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Reverse Engineering Bambu Connect

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Re: Reverse Engineering Bambu Connect

#41

Post by dangus »

I personally think the outrage I've seen on this issue is generally not justified.

In general people are just scared of change and on top of that are playing telephone on the details of the change, assuming the worst intentions from Bambu like they're trying to be the next HP.

I have seen a lot of misinformation on this topic, and I think that in that sense it's a good idea to read the actual announcement details to get a better read on Bambu's intentions: https://blog.bambulab.com/firmware-update-introducing-new-au...

A voice in Bambu's defense on this issue would say:

1. The new firmware isn't out, it's still in beta, and the new connect software is also in beta. This stuff isn't done and nobody has been forced to use it or even had it presented as an OTA update yet. The problems highlighted in this wiki page are very possibly problems that Bambu is aware of and intends to fix before release.

2. Bambu in their blog article stated that they are working on integration code so that third party slicers like Orca Slicer can more directly interface with Bambu Connect (see the FAQ section)

3. There are multiple statements on this blog page where Bambu acknowledges the workflow disruption and emphasizes the things they intend to do and do not intend to do, such as "It’s important to note that this update is not intended to restrict third-party software use. In fact, we’ve actively collaborated with third-party print farm management software providers in the past and continue to support such partnerships. To further improve the user experience, we are introducing a new software solution that will address these limitations and enhance overall print farm management capabilities."

4. People who don't run huge print farms don't seem to be impacted by this. Remember that Bambu claims to be a consumer tech company, right there in the "About Us" section. They are trying to make printers that are easy to use and require minimal tinkering. For a normal person, sending a slice file from Orca Slicer to a separate app (adding literally one step) is not a big deal, you're doing that once per print in a world where typical prints take hours to complete. And with that in mind, Bambu is still saying they intend to provide an integration solution to Orca Slicer in the future to streamline that process.

Whether not the software design is a good architecture is an entirely different issue, and as a beta product I'm not sure we can judge that quite yet. Perhaps they should have hardened their network API more rather than introducing a new app? Perhaps they shouldn't have announced this so publicly before they had a solution for third-party integrations ready?

Re: Reverse Engineering Bambu Connect

#42

Post by hooverd »

nialv7 wrote: post #40
hooverd wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Open source didn't compete on quality for price. I could pay 2k plus 40 hours of my time for a Voron or buy something that just works. I think Prusa only put out their CoreXY offering after they realized Bambu was eating their lunch. The Apple model works because people want to print rather than tinker.

I paid ~$750 for my 350mm Voron 2.4 kit (and, sure, 40 hours of my time. But look, you want to do 3D printing, 40 hours are just a small initial investment).

Damn that's cheap! What vendor did you use?

Re: Reverse Engineering Bambu Connect

#43

Post by hatsunearu »

Gigachad wrote: post #39
NelsonMinar wrote: post #24

I am angry at the bait-and-switch Bambu is pulling. I bought one of their printers in the Black Friday sale on the understanding it was reasonably hackable and open. Now they're trying to lock it down so I can't print on my own printer without using their approved software and DRM chain. It's outrageous. More info on the hacking (the first in what may be a long stupid fight): https://hackaday.com/2025/01/19/bambu-con…

You can print of an SD card without any special software or online services, the same as you can on Prusa printers. It's just the server/internet stuff that's locked down. Which I wish was open too, but it's still has fully unrestricted local printing functionality.

https://www.reddit.com/r/BambuLab/comments/1i548m9/this_is_p...

Looks like it's not true?

Re: Reverse Engineering Bambu Connect

#44

Post by seabird »

hooverd wrote: post #37
nialv7 wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

bait-and-switch? We, those who advocate for open source 3D printers, saw it coming from miles away. This has very very clearly been their plan all along, they themselves said as much (e.g. they are doing the "apple model"). They have been very transparent about this, yet people still fell for it.

Open source didn't compete on quality for price. I could pay 2k plus 40 hours of my time for a Voron or buy something that just works. I think Prusa only put out their CoreXY offering after they realized Bambu was eating their lunch. The Apple model works because people want to print rather than tinker.

