Chinese 3D printer manufacturer Bambu Lab has successfully managed to get a developer to remove code from the repository OrcaSlicer-bambulab under threat of legal action. The developer was accused of reverse engineering proprietary software to send commands to Bambu Lab 3D printers, bypassing authorization mechanisms, posing as a Bambu Studio product, and violating terms of use. The developer, however, argues that the accusations are baseless as he utilized components from the repository to ensure compatibility with Bambu Studio 3D printers distributed by Bambu Lab under the AGPLv3 license.
Despite trying to request a legal basis, a list of violated clauses of the terms of use, and information on specific violations in his repository, the developer received no concrete information from Bambu Lab representatives. They only continued to pressure him and emphasized the prohibition of reverse engineering. As a result, the developer of OrcaSlicer-bambulab chose to avoid a legal battle and voluntarily removed the repository contents.
The OrcaSlicer-bambulab project originated as a fork of the open-source OrcaSlicer, a tool for preparing 3D printing models by converting them into sequential two-dimensional layers for printing. OrcaSlicer, in turn, was initially forked from the Bambu Studio package, which stemmed from the free project Prusa Slicer. All the mentioned projects are licensed under AGPLv3.
OrcaSlicer-bambulab came into being after Bambu Lab 3D printers restricted the direct printing capability from OrcaSlicer through a firmware update released a year prior. Users were required to install a proprietary application, Bambu Connect, to print layer-by-layer following the firmware update. OrcaSlicer-bambulab aimed to restore the ability for OrcaSlicer to directly communicate with Bambu Lab 3D printers without the need for Bambu Connect.