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Ccecil

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I actually have a 8085 Primer Trainer that I built/used in the 90s for school. [1] Programmed with pushbuttons and 7 segment LEDs. No backup memory so if you shut it off it lost it's program and you had to start over.

Not a programmer by trade, I prefer hardware...had no idea until recently how valuable the training was. We learned BASIC and 8085 machine code as well as building logic circuits from discrete parts. Then I used basically no code myself for 15 years until I learned Arduino. Knowing the basics certainly helped me know what was going on. From there it was just syntax for languages.

[1] https://flic.kr/p/2mkG7gC

I am curious which 3d printer manufacturers/developers are poised to take advantage of this.

What machines already have locked down (or partially locked down) slicers and communications to the boards? Have those companies made a statement?

Is there any opensource firmware which can comply?

This is a massive hit on the opensource community. As a vendor/dev of an opensource CNC control board (Smoothieboard) I will be forced to limit sales to any state with these laws (our board can easily be used to bypass these protections).

Having watched over the last 13 years how our boards have led to many other machines and innovations outside of the 3d printing community over the years (OpenPNP, Wazer, Opentrons, etc) I can only see this as stifling to development in every direction.

I wonder how companies like Machmotion and other retrofit CNC controls are viewing this as well. Since this also applies to all CNC.

I don't live in any of the states proposing these types of laws...but when it does come here I doubt it will be stopped. The simple act of making your own machine for art/design will make you a criminal.

"The more rules and regulations...the more thieves and robbers."

A year or so ago I was setting up my small router table/mill and I mounted a Sharpie holder to it and made some line art. Quite slow due to the leadscrew pitch of the mill but it worked well [1].

Like the OP I used svg2gcode and others. The original pen holder I printed worked but I ended up modifying the design and adding a bronze bushing to hold alignment better and a mount for a microswitch so that the pen holder also functioned as a probe to set the Z position. [2]

In order to be able to change pens I made a little "half crosshair arrow" that I would run the gcode for on each pen change and verify the overlap was the same since it is difficult to align the pens exactly on change.

All of this was done using V2 Smoothieware as the firmware.

[1] https://youtu.be/nJI-yXbHHJA?si=F9bXftj7UEXyuRxa https://youtu.be/ZSP37Kgp7Tc?si=Mn_IKjU9t9zmaOml

[2] https://youtu.be/f89cgUS89bU?si=T45TQMXLwW4MyoI0

In my state (Idaho) they can (and do) pay less than minimum wage if you are a tipped employee. [1]

"Most" who are in those positions tend to make at least minimum wage, if not more, but that is not a guarantee, and it is harder to claim tips as "stable income" when trying to get credit/housing.

Median wage/rent is hard to apply. Totally different results if you look at what the typical renter makes (at least in my area). Minimum wage is one thing...but when it takes 3-4x minimum wage to stay at 0 every month things get difficult.

[1] https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/state/minimum-wage/tipped

Real estate, Crypto and AI make up the 3 legged stool of US investment (from my perspective).

In my area which is over 1/3 retired people this is where the majority of their investments seem to lie. Those who are simply relying on 401k or other investments are also at risk due to the lack of diversification. Since their investments are tied to those 3 things.

If any of the legs of the stool go out...the whole thing goes down.

Thermal runaway protection does not help in certain failure modes.

Failed FET for instance. They tend to fail "on". Unless you have a highside FET shutting off the power (and that may fail too).

On my printer I have software watchdogs but I also have an entire "dumb" (no MCU) circuit that will shut off a large relay that goes to my heaters if any of it's failsafes are triggered. I have a smoke detector, secondary thermistors, etc.

There are a bit more things in the way of thermal fuses and heaters that are less likely to runaway on the newer commercial printers but I still think people need to take the risk more serious.

I have been building printers and printing since 2011 and I still prefer to not have my printer in my house where the family sleeps, even with the failsafes. It lives out in the shop with plenty of room around/above it in case of a fire.

I would never compare an inexpensive 3d printer to a household device which is designed to last decades.

It is closer to a toaster or an oven than a water heater or HVAC.

Also...my last lease specifically said that I was not allowed to use the washer/dryer or oven when I was not home. So it is not a stretch to believe that the property owners will use those types of agreements to go against you when the insurance company denies your claim (this does and has happened with 3d printer fires).

All that being said...I have run 135hr prints unattended on my printers (not bambu). The risk may be low but it is not zero and it certainly higher than a water heater or HVAC.

I work with the Smoothieware project. The V1 Smoothieboard was one of the first (the first I am aware of) with an ethernet connection.

It was always stated by our devs that it should never be connected to anything but a local network. Why? Because you are supposed to be there running the printer...it is a fire hazard otherwise. People do run unattended, myself included, but it should not be advised or hyped as a "good idea".

The possibility of a hack was always there too. What could a malicious actor do with access to your machine?

