It looks very much like the RC kits demoed at Formnext 2024. Itās interesting they donāt seem to have partnered with someone like Seeed Studio and used the Xiao MCU series, as that would still have been modular, but infinitely more flexible and upgradable. Hopefully they consider partnering with other established firms, i.e. Jumper (for the RC handsets and RF Link) rather than re-inventing the wheel and creating yet another ecosystem.
Another map that ignores the existance of New Zealand
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This is great! Yes, you can do this with Arduino and own components, but a big pain in doing these projects is having to figure everything out yourself and source all the components. With this āstandardizedā kit you can re-use it for other projects if you wish and they are easier to work with given all tools are there. Also there is no soldering required by the looks of it making the barrier to entry tiny. Well done! Iād love to think of a cool design for this kit but Iām lacking the specs of the components youāll get with the kit to make a good estimate for that (the image gives some hints but it tells me nothing about the numbers of items that come with it and what the specs are for these modules, some are quite vague as to what they are supposed to be doing).
I get the choice for Kickstarter, this is something that can be used as well outside of the Bambu community, with kits for people to assemble without a 3D printer and print-to-play kits that can also be used on other printers - It would be a disservice to the product adoption to just target the existing Bambu audience.
The Bambu Lab CyberBrick team reached out to me to explain their reasons for using Kickstarter.
I will summarise.
- They want a longer period to ālet that idea sink inā
- They believe the ecosystem is quite capable of something new
- They donāt want people to miss it and feel like āoh yet another MS kitā
- They are hoping to spread the word outside the 3D printing community
- Kickstarterās bigger audience is worth exploring
- They include rewards with fully printed part kits for those who may not have a printer.
- They are hoping the larger resulting audience will benefit the 3D printing community
- They say they are not running out of cash, which I said was a common reason for established companies using Kickstarter thus far into having a real business
I donāt know why they couldnāt have communicated this from the start. I keep saying it āBL doesnāt do communications wellā.
They were not annoyed with me unlike a lot of you here for sharing my thoughts. They were very jokey about it rather than rude.
I still donāt like the idea of using Kickstart for this purpose, but, I will agree the idea of bleeding outside our semi-walled 3D garden has benefits.
I donāt think the idea of these new kits will get lost in the MakerSupply (MS) section, but, getting non-printing users into this might cause a MS confusion.
I am glad they reached out, I just wished they shared these points from the start, I will say it again, @BambuLab please learn to communicate, life is better when you do.
I said this at the start of (the ill-conceived)* security-gate, launch the RC kits to get some much needed love back.
The biggest issue I have with the Kickstarter campaign is the timeframe, many of you know I am on borrowed time, delays to things I really think I will love are existential issues for me.
* If BL wants to reach out to try and explain this one, I am waiting.
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Most of what i have seen looks like its coming directly from a drone factory , which is now going to try and compete with the well established rc and none rc model industry , 3d printing may not be the best way to do this ,
A quick amazon search
brings up this
I think the RC hardware fits within the realm of things here. There are other options out there on the market, but I think they fall short for any number of reasons. This hardware is more tailored towards us and the sort of users weāll be designing for.
The above example from Amazon, itās like. Thatās not programmable, or customizable. The majority of reviews on it arenāt even from paying customers, but from vine customers. So they got it for free.
The point is, we have this easily approachable hardware now that is universal in all sorts of ways. So I can take those core components and easily transfer them from one project or another. In the above given example from amazon, Iād have to do some getting down and dirty customization to make it work for my projects, and while maybe Iād be up to it, I donāt think the people that enjoy my designs will all be as ready to break out a soldering iron. Truth is, I hate soldering and crimping wires. I donāt want to choose hardware that makes others have to deal with that too.
Whatās good for the goose is good for the gander, and this goose does not like soldering.
Iāve done a lot of projects based around Arudinos, and Iāve done a number of wireless based projects. Itās not like itās that hard or anything. But this, itās easy, modular, and well featured so it can be customized in a number of ways while still keeping those core benefits. Itās incredibly accessible, which is one of the most important parts.
Accessibility is another one of those aspects that people seem incredibly short sighted on. Just because something is easy for you or I, doesnāt mean it would be for others.
To give an example. 3D Sets. Theyāre awesome, well designed. The hardware aspect is a pain in the butt. They donāt give good guidance on which hardware to get. It was difficult to find their recommended hardware. Things didnāt connect together as smoothly, so there were a number of things I had to figure out and extras I had to order. The casing didnāt even fit the on-off switch that was on the controller they recommended, and I almost accidently cut the wire completely off trying to make it work when it didnāt. I hated that aspect of it.
If I regularly messed with R/C vehicles, most of that wouldnāt have been an issue. That was my first one though, and it made it a frustrating experience. Most importantly, I donāt want to have to become an expect in everything. I like my hand held a little sometimes.
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There is a lot of potential to the Brick stuff. Iāve been using the most excellent Adafruit Feather boards (specifically the Prop-Maker) and the Brick parts have some similar capabilities - some - but potentially some advantages for motorized/motion projects.
