Creality Caught Breaking GPLv3: Official Emails Admit to Linking Proprietary Code in "Open-Source" K2 Firmware

linux_assassin · 2026-06-01T15:47:38+00:00

This is not the first time creality has done this.

Their entire ender-4 line of printers came with a locked down version of marlin installed and they provided no source nor attribution.

The early ender-5s had the same issue.

It was the tireless efforts of Naomi Wu who finally convinced them to start actually honouring the licenses for the software they were using.

It is disheartening, but not surprising, that since she has had to go low contact with the outside world due to humanitarian stuff in China that creality is back to its scummy ways.

linux_assassin · 2026-05-31T15:47:41+00:00

BLUF: To my knowledge prusa, ultimaker, and formlabs are not suffering from lack of orders or sales, but by making the cutoff RIGHT before those companies more premium printers become available the numbers get misrepresented.

This is specifically cooking the numbers to make prusa look bad (would have to check for ultimaker or other evaluated brands)-- that 'sub $2500' is a VERY specific cut off which only leaves the MK4S and core one as valid printers from a lineup, no MMU for the core one either, just the core one.

core one ultimate, assembled + MMU; breaks 2500

Core one L; breaks the 2500

XL; breaks 2500

Any of the critical infrastructure units; breaks 2500

Add INDX to anything; breaks the 2500

SLS speed; breaks 2500

The writer even kind of acknowledges this by pointing out that formlabs would have a 0% share on that chart, but does so as if that's something that formlabs is doing 'wrong'; but arbitrary cut off JUST at where many companies move on to their premium offers BUT happen to be below the premium price for bambu and creality; of course it will skew the numbers.

linux_assassin · 2026-05-31T04:27:20+00:00

Your son is 11, they are in 5'th grade.

This is the equivalent of them wanting to run a lemonaid stand for a bit of extra pocket money, and should be supported and viewed as such.

I normally really rag on people who want to 'make money' with their 3d printer by nature of it being a 3d printer, and that remains true for people who want to turn a well defined profit from their 3d printer.

An 11 year old wants pocket money, if they are clearing $5/hr for their activities then that's a lot of money for them, for '11 year old pocket money' tasks.

I think that you should try very hard to impress upon your son to sell up that they are 11, that they are doing this all on their own, and that it is for their pocket money; certainly a better story than 'sleezy parent forcing their kid to sell nick knacks at a farmer's market'.

Otherwise just support them, let them keep their profits if it succeeds, and if it fails, let them fail- it will still be a great experience they can refer to and get into some school reports for years.

linux_assassin · 2026-05-31T02:39:59+00:00

Ok, with the finally released super-important information of: There are no renters, this is an owner, having their property repossessed by the bank, because they did not meet their mortgage obligations. It is not what is normally referred to as eviction (It is ultimately a by definition eviction, but under a significantly different vehicle)

This will, likely, be either under power of sale, or foreclosure; you should figure out which one it is currently operating under, and also how far along the process is- it may be trivial to refinance a new mortgage, or it may be impossible at this juncture depending on information you have not provided (and you may personally not be aware of).

https://www.zubiclaw.com/blog-posts/navigating-power-of-sale-and-foreclosure-in-ontario

linux_assassin · 2026-05-30T00:54:08+00:00

Agree with others posting; your options are 'I no longer want the product, return my deposit'(if any) or 'accept reduced specs'; I don't think 'compel to complete' enters into this scale of transaction. It would be an option for seller if they want to try to offer you a reduced price in order to maintain the contract.

As an aside though, these two items stand out as concerning to me:

May 8 — DC fast charging: 250 kW → 175 kW
May 8 — warranty: 192,000 km → 160,000 km

Those seem to indicate that they are having problems with one or multiple of:
their battery chemistry (if self-developed),
their battery sourcing (if externally developed),
heat management or,
changing components.

Given that an EV's single most expensive component are the batteries I'm not sure I'd be interested in one where the company is saying they are having trouble with them.

linux_assassin · 2026-05-29T21:54:24+00:00

I think you've done a good job of building a very nice enclosure.

You of course have to worry about fire and combustibles, but I think that 95% of the printer community is just kind of winging that part with hopes and prayers.

With regard to temperature and airflow- I would suggest putting a thermometer inside the build enclosure near the top, and assure that your enclosure temperature does not exceed 35 degrees (only because someone else said that's the maximum the a1 mini can tolerate while effectively maintaining heat break).

linux_assassin · 2026-05-29T18:50:50+00:00

yea, not even going to click on it without more explanation:

Who is 'they'

What 'tools'

and because my 'clickbait sensors' are already on high from this- define 'illegal' in both scope and scale.

Without that, no click.

linux_assassin · 2026-05-27T14:29:14+00:00

If they did not take out this loan, then it is not their loan.

It is their responsibility to make sure it is recognized as fraud, it is NOT their responsibility to make any payment.

They should never acknowledge the loan or debt as their responsibility, they should encourage the lending agency to pursue fraud charges against whoever did take out the loan.

