Not to defend Bambu in any way, but they seem to be stuck between the AGPL and the Chinese government that wants control over the software in the name of ‘national Security’ (this applies to nearly every industry in China). And third parties are outside actors that they can’t control. Which I think might be why Bambu is acting like they are. Their government is now leaning on them to rein this in. And companies in China fear the government more than the rest of the world.
When Bambu first started won this path, didn’t they say one could buy a license to tie into their code? And Orca refused to do that. I wonder if part of the “price” involved approval from the Chinese government about backdoor access.
There are other Chinese companies that produce 3D printers that aren’t acting in a similar way, like Elegoo and Qidi. Of course, they aren’t the most open (closed firmware and such. Corporations be corporate) but they do still support third-party slicers and all that. Perhaps this could play a part in Bambu’s decision, especially given that they are a larger player in the space, but it can’t explain all of it.
Not to defend Bambu in any way, but they seem to be stuck between the AGPL and the Chinese government that wants control over the software in the name of ‘national Security’ (this applies to nearly every industry in China). And third parties are outside actors that they can’t control. Which I think might be why Bambu is acting like they are. Their government is now leaning on them to rein this in. And companies in China fear the government more than the rest of the world.
When Bambu first started won this path, didn’t they say one could buy a license to tie into their code? And Orca refused to do that. I wonder if part of the “price” involved approval from the Chinese government about backdoor access.
There are other Chinese companies that produce 3D printers that aren’t acting in a similar way, like Elegoo and Qidi. Of course, they aren’t the most open (closed firmware and such. Corporations be corporate) but they do still support third-party slicers and all that. Perhaps this could play a part in Bambu’s decision, especially given that they are a larger player in the space, but it can’t explain all of it.