There's a middle ground between the Apple model and assembling everything yourself.

Re: Reverse Engineering Bambu Connect

#45

Post by hatsunearu »

c0nsumer wrote: post #23
ghostpepper wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

what else would it be auth'ing against if not Bambu servers?

Perhaps some... other or better way of authenticating to the printer? Previously there was just a single, essentially fixed, numeric string that gave complete access to the printer, and communication was via TLS with a self-signed cert. I don't want to hypothesize about what it could be doing, I want to see what it's actually doing (or see some actual info from folks about what they've seen) so I can decide if I'm co…

The bambu cloud service has a very low value-add and they are trying to make it mandatory. the speculation is that they are trying to add a subscription model for print farms, which 3rd party slicers enable.

Re: Reverse Engineering Bambu Connect

#46

Post by hatsunearu »

dangus wrote: post #41

I personally think the outrage I've seen on this issue is generally not justified. In general people are just scared of change and on top of that are playing telephone on the details of the change, assuming the worst intentions from Bambu like they're trying to be the next HP. I have seen a lot of misinformation on this topic, and I think that in that sense it's a good idea to read the actual announcement details to…

I mean a reasonable ask would be why can't they push this off until all of that is taken care of?

Re: Reverse Engineering Bambu Connect

#47

Post by hatsunearu »

MindSpunk wrote: post #28
sho_hn wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you buy a Prusa in non-kit form, it's not any harder to unbox or operate, and more reliable, while generally achieving somewhat better results. Without phoning home and while maintaining the software Bambu forked theirs from. A recent review coming to a similar conclusion was Maker Muse' review of bedslingers. It's a channel I respect a lot, because he has over the years relentlessly disclosed emails of companies…

And they cost 3x as much. Which is a pretty tough sell IMO.

Conveniently left out that the Prusa definitely cannot do a lot of things that the popular Bambu models can do quite well, like filaments beyond PETG and PLA, multimaterial printing, etc.

Re: Reverse Engineering Bambu Connect

#48

Post by phito »

MindSpunk wrote: post #28
sho_hn wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you buy a Prusa in non-kit form, it's not any harder to unbox or operate, and more reliable, while generally achieving somewhat better results. Without phoning home and while maintaining the software Bambu forked theirs from. A recent review coming to a similar conclusion was Maker Muse' review of bedslingers. It's a channel I respect a lot, because he has over the years relentlessly disclosed emails of companies…

And they cost 3x as much. Which is a pretty tough sell IMO.

Maybe bamboo printers were too cheap which lead them towards their subscription based model.

Everyone complains about enshittification (YouTube ads, subscription models etc..), but then refuse to pay the real price premium goods and services cost. You get what you pay for.

Re: Reverse Engineering Bambu Connect

#49

Post by Aaron2222 »

hatsunearu wrote: post #43
Gigachad wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can print of an SD card without any special software or online services, the same as you can on Prusa printers. It's just the server/internet stuff that's locked down. Which I wish was open too, but it's still has fully unrestricted local printing functionality.

https://www.reddit.com/r/BambuLab/comments/1i548m9/this_is_p... Looks like it's not true?

I _think_ that's browsing the SD card from Bambu Studio when the printer's set to LAN Mode, not printing from SD on the printer itself.

Re: Reverse Engineering Bambu Connect

#50

Post by dangus »

hatsunearu wrote: post #43
Gigachad wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can print of an SD card without any special software or online services, the same as you can on Prusa printers. It's just the server/internet stuff that's locked down. Which I wish was open too, but it's still has fully unrestricted local printing functionality.

https://www.reddit.com/r/BambuLab/comments/1i548m9/this_is_p... Looks like it's not true?

From that link if you continue reading, commenters in the thread point out that LAN mode didn't even exist when the printer came out, and that it's more flexible now than when they first came out on the market.

My other comment on this thread contains the rest of my thoughts. Overall, I think this outrage is overblown.

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