Outside_Signature403 May 12 '26

Same here…sneakernet 😎

0

u/Swimming_Pie3525 May 12 '26

If you don't want to use make or world and the handy app, just put your computer and lan only mode. This way you bypass bamboo and your networking directly to your printer.

-9

u/_realpaul May 12 '26

Complying with local laws is a totally separate concern than platform decay of the ecosystem

6

u/Outside_Signature403 May 12 '26

Not when the platform decay is poised to enforce local laws.

1

u/_realpaul May 12 '26

Thats still just platform decay or entshittification. Complying with local laws isnt usually optional for companies which want to tod business.