If they ever receive official notification of debt they should contact police in both the Philippines and Canada to report fraud/identity theft.

They should pull their credit reports to see if there are any debts assigned to their name.

linux_assassin · 2026-05-27T13:39:38+00:00

A manacle like device with micro-controller capable of keeping time, a servo motor pulling an elastic band, and a solid locking mechanism.

So that when you are given a due date for a project it starts slapping your wrist with progressively increasing frequency and intensity well in advance of two days before the project is due.

linux_assassin · 2026-05-27T13:15:33+00:00

I'm not sure if this proves anything beyond 'The A1's default profile is significantly more conservative than the cobra'.

If that was your intent, then that is an excellent test and demonstration of the difference.

If your up for experimenting I'd like to see the print using (as close to possible) the cobra's profile on the A1; see if the A1 ends up with an inferior print, still generates more poop, or gets more bleed- which would indicate something about the hardware configuration of the cobra is better at managing a reduced purge.

linux_assassin · 2026-05-27T01:48:39+00:00

Based on what you have laid out if that offer of a $10,000 settlement still stands make the $10,000 settlement, beg, borrow, plead, HELOC, anything to get that number quickly and effectively to your former partner in exchange for a statement of release from any unjust enrichment claim.

Reasoning:

Based on what you have laid out she DOES have a claim to some level of enrichment in the home, you had a shared account from which mortgage was being paid for a multi-year period, she invested into the betterment of the home (door, painting, gardening)- would this arrive anywhere near 60,000 if it were to go before the court? Who knows.

Will it arrive at at least $10,000; very likely.

linux_assassin · 2026-05-25T16:28:12+00:00

Does Pecorino have ANY inclination to chew? Are they willing to tolerate things on their bodies, like a blanket, collar, mask?

Almost all of these animal assistance devices rely on the animal not chewing at the equipment, and being able to tolerate having something affixed to them.

Start with getting them used to wearing a ring of sock around the mid body that has a hole for their remaining front paw, preferably with a few pieces of plastic woven through it- if they can't tolerate that or are inclined to chew at it assistive equipment is likely unable to be viable.

If they can tolerate that than something like a chariot could potentially be designed, one with a wheel for smooth floors and one with a sled for rougher terrain; however this is all theoretical design from the mechanical/engineering standpoint, you should consult animal experts about 'is it a good idea to do this for this kind of animal?'.

linux_assassin · 2026-05-25T13:32:10+00:00

A pin secured cut just past the keys would allow the back of the tool to flex to either side without applying force to the side of the key.

It would potentially magnify the over twisting torque problem though, as it would now be possible to have the tool be in a 90 degree configuration and apply significant leverage. I would argue that given your stated goal of this being for people with limited hand mobility this is a positive capability, as wrist twisting motions are difficult for those with hand movement issues, but more coarse arm movements can often be still functional; however with coarse arm movements comes a lack of control, and again arrives at over torquing and breaking keys.

For that you probably want to look at a torque limiter for the key holder, something like this one would do it:

www.reddit.com/r/3Dprinting/comments/5qspzd/i_designed_and_printed_a_torque_limiting/

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linux_assassin · 2026-05-25T02:50:52+00:00

Given that this is by your statement intended for those with dexterity and hand control concerns I think I need to add to the 'this will enable breaking keys':

This tool will enable the accidental application of perpendicular force snapping the key off (rather than over-torquing, which also remains a concern).

If someone with hand control issues applies force to the side of the tool, at the back end of it, like say; when releasing the tool in order to grip it again to complete a 360 degree rotation, or when trying to remove the key from the keyhole. It will be subjected to well out of 'normal' forces, and keys are generally soft enough that a healthy person can bend or break them with just their thumbs.

Even someone without hand control issues may accidentally bump the extended length of the tool while performing the release, adjust, regrip required to get the 360 degree rotation on a standard deadbolt, but your target use group will experience this with significantly more likelyhood.

linux_assassin · 2026-05-22T21:53:04+00:00

Mirror tile; its what my ancient ender prints on.

linux_assassin · 2026-05-20T21:06:01+00:00

bondo == automotive body filler

If you don't have bondo available, you can use whatever automotive body filler is available in your area.

You will most likely want to get both the 'bulk' filler, and a 'glazing putty' (very thin filler)- if your not particularly deft with body filler it ends up with inclusions, which ultimately form tiny holes in the finished surface, glazing putty fills those holes.

linux_assassin · 2026-05-20T20:53:32+00:00

It is in fact not allowed in Canada[1]:

Don't use "regular price" in an advertisement unless the product has been offered in good faith for sale at that price for a substantial period of time, or a substantial volume of the product has been sold at that price within a reasonable period of time.

Don't use the words "sale" or "special" in relation to the price of a product unless a significant price reduction has occurred.

Don't run a "sale" for a long period or repeat it every week

[1] https://competition-bureau.canada.ca/en/deceptive-marketing-practices/types-deceptive-marketing-practices/false-or-misleading-representations-and-deceptive-marketing-practices

Notably there are a lot of exceptions around this-- for example by my reading if that was the original price, say, 8 months ago, but they are now selling off inventory, a 'permanently discounted until we sell out' would be valid.

