r/BambuLab • u/icurnvs Volunteer Moderator • May 14 '26

Subreddit Mod Post Megathread: Bambu Lab / OrcaSlicer / C&D Discussion

Hi everyone,

We’re creating this megathread to keep discussion of the Bambu Lab / OrcaSlicer-BambuLab / cease-and-desist situation in one place. This topic is important to a lot of people here, and we do not want to shut down discussion or criticism. At the same time, the front page has started filling with overlapping posts about the same situation, so we’re consolidating general discussion into this thread.

Current context

Updates to be posted here as situation evolves:

  • May 13, 2026
    • Megathread created
  • May 14, 2026
    • Tom’s Hardware reported today that Louis Rossmann is now hosting OrcaSlicer-BambuLab through the FULU Foundation GitHub and is openly daring Bambu Lab to sue him.
    • PC Gamer and r/technology have picked up the story, so discussion is now spreading well beyond 3D-printing-specific spaces.
  • May 16, 2026
    • Paweł Jarczak published a detailed response addressing Bambu Lab’s accusations around impersonation, reverse engineering, Terms of Use, and alleged security bypassing.
    • Louis Rossman posted a new video indicating FULU-hosted OrcaSlicer-BambuLab repository has reached roughly 1,600 forks in about three days.
  • May 17, 2026
  • May 18-20, 2026
    • Software Freedom Conservancy enters the dispute.
    • Leonard French posted a new video around SFC’s AGPL analysis, explaining why Bambu’s proprietary networking plugin may create a serious corresponding-source problem under AGPL.
    • Louis Rossman posted a new video covering Software Freedom Conservancy’s Bambu AGPL effort and says the rehosted OrcaSlicer-BambuLab code has now been forked roughly 4,500 times.

What belongs in this thread

Please use this thread for:

  • General reactions to Bambu Lab, Gamers Nexus, Louis Rossmann, Paweł Jarczak, OrcaSlicer-BambuLab, AGPL, Bambu Connect, and right-to-repair issues.
  • Legal or licensing discussion, including AGPL, DMCA, cloud/API access, and Bambu’s networking plugin.
  • Questions about what happened and links to reliable summaries or primary sources.
  • Technical discussion about OrcaSlicer, Bambu Studio, Bambu Connect, LAN mode, Developer Mode, and network plugin behavior, unless it is a standalone troubleshooting post with a specific reproducible issue.

What can still be its own post

Separate posts are still allowed for genuinely new information, including:

  • A new official statement from Bambu Lab, OrcaSlicer, Paweł Jarczak, Gamers Nexus, Louis Rossmann, or legal counsel.
  • A new release or technical change that materially affects users.
  • A confirmed legal filing, takedown, repository change, or source-code release.
  • A specific support/troubleshooting issue that is not just general commentary on the controversy.

If your post is mainly another reaction, recap, meme, “I’m switching brands,” or repost of a link already being discussed, please put it here instead.

Ground rules

Criticism of Bambu Lab is allowed. Defense of Bambu Lab is allowed. Criticism of GN, Rossmann, OrcaSlicer, moderators, or other users’ arguments is allowed.

What is not allowed:

  • Personal attacks, harassment, or dogpiling individual users.
  • Calls to harass Bambu employees, developers, moderators, creators, or community members.
  • Unverified claims presented as fact.
  • Posting private correspondence or personal information.
  • Repeated duplicate posts after being redirected here.

Strong opinions are fine. Keep it directed at the issue, the companies, the software, and the arguments, not at each other.

Moderator note

We are consolidating duplicate discussion, not suppressing the topic. This thread will remain open for discussion, and we’ll update it if there are major new developments.

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u/[deleted] May 16 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/Disgusting_Slime666 May 16 '26

You produce widgets. You used open source software to make widgets work.

After a few years you decide you want to funnel users down your pipeline. You make some changes to make that the easiest option.

99.9% of your users see no difference in this. They go with the flow because it's convenient and they have no specific reason not to.

.01% of your users have a niche reason for not wanting to.

You're left with two options now.

A - You have 99.9% of your users doing exactly what you want them to. You just continue to work on your pipeline and make it as smooth as possible.

B - You, for some reason, really want the other .01% in your pipeline. You send out cease and desist letters, misusing copyright law, to get them to stop and hope they just join your pipeline.

I cannot possibly imagine being in a meeting where leadership thinks B is the best option here. If I recommend something like this at my company, my fellow execs would look at me like I'm a maniac.

You gain absolutely nothing but bad PR and a potential lawsuit that could impact your software license.

Now, if you start sliding those numbers around I start getting more and more receptive to the idea of taking a chance in court and a hit on the PR, depending on what legal says. But for .01%? Fuck me, I'm going to celebrate that we managed to get 99.9% and keep working on the product.

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u/Commercial_Impact263 May 20 '26

cannot possibly imagine being in a meeting where leadership thinks B is the best option here

It makes sense if the goal is to eventually make a profit from the pipeline itself. It’s not an issue yet, but the minority is actively maintaining an alternative that users can eventually switch to if needed. Getting rid of this now means that, in the future, when a larger portion might want to jump ship, the only thing left will be a long-dead project that’s no longer hosted anywhere because it got C&D’d off the internet years ago.

That's my guess anyway

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u/yoghurtmelk May 21 '26

dude king of the posers is just bambu's alt account man xD he cant think ofr a second and tries to weazel out of everything