Oh… missed this.
I will say empirically, ANYONE who thinks GIMP is as good as Photoshop should be ignored. But that doesn’t mean GIMP doesn’t have a significant place in the market. I think it is extremely important, but it is not a direct peer to Photoshop.
I know, but I mean short of having the source code, there’s only so much you can get from it. A compiled binary is not readable like source code is, so while you can see how certain things are functioning, you have no idea the blueprints that everything was built on, so there’s a bit that’s still missing that would need to be created.
Nah, I’m just talking back and forth 
I’m having a friendly time, and I’m sorry if it doesn’t come across like that. I’ve been enjoying this conversation and going back and forth on different aspects of it all. I’m a Bambu user, but I’m keen on all the offerings, and I wouldn’t shun any of them.
I’m very interested in the K2, and from the teaser Anycubic released, I’m gonna keep an eye out. I’m a fan of Anycubic, so, they get my attention. I like Bambu, but they’ve still gotta compete for my dime.
Understand that the X series printer isn’t just one controller like the old 8bit printers. It is a network of controllers, all running their own firmware. Having access to the Linux OS doesn’t give you an open door to the the rest of the system firmware.
X1Plus is based on Bambu Lab’s stock firmware and runs on the AP (application processor) board. None of the work done on X1Plus so far directly changes how the motion system is controlled, as this is handled by a separate processor on the MC (motion controller) board. (If you’re familiar with other open source FDM projects, X1Plus is more closely analogous to Octoprint, rather than Klipper or Marlin.)
The thing is having access to Bambu’s full motion control firmware doesn’t really give another printer manufacture a big leg up in my opinion. Yes Bambu has some proprietary items and features, an example being that they employ their own stepper driver control but the same result can be had in an off the shelf stepper driver. They don’t really have any “new” technology. Bambu has just done a good job of packaging all of the current technology into a system that works.
The P series printer is an entirely different code base as it uses the ESP32 and isn’t Linux based.
Not disputing anything said there, but Bambu asked for X1Plus team to protect the IP. That admission alone tells me, they found out a great deal in their research.
From there, its simply a question of whether anyone else did the work to do the same. Not disputing that there are multiple boards in the process, or that there are different boards on the different printers. Just saying the cat is half out of the bag, and another company like Creality will not have a problem pulling it all the way out, when or if they do figure it out.
Actually, in writing this last response, I realized it doesn’t matter. If you unmasked the flavor of Marlin, and the communication methods they use to process across their boards. It really doesn’t matter. Their version of Marlin doesn’t print faster or better than Klipper. The print quality and speed are from painstaking trial and error. Not some secret sauce in the coding. You don’t need special algos to make these printers go. Bambu’s secret sauce is all in the tuning. Well tuned hardware, processes, and print profiles is all that really matters and as Josh mentioned the attention to the experience.
In all… any manufacturer can do it, just so long as they spend the time and money to get it right.
I like this discussion as it reflects the different trends and needs of the community.
I find the interview by Stefan from CNC Kitchen with the CEO Dr Tao interesting:
This gives a little insight into the mindset of Bambulab and also why certain things are not open source.
so wait is the new printer that they were going to come out with in 2024 is the a1 mini ?
no it is yet to come out, the new 2024 flagship I mean
What are your thought of when the next printer will come out next? And what printer will that be?
probably an x1c but just bigger… if its a bigger bed slinger im gona cry… really dont want anymore bed slingers lol
for the time release… i think they wont release until december meaby
They announced it yesterday, it’s the A1 Micro Mini. It’s 1/10th the size of the A1 Mini and they said it’s for people who like to print realistic looking acorns.
thanks for giving us the info man wow
Yay… (sarcasm) I can’t wait to see how the media handles this. Mean while I will print some acorns.
how did they text bambu directly
