3d Printer hacks

2714 Articles

Brick Layer Post-Processor, Promising Stronger 3D Prints, Now Available

January 23, 2025 by 45 Comments

Back in November we first brought you word of a slicing technique by which the final strength of 3D printed parts could be considerably improved by adjusting the first layer height of each wall so that subsequent layers would interlock like bricks. It was relatively easy to implement, didn’t require anything special on the printer to accomplish, and testing showed it was effective enough to pursue further. Unfortunately, there was some patent concerns, and it seemed like nobody wanted to be the first to step up and actually implement the feature.

Well, as of today, [Roman Tenger] has decided to answer the call. As explained in the announcement video below, the company that currently holds the US patent for this tech hasn’t filed a European counterpart, so he feels he’s in a fairly safe spot compared to other creators in the community. We salute his bravery, and wish him nothing but the best of luck should any lawyer come knocking.

So how does it work? Right now the script supports PrusaSlicer and OrcaSlicer, and the installation is the same in both cases — just download the Python file, and go into your slicer’s settings under “Post-Processing Scripts” and enter in its path. As of right now you’ll have to provide the target layer height as an option to the script, but we’re willing to bet that’s going to be one of the first things that gets improved as the community starts sending in pull requests for the GPL v3 licensed script.

There was a lot of interest in this technique when we covered it last, and we’re very excited to see an open source implementation break cover. Now that it’s out in the wild, we’d love to hear about it in the comments if you try it out.

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Bambu Lab Tries To Clarify Its New “Beta” Authentication Scheme

January 20, 2025 by 62 Comments

Perhaps one of the most fascinating aspects of any developing tech scandal is the way that the target company handles criticism and feedback from the community. After announcing a new authentication scheme for cloud & LAN-based operations a few days ago, Bambu Lab today posted an update that’s supposed to address said criticism and feedback. This follows the original announcement which had the 3D printer community up in arms, and quickly saw the new tool that’s supposed to provide safe and secure communications with Bambu Lab printers ripped apart to extract the security certificate and private key.

In the new blog post, the Bambu Lab spokesperson takes a few paragraphs to get to the points which the community are most concerned about, which is interoperability between tools like OrcaSlicer and Bambu Lab printers. The above graphic is what they envision it will look like, with purportedly OrcaSlicer getting a network plugin that should provide direct access, but so far the Bambu Connect app remains required. It’s also noted that this new firmware is ‘just Beta firmware’.

As the flaming wreck that’s Bambu Lab’s PR efforts keeps hurtling down the highway of public opinion, we’d be remiss to not point out that with the security certificate and private key being easily obtainable from the Bambu Connect Electron app, there is absolutely no point to any of what Bambu Lab is doing.

3D-Printed RC Car Focuses On Performance Fundamentals

January 20, 2025 by 8 Comments

There are a huge number of manufacturers building awesome radio-controlled cars these days. However, sometimes you just have to go your own way. That’s what [snamle] did with this awesome 3D-printed RC car—and the results are impressive.

This build didn’t just aim to build something that looked vaguely car-like and whizzed around on the ground. Instead, it was intended to give [snamle] the opporunity to explore the world of vehicle dynamics—learning about weight distribution, suspension geometry, and so many other factors—and how these all feed into the handling of a vehicle. The RC side of things is all pretty straightforward—transmitter, receiver, servos, motors, and a differential were all off-the-shelf. But the chassis design, the steering, and suspension are all bespoke—designed by [snamle] to create a car with good on-road handling and grip.

It’s a small scale testbed, to be sure. Regardless, there’s no better way to learn about how a vehicle works on a real, physical level—you can’t beat building one with your own two hands and figuring out how it works.

It’s true, we see a lot of 3D printed RC cars around these parts. Many are built with an eye to robotics experimentation or simply as a learning exercise. This one stands out for its focus on handling and performance, and of course that nicely-designed suspension system. Video after the break.

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Bone Filament, For Printing Practice Bones

January 19, 2025 by 9 Comments

Of course there is bone-simulation filament on the market. What’s fun about this Reddit thread is all of the semi-macabre concerns of surgeons who are worried about its properties matching the real thing to make practice rigs for difficult surgeries. We were initially creeped out by the idea, but now that we think about it, it’s entirely reassuring that surgeons have the best tools available for them to prepare, so why not 3D prints of the actual patient’s bones?

