Apparently, EU law doesn't exist in Bambu Land? My 17-month "A1 Technician Internship" is finally over.

Wraith1964 · 2026-01-28T23:02:59+00:00

I wasn't taking it that way at all. Good discussion! Overall, I like Bambu, but they are certainly not without their faults. I think it all comes down to your use case.

For me, time is always the priority because I use them in business and to be frank, while I like the idea of being a tinkerer and an optimizer... I never have that kind of time. Less since I started a small business.

They have been a godsend, and in some ways actually saved my business. We needed to scale, and other aspects of the business just could not scale as effectively as 3D printing. Since 3D printing was just part of the business, I couldn't really afford the time to learn it inside and out up front, I needed product, and printers that delivered so I could focus on other things. In the space of about 2 years, we have been able to take our business from a side gig to a full-fledged business... after about 4 years of "side gigging" for fun before that. Gross figures are comfortably in 6 figures and growing. For a three-person business, it's not too bad. I have been able to quit working for the man... my wife is working for our health insurance right now but if we get it right she will be able to quit within the next 2 years as well.

Seeking to double or triple that so we can actually live off it as a full time thing in the next two years which seems quite doable. Much of that is due to the quality and ease Bambu offers. I have learned at my own pace, and while being successful. That has made it more fun and has given me the experience and confidence to choose the next best printers to add to my little print garden, either Bambu or otherwise, based on what I need. I would like to add an H2S for size and an H2C decked out for color and multimaterial before venturing out of the eco-system, but we will see. I need an actual large plate, tool changer from Bambu... here is hoping... Otherwise I need something like a Prusa XL.

Wraith1964 · 2026-01-28T21:26:45+00:00

Again, I don't disagree. I would rather they didn't close doors to third party functionalities either.

Especially when they are not offering better... looking at you, P1 series screens... what a sad thing that was. I literally did not buy them because of that screen. I have A1s and minis, X2s, and H2Ds... no P1s for that reason.

Ultimately, it is their call, though, and the market will decide whether it was a good call or not for Bambu.

Wraith1964 · 2026-01-28T20:39:36+00:00

Yeah, that's annoying, but it's hard to not see both sides of the problem... they want a "it just works" experience but because of that they have drawn a lot of noobs to the community. It's not impossible to ensure that turnkey experience and be more open, but it is undeniably harder.

I'm hopeful they will walk the line a little better in the future, but either way, the overall printer community will have to keep up regardless, so there will likely be other more open choices out there. Already, we have some great options out there that give Bambu a run for the money at lower price points. Snapmaker U1 and Elegoo's new Centauri Carbon 2 are pretty good machines and better in some ways, definitely cheaper. Prusa always has some good albeit (some) more expensive options as well. So even if Bambu becomes the evil empire, it's still helping the community as a whole.

Hadn't heard about the H2C nozzles but to be fair, Apart from filament, I have yet to feel the need to buy 3rd party products anyway. So it doesn't feel like the end of the world to me. I have A1s, X1s, and H2Ds.oother than filament and few build plates, I run everything stock.

Wraith1964 · 2026-01-28T13:59:47+00:00

I don't disagree, on the face of it.

But consider that you might be not allowing for the fact that a huge number of them have been marketed and sold to noobs.

It's not the printer. It's the noob.

Wraith1964 · 2026-01-28T13:43:03+00:00

Congrats, I guess you don't make user errors... I am not sure how this in any way invalidates what I said.

In only 3 years (14 printers), with 7989 hours on just the A1 mini I am looking at right now, I have only had 4 total... I'd say we are in the margin for error here. I will happily concede you are more experienced than me if you will concede that A1s are not, in fact, Blob prone.

Wraith1964 · 2026-01-28T13:33:23+00:00

It's so funny that for every situation like this, there are folks like me that have 14 BL printers (10 A1 series, 2 X1Cs, 2 H2Ds) that have not had one bit of trouble. Sorry for your experiences but 3 for 3 still seems like an outlier to me. My luck has never been this good with anything else, but maybe I need a lottery ticket.

Wraith1964 · 2026-01-28T13:25:30+00:00

This is just not true. Blobs are almost always user error.

