Lawmakers are getting closer to banning 3D printers, holographic resin, MakerWorld getting sued by Labubu, and someone printed PEEK on an x1c. The clash between lawmakers and 3D printing is heating up here in the US.
Click here for the video version of this article.
Washington State’s HB 23 20 officially passed the legislature on March 11th and is headed to the Governor’s desk right now. This bill makes it a crime to distribute files for 3D printed guns and parts, and more important it creates a "rebuttable presumption" that if you possess the code AND a printer, you INTEND to use it illegally.
In Colorado, HB 1144 cleared the House last week and is now running through the Senate. This one also criminalizes 3D printing firearms and gun components. They removed the part that would make owning files for firearms illegal, but it’s still a criminal act to share or sell the files. Thankfully, this bill is not criminalizing prop guns printed for art, costumes, or theatrical use. Blasters are safe, not so much for the real thing.
But we need to keep an eye on New York which is pushing through a "Blocking Technology" mandate by way of Executive Budget process. This would require 3D printers to include a firearms blueprint “detection algorithm." Adafruit is sounding the alarm on this one because the bill doesn't exempt open-source firmware like Klipper or Marlin.
And our friends in California are introducing AB 2047. A bill that would require every 3D printer sold in California to be equipped with a California DOJ-certified "firearm blueprint detection algorithm."
The bill would ban the sale or transfer of any 3D printer not on their approved list by March 1, 2029, and would make it a misdemeanor to knowingly disable or circumvent the blocking software.
That software, as we know, does not yet exist, and would be tantamount to state mandated surveillance of your power tools.
I think we can all agree that trying to prevent gun violence is a noble cause, but we can’t let lawmakers throw the baby out with the bathwater. Any policy that criminalizes a 3D printer for everyone just because a few bad guys also have them, is going to be bad for the entire industry.
There’s a lot of chatter on the internet about this. If you want ONE location to track all these bills, go to dont-ban-3dprinters.com. The site is run by Yuto Horiuchi, the organizer of “JRRF”, the Japan rep rap festival. He has the site in English, Spanish, Chinese and Japanese so more people can be informed.
If all this politics is making you want to move to a little cabin in the woods, you aren’t alone. You might have seen the 3D printed FROD House going viral on X again this week. It’s actually 3 years old, but clearly, the internet needed some wholesome content right about now. It turns out, whether it’s 2023 or 2026, people still just want to see a frog living in a custom-printed mansion with an infinity pool. It’s a good reminder that despite all the red tape, we’re still just nerds making cool stuff for our backyard friends.
Next up, Bambu Vs Labubu
Bambu Lab’s MakerWorld website is taking some heat for IP infringement, which is really ironic because they also recently launched a program to help designers … combat the same kind of IP infringement.
The heart of the battle is 'Safe Harbor' protection. Usually, these laws shield a platform like MakerWorld from the actions of its users.
So, If someone uploads a Disney character, Disney typically goes after the uploader or sends a takedown notice to the site. The website stays in the clear because as a 'neutral party' they aren’t directly profiting from the infringement.
But Pop Mart—a massive Chinese toy company behind Labubu—isn't buying it. They’re arguing that Labubu is so famous that Bambu Lab had to know what was happening. They’re essentially claiming Bambu benefited by using all these trending models to drive traffic and sell more printers.We’re currently in a bit of a holding pattern. We hear that Bambu Lab is seeking a settlement to avoid a ruling that could shake up how file sharing sites run their business. If they don't reach a deal, the official court date in Shanghai is set for April 2nd, so we’ll be watching that one closely.
Was the X1Carbon retired?
Speaking of Bambu, you might have notice that their flagship X1 Carbon is no longer listed for sale on the official website. If you click the buy now button you are redirected to a list of resellers, like MicroCenter or Best Buy who also seem to be out stock. I asked my Bambu Lab rep about it and he insisted the machines are still out there.
Does this mean an X2 Carbon is on the horizon? I wouldn’t be surprised, since we have the upgraded p2s, which is a less expensive machine and the whole H2 line up, which is more. The X1C is considered ancient in printer years, so I think a refresh might be coming.
Vertical Hue Forge?
So, you’ve heard of Hue Forge, right? Well what if you could “paint” with filament…vertically? That’s what were seeing with a new fork of Snapmaker Orca called Full Spectrum. A couple people are starting to post their results, and it’s very promising.
Click here for a video from Wombley Wonders on it.
But there might be some trouble ahead. While Rat Doo (ratdoux) has coded a working verison into open source Snapmaker Orca for the U1, a Chinese patent from a company called Golden Feather just resurfaced. It turns out they actually filed for this exact 'Interlayer Grating' technique years ago. But just on paper, we don’t have working software.
it’ll be interesting to see if this affects how major slicers like Bambu Studio or PrusaSlicer decide to implement these 'Virtual Colors' in the future."