[PectusSurgeon] says that the important characteristics were that it doesn’t melt under the bone saw and is mechanically similar, but also that it looks right under x-ray, for fluorscopic surgery training. But at $100 per spool, you would be forgiven for looking around for substitutes. [ghostofwinter88] chimes in saying that their lab used a high-wood-content PLA, but couldn’t say much more, and then got into a discussion of how different bones feel under the saw, before concluding that they eventually chose resin.

Of course, Reddit being Reddit, the best part of the thread is the bad jokes. “Plastic surgery” and “my insurance wouldn’t cover gyroid infill” and so on. We won’t spoil it all for you, so enjoy.

When we first read “printing bones”, we didn’t know if they were discussing making replacement bones, or printing using actual bones in the mix. (Of course we’ve covered both before. This is Hackaday.)

Thanks [JohnU] for the tip!

Bambu Connect’s Authentication X.509 Certificate And Private Key Extracted

January 19, 2025 by 125 Comments

Hot on the heels of Bambu Lab’s announcement that it would be locking down all network access to its X1-series 3D printers with new firmware, the X.509 certificate and private key from the Bambu Connect application have now been extracted by [hWuxH]. This application was intended to be the sole way for third-party software to send print jobs to Bambu Lab hardware as we previously reported.

The Bambu Connect app is a fairly low-effort Electron-based affair, with some attempt at obfuscation and encryption, but not enough to keep prying eyes out. The de-obfuscated main.js file can be found here (archived), with the certificate and private key clearly visible. These are used to encrypt HTTP traffic with the printer, and is the sole thing standing in the way of tools like OrcaSlicer talking with authentication-enabled Bambu Lab printers.

As for what will be the next steps by Bambu Lab, it’s now clear that security through obfuscation is not going to be very effective here. While playing whack-a-mole with (paying) users who are only interested in using their hardware in the way that they want is certainly an option, this might be a wake-up call for the company that being more forthcoming with their userbase would be in anyone’s best interest.

We await Bambu Lab’s response with bated breath.

New Bambu Lab Firmware Update Adds Mandatory Authorization Control System

January 17, 2025 by 105 Comments

As per a recent Bambu Lab blog post, its FDM printers in the X1 series will soon receive a firmware update that adds mandatory authentication for certain operations, starting with the firmware update on January 23rd for the aforementioned FDM printers. These operations include performing firmware upgrades, initiating a print job (LAN or cloud), remote video access and adjusting parameters on the printer. Using the printer directly and starting prints from an SD card are not affected.

As reasoning for this new feature Bambu Lab points to recent exploits that gave strangers access to people’s printers, though cheekily linking to an article on an Anycubic printer exploit. While admittedly a concern, this mostly affects internet-exposed printers, such as those that are tied into a ‘cloud’ account. Even so, LAN-based printing also falls under this new mandatory authentication system, with Bambu Lab offering a new tool called Bambu Connect for those who insist on using non-Bambu Lab branded software like OrcaSlicer. This allows for exported G-code files to be sent to a (property authenticated) Bambu Lab printer.

For those who do not wish to use this feature, not upgrading the firmware is currently the only recourse. Although this firmware update is only for X1-series printers, Bambu Lab promised that it’ll arrive for their other printers too in due time. While Bambu Lab printer owners consider installing the alternative X1 Plus firmware, the peanut gallery can discuss the potential security issues (or lack thereof) of an open Fluidd or similar UI on their LAN-connected, Klipper-based FDM printers.

Thanks to [mip] for the tip.

Building A 3D-Printed Strandbeest

January 16, 2025 by 16 Comments

The Strandbeest is a walking machine, a creation of the celebrated artist Theo Jansen. They can look intimidating in their complexity, but it’s quite possible to build your own. In fact, if you’ve got a 3D-printer, it can be remarkably straightforward, as [Maker 101] demonstrates.

The build relies on an Arduino Uno as the brains. It’s equipped with an L293D motor driver shield to run two DC gear motors which drive the walking assemblies. Power is courtesy of a 3-cell lithium-polymer battery. The chassis, legs, and joints are all 3D-printed, and rather attractively in complimentary colors, we might add.

Controlling this little Strandbeest is simple. [Maker 101] gave the Arduino an infrared sensor which can pick up signals from a simple IR remote control. It can be driven backwards and forwards or turned left and right. What’s more, it looks particularly elegant as it walks—a hallmark of a good Strandbeest design.

Design files are available online for the curious. We love a good Strandbeest build, and some can even be useful, too! Video after the break.
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