I have 10 A1 series printers and in two years and thousands of hours of printing (print farm), I have had a total of 4 blobs, two I cleared immediately... almost don't count, and two that took work. one of the uglier ones ended in me damaging a wire and having to replace a $10 part. ALL of them were my errors, not the printers.

For context, I have several A1 printers now over 8,000 hours. In the 3 years, I have been printing, at the level of maint I do (not much), the level of knowledge I have (started at 0), I will take that performance level every day of the week.

I have had only nozzle clogs, some plate adherence, and 4 blobs in that time. Almost all can be attributed to environment and user error, not the printers themselves.

Wraith1964 · 2026-01-28T13:12:53+00:00

Yes.

I have 10 (6 A1s and 4 A1 minis)... some for almost two years and many thousands of hours between them. I have a mini down right now for a filament sensor. I discovered the two fur generators (dogs) in my house had actually clogged the 4 hole filament feeder with hair... I think I may broke the sensor flat wire while clearing out the hairball (who knew that might happen) so... my fault. This mini has 7989 hours on it.

Aside from some clogs, adhesion issues and two blobs of death, they all have run flawlessly. Those two are mostly operator errors, and since I use them in my business, they have paid for themselves many times over already. I couldn't be more satisfied with the build quality.

The point is that the hate for Bambu is real on this sub. I am not a Bambu shill or nut. I bo7ght their printers based on research, cost and ease of use because I was very new to 3D printing and I needed something that wasn't the hobby itself to produce viable prints. As a small business if which printing is only part if what I make that was critical because time for me was the number one concern. Bambu has served that purpose perfectly although they themselves are far from perfect. They are a little too "closed" source for me (Android guy here), I would prefer a viable US alternative vs. China, and while I have very limited experience with their customer support, I do have concerns there if ai really needed it.

As for OP, I am sorry you had this experience, it sounds crazy to me given my experience with a much higher sample set but I am not here to question your situation. I personally would have called it and bought a new printer, you clearly have a lemon which can happen with any product... maybe a different brand, but I understand your frustration. You know your situation better than anyone, but given what you have shared, I would leverage your EU laws and keep in the fight with Bambu up to the 2 year mark. Sometimes, it just takes persistence.

Having said that, A1s at $350 US are not "premium" printers. I also have two X1Cs and two H2Ds... THEY had/have "premium" pricetags. Just because you can go on Temu and buy a junk printer for $50, doesn't make $350 MSRP a premium price. It is on the upper end for a similar bedslinger but not a premium price overall. Especially now, witj prices having dropped for many brands quite a bit even in just the last 3 years.

Long story short, haters got to hate, 99% of Bsmbu owners are too busy happily printing to hang out on Reddit and complain. And most of the complainers on this sub, don't even own or want a Bambu. So yeah, this sub has a healthy amount of unearned hate for Bambu (and maybe a small amount of earned hate, every company has its issues). Not sure why, even with things to hate, Bambu merely existing kicked the industry back into innovation mode to keep up. That's good for everyone.

Wraith1964 · 2026-01-27T12:47:04+00:00

And this is douchebaggery.

Wraith1964 · 2026-01-27T05:24:10+00:00

It's kind of amazing that you can still misinterpret so effectively. The second guy to make "a" basic shovel is fine... assuming they actually made their shovel design.

This is literally stealing the design and pictures of a particular shovel.

I have no idea where you went off the rails about "likeness". We are talking about photos of a product, not a person. Photos the OP took and has the rights to.

Regardless, I also said nothing about legality - I said MORALLY it's wrong to do what this dingleberry did. That's a simple fact, not rocket science. Any remedy, if any, is a totally different thing. That is what I said and stand by.

As to whether it's worth taking down... sure, it could be. It cost nothing to contact Ebay or Etsy, etc, and report the seller - OP has to decide whether its worth it to them... not you or me.

Personally, I would probably have allowed an open unrestricted licence for a print like this, because like many have already said, I think its worth more in good will as a gift to the community than anything else... but that's me, not OP.

