There’s a conversation happening in 3D printing right now, spurred by the leaders of some of today’s most notable manufacturers, about the state of the 3D printing industry and open source within it. It’s coming at an interesting time, too, because it seems we’re in the middle of a shift we’ve seen before: a race to the bottom.
If you’ve been anywhere near the 3D printing community, that term is probably familiar to you. As desktop 3D printer production expanded and economies of scale kicked in, the price of 3D printers – often built with open-source designs and software – plummeted. A change started in large part by the advent of Creality’s Ender 3, a printer that ultimately led the company to its gargantuan market lead today and a deluge of near-identical and cheap machines.
Some big players in the industry are, understandably, peeved by the unapologetic — and often uncredited — use of open-source work. An open letter by Josef Průša, founder and CEO of Prusa Research, went live on the company’s blog alongside the announcement of the Original Prusa MK4 – the newest model in the company’s widely cloned i3 lineup – detailing the company’s commitment to the principles of open-source development and waxing lyrical about the state of open source in 3D printing today.
Today, we have impressive, diverse open-source designs from collective efforts such as Voron Design, which are largely popularizing the CoreXY kinematic system. Open-source firmware is fresh in mind, too, with Klipper gaining significant public interest last year and the cross-pollination of features improving Marlin, the most widely used (fairly and unfairly) firmware. Meanwhile, we have companies known for their commitment to open-source development closing their books and defensively patenting designs, with E3D – manufacturer of many popular hot end, nozzle, and extruder designs that also saw a proliferation of imitators – being the notable example.
A short while after Průša’s open letter, recent breakaway success Bambu Lab, manufacturer of several very well-received CoreXY 3D printers – most notably the X1 – responded with a contrary take on the matter, welcoming competition in light of Creality’s latest 3D printer, a CoreXY system that appears very similar to Bambu Lab’s X1 machines: the K1.
“Let the arms race begin,” says Bambu Lab, adding that “nothing drives industry development better than an arms race between manufacturers.”
Calling its new machine the K1 seems rather on the nose, if you ask us, and Bambu Lab itself seems to think so, suggesting that “in the next few months, the number of X1 clones may be as numerous as the i3.”
That may very well be true. Already, the K1 isn’t the only machine that bears a resemblance to the X1: Qidi Tech’s new third-generation 3D printers evoke much the same feeling, for all their individualities. Sources tell All3DP this isn’t the last of CoreXY 3D printers responding to Bambu Lab’s success that we’ll see this year.
The deja vu here is eerie. It seems pretty clear that we are indeed in a renewed race to the bottom with CoreXY kinematic systems at the center.
It’s also clear that Bambu Lab has benefitted heavily from the state of 3D printing today and from the contributions of open-source communities, as Průša points out that some (if not all) organizations do. That makes it rather startling that the upstart company has said in no uncertain terms that it will defend its patents, some early filings of which members of the community have already noted look worryingly broad.
In a world where tensions between early 3D printing patent holders and new consumer-focused manufacturers have largely cooled, that’s one troubling repetition. But don’t worry, Bambu Lab says it won’t use its filings to patent troll. And what harm has trusting for-profit entities with their word ever done?
Towards its conclusion, Průša’s open letter proposed some changes to the commonly used GNU GPL license aimed at protecting open-source development and contributors, including an outright ban on near-1:1 reproduction of open-source designs for commercial purposes. A change that could certainly stifle price drops and something that Bambu Lab – a company that appears to both benefit and is poised to suffer from current market conditions – appears to oppose.
It’s almost certainly true that you simply can’t operate in the 3D printing market today without very directly benefitting from open-source work. It stands within reason that should be protected, and the (now much larger) community’s resolve to do just that will likely be tested during this renewed bout of competition.
What are your thoughts on the state of open source in 3D printing today? On new, highly popularized products appearing as closed-source designs, and their manufacturer’s efforts – or lack thereof – to acknowledge the open-source work they’re built on? Let us know in the comments below.
License: The text of "The New Race to the Bottom: Will the CoreXY Arms Race Pose a Problem to Open Source?" by All3DP is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.