Talk:Bambu Lab
Latest comment: 25 October 2025 by Human in topic Other Concerns with Bambu
Other Concerns with Bambu
Hi, I have a Bambu printer and I wanted to expand on the anti-consumer issues I've found:
- You are now locked to using Bambu Studio as a slicer (instead of an open source alternative such as Orca Slicer) for sending prints over the network - unless you completely turn off all cloud functionality, "LAN-Mode". This means you lose the ability to control your printer from your phone using the "Bambu Handy" app. Additionally, it limits your ability to use Bambu's 3D print website "MakerWorld". For example, leaving a review on a model requires your printer to be in online-mode and communcating with the servers to verify that you did indeed print it.
- Further expanding on the first point, you now cannot use any 3rd-party integration with your Bambu printer in cloud mode anymore unless it's read-only. That means you could have a third-party screen that shows the progress of a print like a Panda Knomi, but not a third-party screen that lets you control the print process, such as the Panda Touch.
- The printer is extremely locked down, only running Bambu firmware and sometimes even preventing rollbacks to previous versions when things break. There's no alternative firmware currently able to be made by the community, only very involved projects to rip out the electronics and install replacements. If all you've owned are Bambu printers you won't know any better, but most printers are very open and customizable with powerful control panels.
- Bambu filament spools have RFID tags to enable automatic detection in their proprietary multi-material system. It only works if you're using Bambu branded filament in Bambu's own AMS system. There has been no effort to make an open standard that all printers can use.
- There's a potential concern with privacy, that the printer is snooping on your camera feed and everything you print even in "LAN-Mode" because of the network plug-in.
Bambu Labs made 3D printing more accessible and easy for everyone, but this overbearing control erodes trust. Human (talk) 20:29, 25 October 2025 (UTC)