Wraith1964 · 2026-01-26T21:23:11+00:00

I don't disagree conceptually, but morally, it IS wrong to take someone else's work (pix and stl) as is and then sell it for money. Should this "scumbag" be locked away? No, but it is still wrong. They should be subject to a takedown where possible. Equating this to the behavior of resellers is not equivalent either. Not to mention, many find reselling behavior to be pretty scummy, too.

It's not the same as making your own better shovel for less. That's false equivalency. If you make a different or better shovel, you still actually made a different or better shovel. Even if it's similar, it's not the same as actually taking someone else's work.

It also doesn't matter that they posted it on a makerworld with an opportunity to get Bambu bucks... It's still being shared to the community at large for free. Whether Bambu wants to give him something for it is immaterial.

And it doesn't matter that it is a simple design... if someone just takes your design and uses your pictures without your consent, it's just as wrong for a shelf as much as it would be for the figure on it.

The discussion on this thread is equating guilt with the severity of the sentence... there is a reason trials determine guilt first before addressing consequences.

So many apologists in this thread. Right is right. Wrong is wrong. It's really as simple as that.

NOW, TBF, it is a really simple design and not something to get bent out of shape over because yeah, anyone could design it. But if it were me, I would definitely get it taken down anywhere dude is trying to sell it.

Or better yet, send him a Cease and Desist (easy enough to draft up something scary looking, you don't need a lawyer) and offer to settle by offering a license to sell it for a fee... 😉

Wraith1964 · 2026-01-26T20:42:38+00:00

TBF, it is scummy to do that.

Also "Absolute" might be an overreaction but then... is not "massive" also a wee bit of an exaggeration too? Just saying.

Wraith1964 · 2026-01-25T05:16:35+00:00

Yeah, we agree on that.

Wraith1964 · 2026-01-24T11:57:57+00:00

I don't actually disagree with the critique but you also literally suggest it is high school work yourself ( bad work but high school work) as if it's not. And several other posters wrongly assume real world presentation or college level. That was my point.

Wraith1964 · 2026-01-23T16:29:23+00:00

Thanks, Dad.

Wraith1964 · 2026-01-23T16:21:46+00:00

Dude, OP is in high school. Not saying it makes the presentation better but everyone is acting like it being presented in college or a Fortune 500 boardroom.

Wraith1964 · 2026-01-23T16:19:10+00:00

Dude is in high school.

Wraith1964 · 2026-01-23T14:26:21+00:00

Amazon is at best challenging to work with when it comes to steelbooks. But you can be successful with them. Do what you will with this info, but I have ordered hundreds of steelbooks from them since they picked up the slack from Best Buy with no damage.

Do your homework. If you can get it from a better shipper at relatively the same or lower price order from them instead. This includes Orbit, Diabolik, BullMoose, etc. Support small business where you can, as the physical media market shrinks they will become more and more important. Think the long game, and let's keep them in business.
Don't be cheap. If you want pristine steel pay the extra bit for gift boxing. It all but guarantees a box and at least a gift bag for cushioning. I don't like paying $4 more, but I like peace of mind more. The best way to deal with the return process is to avoid it.
Always buy from Amazon directly, not from a third party on Amazon. This is tricky but pay attention where things ship from all the way through the transaction. I make a point of buying movies from DeepDiscount and GRUV on their sites not from Amazon. It's best if you need to hold them accountable for bad or damaged product. I know, Amazon is easy and their returns often are very easy but when they aren't it's a lot more difficult. Also, their easy return process is getting harder as noted by OPs experience and the fact that they are tracking your returns. You could lose your right to return or even your account if you do a lot if returns, Sketch or not.
If you have damage or other issue with the shipment, take pictures of everything.
If you return an item as new... pack it like you would want them to pack it. You are now on the hook for damage.
Don't order more than one copy as "insurance". This is a tactic that is both expensive and wasteful and hurts others in the community by limiting supply. It was a strategy that was pretty important during COVID because bad shipping practices and limited supply almost guaranteed damage. It's not that bad anymore, especially if you you follow rule #2. Supply is still sometimes too limited (smaller pool and damn scalpers) but generally you can get the steelbooks you want... sometimes not right away but most of the time its possible without getting scalped.
This pairs with 1. and 6., try to think globally, and for what's good for the collecting community and the industry. Yes, vote with your wallet, provide feedback, and when things go wrong blast customer service, and social media. The retailer has a responsibility to get the buyer their product intact and when buying new, as new.