The big advantage is the BOM aspect and single source for projects. It does seem the more parts people have to order from other places, the more it can limit adoption of a model. Additional parts being required probably limits too but MW selling them limits the bother.
AI for code generation removes a big hurdle for many people. I have no experience directly but what Iāve seen from @PrinterMcgee was jaw dropping what it could do just explaining what he wanted the code to do. It still takes a little skill and I donāt know how Bambu will be implementing their version, but the barriers to others being able to use these bits effectively are dropping.
Just my personal observation but these kinds of tools really open up things you can do with 3D printing. Adding logical control of lighting, motion, and sound can really up aesthetics of a model. I was attracted right off to making things light up, but animating them too really ups the game.
And it might be a gateway drug of sorts. Once people get used to adding these bits then the call of more sensors and other possibilities may take hold.
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They arenāt ātestingā a new idea. Chances are they have plenty of these kits already made and are just trying to increase the hype by promoting it somewhere special. Thereās very little chance anything gets changed from backer feedback, and they already know a lot of people will but them so itās not testing interest.
Think of it like if Apple decided to launch a kickstarter for their latest charging brick with built in AI. Itās hard to change something like that thatās already been designed when youāre already preparing supply chains and things for mass production, so thatās not going to happen. They certainly donāt need the money. So what would be the point? To get hype and more sales. Same applies to Bambu Lab.
Kickstarters should be used for new, unique, and innovative ideas. For people who have an idea and a prototype, but donāt have the funding to make something a reality. For small businesses to prove market interest. Not for a market leader like Bambu to promote their latest and greatest toy.
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I just disagree on the point of what kickstarter should be used for. Clearly kickstarter themselves have no issue with it and itās down to them to decide what it should be used for.
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I appreciate you sharing your well founded thoughts on this issue; thank you for not simply shrinking back from an objection simply because others disagreed, while also maintaining civility. There is work yet to be done in teaching others how to disagree with dignity. I appreciate you championing that work!
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So many well established brands use Kickstarter for their new products (xTool, PeakDesign, Sharge to name a few). Kickstarter is also way better at attracting people that normally would miss something like this. I donāt mind it at all tbh.
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Thatās a great question.
We hold Arduino and ESP32 in the highest regard and believe they are excellent learning tools. However, we are confident that a fun and engaging application provides the best motivation for learning, while also offering rich functionality for those who simply want an enjoyable toy.
One of CyberBrickās advantages over Arduino is that 3D-printed āshellsā transform DIY projects from a pure learning tool with a makeshift body into a proper toy. Additionally, smaller boards in the Arduino family, such as the Nano or Micro, often require soldering to connect external modules, which increases the difficulty of creation (soldering effort itself, plus wrong connection burning something etc.) and makes repurposing across multiple projects less convenient.
Simplifying complexity has always been our mission and strength, and this time is no exception. MicroPython, being simpler than C++ while retaining nearly full functionality, is our chosen path. We aim to provide challenges suitable for users of all skill levels. Stay tuned for more technical documentation at the official release!
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Hi MaKim!
We planned to publicly release this information at the official launch on March 15th, mostly for people to have a moment to think about the whole initiative at a conceptual level. If you would to get a head start planning your CyberBrick project, kindly send us an email to cyber.brick@makerworld.com with your āproject proposalā (even just a rough idea you want to check applicability about), and weād be happy to share with you some documents for reference.
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tbh among all the āwhy a Kickstarterā conjectures we never expected this one lol. But youāve got a point. In all fairness, though, the Kickstarter prices are significantly lower (around 40-50% off) than the regular Makerās Supply prices, plus the bonus of getting them and starting projects sooner, making it a good choice for many. Of course, if you have a whole lot of unused MS coupon, feel free to wait a while and get them on MS. Your choice : )
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Hi jaayjeee!
We planned to publicly release this information at the official launch on March 15th, mostly for people to have a moment to think about the whole initiative at a conceptual level. If you would to get a head start planning your CyberBrick project, kindly send us an email to cyber.brick@makerworld.com with your āproject proposalā (even just a rough idea you want to check applicability about), and weād be happy to share with you some documents for reference. Looking forward to your project!
Regarding the keyswitch, since it wonāt be a part in the CyberBrick family of modules, Iāll forward the request to my MS colleagues and take another look : )
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Will we be able to purchase these on the 15th? If so when will they ship?
So yes, starting on March 15 youāll be able to purchase this kit.
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No, theyāre just saying that for lols, itāll actually release on the 41st. 
That has already been answered in this thread. Read it before asking questions since it has valuable insights.
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You can do all of that on your Shopify too. You can have lower prices, you can limit quantities, and you can release early. And for the record, that was (for the most part) a joke. Iām more concerned about the below quote than about not being able to use my cards (though if you released the H2D already I would just buy that and use the majority of them 
)
Thanks for the info. I was thinking maybe it was like you know. A normal kickstarter 
Like you know, where they have to reach a certain goal before you can get anything