3DPrinting

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3DPrinting is a place where makers of all skill levels and walks of life can learn about and discuss 3D printing and development of 3D printed parts and devices.

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The Enshittification of 3D Printers – Are We Losing What Made Them Great? (discuss.tchncs.de)

submitted 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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I’ve been noticing an unsettling trend in the 3D printing world: more and more printer manufacturers are locking down their devices with proprietary firmware, cloud-based software, and other anti-consumer restrictions. Despite this, they still receive glowing reviews, even from tech-savvy communities.

Back in the day, 3D printing was all about open-source hardware, modding, and user control. Now, it feels like we’re heading towards the same path as smartphones and other consumer tech—walled gardens, forced online accounts, and limited third-party compatibility. Some companies even prevent users from using alternative slicers or modifying firmware without jumping through hoops.

My question is: Has 3D printing gone too mainstream? Are newer users simply unaware (or uninterested) in the dangers of locked-down ecosystems? Have we lost the awareness of FOSS (Free and Open-Source Software) and user freedom that once defined this space?

I’d love to hear thoughts from the community. Do you think this is just a phase, or are we stuck on this trajectory? What can we do to push back against enshitification before it’s too late?

(Transparency Note: I wrote this text myself, but since English is not my first language, I used LLM to refine some formulations. The core content and ideas are entirely my own.)

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

Anycubic for example does similar things. The Kobra 3 & Kobra S1 support Network printing(via Cloud) only through there "Anycubic Slicer Next" which is a Orca Slicer Fork only available for MacOS and Windows(Windows seems to be the only up-to-date Version, Mac is broken as far as i know).

Firmware is, as far as i know the so called KobraOS, a Klipper-go fork without a Webfrontend or any way to connect to it through Orca, Cura, Prusa or else.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 week ago

Haven't heard much about that yet, indeed also sounds bad. But it's anycubic so who cares :p.

But yeah, it's indeed not the best trend. But it also up to open source to actually compete with this, and not just chase shiny features, but also usability...