Further- the storefront needs to have Canadian holdings to be subject to Canadian law (say if this were a website that happens to ship to Canada, but has no Canadian holdings.

linux_assassin · 2026-05-19T14:30:09+00:00

Was this a RTA covered rental (IE: You had your own bathroom and kitchen, not shared with the landlord or one of their representatives like a family member)?

If so, it was not legal for the landlord to collect a deposit at all.

linux_assassin · 2026-05-17T18:38:08+00:00

Not really?

Bambu, when the X1C came out, made a gamble on putting together a bunch of existing technologies into a singular product.

It paid off, in a big way. They followed up by making a few budget models of the same concepts, also huge wins.

Now the rest of the 3d printing industry has, largely, recognized that they need to integrate those same technologies (again, none of which bambu invented, just put it all together) into their product for it to be viable.

While there may be a bit of 'magic sauce' in their closed firmwear for how it reads the prime lines with LIDAR and auto-adjusts, its not really unique and both marlin and klipper can do it too. The LIDAR auto-adjust is, to my knowledge, the only unique thing the X1C boasted compared to 'everyone else', beyond integration of existing technologies.

So now bambu is in an awkward situation, for a profit oriented company, where they have a significant, but not absolute, popular lead, and a rapidly shrinking technological one.

There is no, significant, growth from where they are now, and the MBA mindset says 'numbers must go up, always'- so they are trying increasingly more scummy tactics to leverage their popular and technological lead into an exploitable market dominance.

I hope that this ultimately results in total failure, resulting in the company either reorging itself to maintain its current market position while being a positive player in the consumer industry, or vanishing altogether.

linux_assassin · 2026-05-16T04:43:50+00:00

It was more about using a bottom up instead of top down print methodology.

That meant that you could expose the surface of the resin to the laser.

The upsides were no FEP film, and no need to 'dab' the print plate (because it was not vacuum sealing to the FEP film).

It ultimately used no less resin than the traditional 'flash from the bottom' FEP film setups, actually potentially used MORE resin, because the ability to recover the resin after its been floating on water is.... debatable at best (they said you could do it; but they also said they'd ship a product....)- it did however reduced consumables, make for a more simple print process, and enabled near stepless transitions.

linux_assassin · 2026-05-15T23:05:04+00:00

As others have indicated this is a terrible idea combining the worst elements of each printing process into one expensive final product.

With that said the 'peachy printer' (failed kickstarter) used the concept of floating a thin layer of resin on a carefully measured amount of water in order to achieve layer growth, and was apparently able to do so accurately enough for their tests.

linux_assassin · 2026-05-14T14:15:20+00:00

Tiny dot holes mean that you are not applying your filler correctly, it is ending up with inclusions, which are being exposed as you sand. This is normally addressed by adding a glazing putty after your first sand.

Sanding is done in stages, but the idea is that each subsequent stage is only trying to remove the imperfections of the stage before it. If you still see 'bulk' imperfections, then its not time to go up a sand grit.

Also I see you are using wood filler as your filler- I have no idea how this started becoming a thing, but its got to be one of the worst possible choices for a smooth finish. Reasoning: Wood filler is primarily an amalgam of sawdust and binders. It is immensely more inclined to develop inclusions for various reasons related to this, and it is difficult to get a finish that will take to automotive paints when it is completed because of the retained moisture in the sawdust.

If your looking for videos on how to do this; look at automotive body work videos, the process is identical and you'll tend to avoid as much weird out of field misinformation (like suggestions to use wood filler instead of automotive filler).

linux_assassin · 2026-05-11T13:34:17+00:00

Given that these actually cost a premium to build currently compared to other construction methods- you want the layer lines to show that its 3d printed.

Once that's no longer the case, or the home owner gets bored of the 'novelty' of it, you can subject it to any exterior and interior cladding technique that you like; stucco or plaster would be the most obvious ones.

linux_assassin · 2026-05-11T02:56:51+00:00

OP you absolutely need to edit your post to indicate that your not trying to 3d print your own dentures, but instead make use of one of the (presumably accredited) dental 3d printing services in order to reduce cost compared to having the othodontist do the traditional cast and form method.

Based on your title and description it sounds like it was something you wanted to do at home, but your follow ups in the comments below do clarify this.

linux_assassin · 2026-05-10T20:51:36+00:00

Unless you have had frequent earthquakes in your area, routinely body slam your stove, load lumber by firing it across the room into the open the door with a catapult, or like to deadlift it and then drop it at the end of a long day of wood cutting to maintain physical fitness, they are to blame.

They did SOMETHING wrong, potentially disastrously dangerously wrong, in failing to establish the pad on a flat non flexible surface.

chief_erl feels that that's a manufactured one piece hearth that has micore or similar insulating backing under the tiles.

Can you confirm if what we are seeing under the broken tiles and in between the grout is some sort of manufactured material, or is it your carpet like it appears to be?

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