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Open hardware desktop 3D printing is dead?

josefprusa.com

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Re: Open hardware desktop 3D printing is dead?

#391

Post by tstrimple »

Melonai wrote: post #312
beng-nl wrote: post #193

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I quite honestly fear this day. (But for other reasons, eg we might have to go to china for top conferences, universities, jobs, etc.).

I myself have been preparing for that day, learning simplified Mandarin and trying to expose myself to Chinese online presence. :) I'm not sure that China will ever "overtake" the US in global technology mindshare, but they are getting closer, and if that ever properly happens, I'm quite ready, and if not, at least I get a whole new language out of it and a better understanding of a huge culture that felt a lot more…

> I'm not sure that China will ever "overtake" the US in global technology mindshare

Is that adequately measured from the English side of the internet? I honestly don't know. I don't participate in Chinese technology communities online and have zero basis to measure any amount of tech mindshare that it has. I do know that a number of English based tech forums are entirely dependent on a select few microcontrollers for their builds. Surely on the Chinese side of things there are discussions going on about who is building the next cheapest microcontrollers and how they achieve it?

I do know that absolutely nothing that we have in the "West" can compare to what hardware hackers can accomplish in Shenzhen thanks to the overwhelming amount of electronics knowledge and availability in the area. I have to wonder how much of that mindshare "we" actually have.

Re: Open hardware desktop 3D printing is dead?

#392

Post by sarchertech »

trenchpilgrim wrote: post #338
sarchertech wrote: post #316

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My Prusa just always works. I spend virtually zero time doing maintenance or any kind of tuning. If you’re spending that much time fiddling with it, sounds like you either have much a much better eye for print quality than I do or you got a dud.

It makes a big difference if you're painting the prints - things that look okay out of the printer will turn into a disaster once paint brings out all the details. People are getting great quality out of the Bambus now - basically a slight tier below Resin, without any of the health issues that require PPE. https://youtu.be/R8fuNDTQJCY?t=725 (Old video, state of the art has advanced since. Also, the issue with his ot…

If you want to print warhammer miniatures or similar the Prusa core 1 is equivalent to a Bambu X1. And it’s the same price.

Re: Open hardware desktop 3D printing is dead?

#393

Post by sarchertech »

skybrian wrote: post #308
hyperbovine wrote: post #303

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> For many things Prusa printers produce higher quality prints. I have yet to have this happen, despite a lot of trying. The Bambu just works and the results are better. The Prusa requires constant recalibration and tuning, and still produces an inferior looking product. I'd love to be proven wrong here. It's probably the case that somebody with a ton of experience can squeeze better results out of a Prusa ... but th…

We are a version behind and the Mk4 is supposed to be better. I think that would be a fairer comparison to the Bambu? I’m currently working on an upgrade to 3.5, which should at least give me better speed.

You’re 2 essentially 2 versions behind. The Core One is basically equivalent to the X1C and it’s the same price. $300 cheaper if you buy the kit instead of the assembled version.

Re: Open hardware desktop 3D printing is dead?

#394

Post by WillPostForFood »

odo1242 wrote: post #195
odo1242 wrote: post #184

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They are. Debtors prison is illegal with one exception - if you already went to prison due to a crime and then completed your sentence, many states will charge you for the full cost of your prison stay (often upwards of thousands of dollars). And since a lot of sentences involve some amount of parole after the prison sentence, you’ll be sent back to prison under a parole violation if you fail to pay back the fees by…

(source: https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/stee... )

This is a better link that directly talks about "pay-to-stay" fees (prison reimbursement). Your link mostly talks about courte fees.

https://endpaytostay.org/pdf/pay-to-stay-report-20250622.pdf

Re: Open hardware desktop 3D printing is dead?

#395

Post by WillPostForFood »

anon-3988 wrote: post #226
ajmurmann wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To be fair there is a lot of talk about "bringing manufacturing back". IMO what the government is doing in that regard is more than misguided but other efforts exist. I'm optimistic about efforts like https://californiaforever.com/solano-foundry/ . Permitting reform is a key piece which they work around, synergy from physical proximity is another. Both are addressed by the Solano Foundry project. One might see US lab…

> To be fair there is a lot of talk about "bringing manufacturing back". The reality is that you will also have to bring back less worker protection to make this competitive. The way I see it, it doesn't matter how good you are, if you have invest in R&D, China will simply spend 1/10 of the effort to copy it and produce it for less. What is your recourse here? I am pretty sure they are working their damnest to copy s…

China will simply spend 1/10 of the effort to copy it and produce it for less. What is your recourse here?

Tariffs?

Re: Open hardware desktop 3D printing is dead?

#396

Post by lunar-whitey »

oblio wrote: post #388
lunar-whitey wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Proprietary software has not been a business moat for decades. The moats are their complements: hardware, networks and protocols (including humans), data and formats.

True, but that hasn't stopped big companies from not open sourcing the crown jewels, just for good measure. Apple post 2011 has never open sourced their UI toolkits, Google has never open sourced their search engine, etc.

The code for both of these is largely a liability. You cannot market a competitive offering in the OS or search spaces with code alone.

Re: Open hardware desktop 3D printing is dead?

#397

Post by dodos »

I very recently was in the market for a 3d printer and was interested in making a voron or something diy, but even ordering parts from china it would've cost about double just getting a pre built with better software presets, less room for error, and about the same specs from a Chinese company. It's hard for me to comprehend how diy buying parts individually from AliExpress can be more expensive before shipping,but I guess that's what economics of scale get you.

Re: Open hardware desktop 3D printing is dead?

#398

Post by mrheosuper »

sarchertech wrote: post #361
hyperbovine wrote: post #305

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because I, unlike many people here apparently, possess a finite quantity of money.

Yeah but you’re comparing the cost to a current gen Prusa and the performance to a last gen Prusa. You need to pick one generation to compare both.

he was comparing what he had. If you sent him the latest prusa printer, i bet he will compare it for you.

Re: Open hardware desktop 3D printing is dead?

#399

Post by mrheosuper »

i've never own a prusa printer, they are too expensive for me. I know it's great, it's reliable, but 3d printing is just a hobby to me after all. That's why i have to cope with less reliable solutions from Anycubic and Ender.

Now I own a bambulab. They are as cheap as the one from Anycubic, but much more reliable and easier to setup. I honestly don't know how can they make it so cheap, even my a1 mini, cost less than $250, has wifi, a camera for timeplase. Back in the day all you can get is a controller board with monochrome LCD running 8 bit mcu.

The westerner had a big head start, but they became greedy. Ultimaker could be the today Bambulab if they had spent more on RnD, and tried to bring their tech to broader market.

Re: Open hardware desktop 3D printing is dead?

#400

Post by anon-3988 »

WillPostForFood wrote: post #395
anon-3988 wrote: post #226

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> To be fair there is a lot of talk about "bringing manufacturing back". The reality is that you will also have to bring back less worker protection to make this competitive. The way I see it, it doesn't matter how good you are, if you have invest in R&D, China will simply spend 1/10 of the effort to copy it and produce it for less. What is your recourse here? I am pretty sure they are working their damnest to copy s…

China will simply spend 1/10 of the effort to copy it and produce it for less. What is your recourse here? Tariffs?

Great, so your country will probably suffer inflation. Otherwise, your neighboring country can spend the same amount to get 10x more resources (think GPUs).
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