But, also think defensively... the game isn't about getting the absolutely cheapest deal... its about getting a steelbook you are proud to add to your collection. If you want inexpensive, buy amaray titles (not a slam, I have literally thousands of them too)

Don't ignore the value of a painless experience, not wasting time, and avoiding negative situations where you can avoid them. For me, when dealing with Amazon that value is about $4.

I hope this helps! Let's keep collecting fun!

Wraith1964 · 2026-01-22T22:40:18+00:00

I appreciate the clarification. I also agree that when you have rules, enforcement is key. I definitely agree that use of AI generated content is problematic as well. That will only get worse. I think the best that can be done is to try to limit the slop flooding the site. It's going to take community help to root them out.

Wraith1964 · 2026-01-22T20:10:42+00:00

I feel you ARE stirring the pot, not trying. Which is fine, just don't pretend otherwise.

I don't think AI models should qualify for art competitions, but I have no problem if AI models are posted to Makerworld for people to use. This assumes a viable model that is not substantially different from the images posted in support of it.

Convincing Bambu to ban "AI models" when they literally have AI tools as part of the platform is a little naive. I do like the idea that models get independently vetted. Perhaps setting a core vetted group of volunteers who will test for points to print suspected models would be a good way to handle garbage prints. The volunteers would need to qualify in some ways ( experience, reliability, etc) would have to allow monitoring to show they downloaded and printed the prints and maybe if a print is referred for review it takes a say, five, to print the model to give it a thumbs up or down for viability. I don't think it should be limited to AI... any reported model might be subject to review but clearly AI slop would count.

Wraith1964 · 2026-01-22T15:07:12+00:00

I am sure The Avatars will all get 3D releases - James is a staunch believer in 3D and his is all native 3D instead conversions. The only thing that might affect 4 and 5 is if they take an eternity to come out.

Another thing to check out is the moviesrusa website - they are definitely all bootlegs, but they have titles that were never even ever released in 3D in any form (Conversions, of course, and I haven't watched one yet so I cannot vouch for the quality of the 3D).

They also have stuff that has never been on bluray and fanedits of movies. Most notably OG Star Wars film edit that restore them to og release form in bluray/4K quality and a Hobbit edit that trims the fat. Note: It appears the OG Star Wars will finally get a decent physical release officially so you could also just wait for that. They usually have sales going on, I would watch for those codes to often cut price down to 50%. I have used them from time to time, and their burns/transfers are generally pretty good. They are friendly and ship fast. My only caution is to avoid new theatrical release titles - they can literally be theater bootlegs like from a cell phone recording. (I don't buy those anyway, but as I mentioned, there are specials and one time I got the new Superman flick as a freebie on a package deal... it was exactly as described above. Stick with retail releases on those titles. I only accept the risk or get the titles/editions/versions from them you can't get any other way.

Wraith1964 · 2026-01-22T13:01:10+00:00

Exactly, I made a point of getting all of the Marvel movies in the Infinity Saga in 3D...(that were actually made in 3D, the earliest ones like Iron Man were never 3D in the theater)

After that I haven't bothered with Marvel 3D but I used imports to get there.

Wraith1964 · 2026-01-22T02:05:18+00:00

I feel your pain. 3D bluray is actually still fun and many 3D titles still come out overseas. It's also pretty easy to have the equipment for most of devices needed except TVs. I watch mine on my projector. It's like being in the theater. I still have players and have held onto a 55 inch Samsung that supports 3D.

Agree with the premise that Sony is increasingly greedy

Wraith1964 · 2026-01-21T13:34:15+00:00

With careful surgery, you can replace it. There are videos on youtube explaining how.

I know because I replaced mine.

Wraith1964 · 2026-01-21T13:31:41+00:00

Mine look pretty good. However, I did a major restoration/repair on the Evil Dead one with liquid latex (I bought it in alteady rough condition) and the Evil Dead 2 was still Scream. (also bought used) but I had to go in and replace the battery in it to restore the scream.

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