The advice was not only ignored...but used as an advertising point to show how innovative they are.

Amazing how fast everyone forgot the time Bambu forced a firmware update which caused a large number of printers to begin printing uncommanded which in some cases caused damage due to completed prints still sitting on the bed. [1]

V2 Smoothieware has the ability to auto update firmware via network...but it is a command that requires the user to send.

At any rate...this matters to me little anymore. My printer is a decade old and going strong still. I have no desire to "purchase" any printer. I would just build another if needed.

The biggest lie sold by the marketers is that working on your printer is "lost time". Personally...I am glad I had the 2011 RepRap struggles. I would never give up my opensource hardware for a "cheaper" machine.

[1] I searched for old webpages on this...can't seem to find them anymore using google. It was a very well known issue in the 3d printing community at the time though.

Second that, Not only respect other businesses but when I am working for one I am aware that every penny they pay me is a negative for their company. So I make sure my work is done as quickly as possible and I don't "milk the clock".

In my experience the worst clients you can spot right away. They are the ones who are trying to get a discount. The work is always too much and it is never good enough. I filter clients by letting them know costs in advance. If they complain or suggest that it is cheaper down the road I politely suggest they find someone else. Otherwise...you end up doing 2x the work for half the price.

Also, if someone advises you should "Do the work at a discount and then it will be good advertising for your company". I suggest either walking away immediately or asking exactly what type of "advertising" they are actually going to be doing. From my experience these people give the worst reviews.

I am not the poster...but I can say for things like the A4982 stepper drivers it would take me about 1-2min/chip to do it by hand with hot air with a preheater. [1]

In one particular case where we had a BOM mixup on a batch of 500 boards @5 chips per board this would have saved me a ton of time. I did 2500 chip swaps by hand...

If you need any help with the project let me know. This is something I would love to help develop hardware for.

[1] https://youtu.be/rZCczA-PX5w?si=_BPojbLMsTLjsDCw

Not only is it likely very easy/possible to track everyone with a phone but it has now got to the point where "movement without a cellphone present" is a red flag.

"Hey...why is this guy suddenly deviating from his normal routine? License plate readers show him 100 miles out of his normal area. Why did he leave his phone at home?"

Just like social media. Not participating is considered suspicious.

Anyone with Govt. level access (or billionaire level access) can very easily put all this data together.

FreeCAD v1.1 4 months ago

Learning to design parts was a huge "unlock" for me.

Wasn't just printing other people's designs.

Great feeling to measure and design something then have it fit perfectly.

Big flag error I can see right away is joint custody where a parent lives out of the zone.

Every time the parent who doesn't live in the exact neighborhood drops the child off the car is flagged.

Then what happens when they look into this? Does the child automatically go to the school zoned for the parent with a "better" school or a "cheaper" school? Who makes the decision?

What about paid caregivers or family members?

This is a huge waste of time/money for everyone except for the company who sold the school on the "need" for it. There are way better ways of combating fraud which don't introduce mass surveillance.

I think one of the key sentences is this one :

"He has the best possible relations both with the theoretical people of whom he is one, and with the experimental people with whom he works in very close harmony."

His strength that is being highlighted is that he functions well as a middle man between the experimenters and the theoretical. There is something to be said for that. Just like being able to be the person who can go between the software and hardware people and properly communicate with both. Things get stalled quite often by lack of communication between the disciplines.

Sometimes you don't have to be the best in either field...but being able to understand enough of each side to be able to "put people in contact" with each other when they are working on similar things (and/or be the mediator when blames are being cast) can be overlooked and unappreciated.

Often, it is good to be the person who points to the paper and says "What is that?". It gets both sides thinking.

Drawback claims (assuming this is the correct thing to use) are quite difficult to do. Requires a customs broker. You used to be able to file them manually as a normal person but they ended that when the first 25% tariffs on China went into play. You need to be a customs broker to get access to the software you need to file the claim...

I spent a bit of time attempting to find a broker [1] to handle this for our project (since we had a large amount of eligible refunds due to importing then sending out of country after QA) but in the long run gave up...which is what they hope for.

Keeping an eye on all this to see how it plays out.

[1] Not only did I look for a broker but I debated becoming one myself due to this.

Kinda funny how things have progressed...

I work with the Smoothieware project. The V1 Smoothieboard was one of the first with ethernet onboard (although kinda borked). First thing that was advised to everyone was "never connect this to anything outside your local network"

Nowadays...it seems that warning has been lost. Even in the face of firmware updates that caused physical damage.

Something to be said for building your own printer.

In my case PETG had issues until I realized that on my machine it needs to go slower.

I can print PLA at 100mm/s with .25mm layers...but PETG I don't go much over 65mm/s give the same line width/layer height.

Since getting things dialed in I switched to primarily printing PETG. Although, I have no issue printing PLA, PETG or ABS when needed.