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Stratasys sues Bambu Lab over patents used widely by consumer 3D printers (arstechnica.com)

submitted 2 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

9 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Stratasys is claiming infringements on patents it owns (included ones acquired from Makerbot) on things like purge towers, heated beds, and force detection. Many of them things common to most FFF/FDM 3D printers.

Its an interesting coincidence that this lawsuit against one printer maker is happening on the same day as a new product announcement (the Prusa MK4s) from another major printer maker.

In two complaints, filed in the Eastern District of Texas, Marshall Division, against six entities related to Bambu Lab, Stratasys alleges that Bambu Lab infringed upon 10 patents that it owns, some through subsidiaries like Makerbot (acquired in 2013). Among the patents cited are US9421713B2, "Additive manufacturing method for printing three-dimensional parts with purge towers," and US9592660B2, "Heated build platform and system for three-dimensional printing methods."

There are not many, if any, 3D printers sold to consumers that do not have a heated bed, which prevents the first layers of a model from cooling during printing and potentially shrinking and warping the model. "Purge towers" (or "prime towers" in Bambu's parlance) allow for multicolor printing by providing a place for the filament remaining in a nozzle to be extracted and prevent bleed-over between colors.

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[–] [email protected] 47 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (3 children)

Someone seriously patented purge towers? Ffs, first hearing that 3D printers were shelved for decades because some douchy company camped on the main patent, and now shit like this? Patenting "printing a square tower to accommodate the waste created during filament swaps" is fucking ridiculous. I can't stand patents anymore. Corporate extortion through and through.

Fuck Stratasys.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Square tower. Time to make the purge tower a circle

[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Or on a Bambu, just do a longer "poop" purge and spit it out the side like they already do. A tower isn't even necessary. It's only needed on devices without a purge capability. I've printed plenty of multicolored prints without any tower whatsoever on mine. Literally should be suing anyone but Bambu for that one.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

I can't stand parents anymore

Anymore? They are literally government enforced monopolies. Monopolies are always great for that single company and the consumer pays the price.

Their intent to protect the lone inventor from evil corporations hasn't been relevant at least in our lifetimes - it's always just corp/troll holding the patent.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago

For awhile I still believed there was a use for creators themselves. It's basically the only way for an individual to sue a company for stealing their idea. But of course it gets captured by corporations and ruined. But until patents get some serious limits, yeah I'm out. They're more harm than good, I agree. I just felt the good they were doing still had some merit....

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Solution new purge tower is a 3d outline of "fuck stratisis"

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago

That would be a fun swap for the purge code lmao. Free "Fuck Stratasys" keychain with every print. Better than the squiggly "poop" blobs I get now....

[–] [email protected] 11 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Just a reminder that Stratasys owns Makerbot and Ultimaker, ergo they also own Thingiverse and Cura.

They're trying to claw back monopolistic power over 3D printing after their FDM patents expired, at the expense of hobbyists who just want to make stuff.

Hobbyists should consider carefully who they do business with. If you have any things hosted on Thingiverse, consider removing them and hosting them on a different service that isn't run by a patent troll.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 months ago

Of course it’s the eastern district of Texas. We really need more hurricanes there.