No 3D printer yet, but I need advice, Linux

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OK possibly down to an age thing, but I need some advice on matters I know nothing about.

I run Ubuntu Linux only at home, no Windows PC’s at all. I can run FreeCad OK on my Linux box and believe I should also be able to download and use PrusaSlicer or UltiMaker Cura as well.

But what is confusing me is all the videos on Youtube about networking to a printer and limitations going through a cloud server. Having to be connected to this server etc. Now I have to ask why, I was basically thinking on the lines of: - I run the CAD and slicer on the PC have it connected to the printer by say USB or at most a local network connection and I can just print things? Am I wrong in this assumption? I know many of you will have been doing this for years now and it is just second nature, but I ham considering just starting down this hobby and find certain things confusing. For a printer I was considering a basic A1 initially as I was told it is a good machine, but with the concerns over Bambu Studio shown on Youtube, I have held off buying one from Bambu.

So if anyone could put down a few thoughts for me I would be grateful for the advice, are my software choices OK or are there better ones? Why does one need to connect to the Bambu server, what are the benefits and what ever information I can glean to make an informed descision would be useful.

TIA.

Adrian

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I will answer your last question first… the advantage of being on the Bambu ecosystem (cloud, connectivity, etc.) is primarily that things are seamless across your devices and software - printer, computer, mobile device, slicer. No need for USB’s and manual labour to get your prints over to your printer. You can monitor things from your computer, mobile phone, which includes real time video’s and time-lapses of the printer, and you can even make changes real-time over your network. It all works very slick. HOWEVER….in being so “close” to Bambu, they have access to everything, including your designs etc., because it has to pass thru their cloud. If this is not an issue for you, then you will have no problems.

You can run your Bambu printer completely “air-gapped”, or on a local network, or fully on the internet and connected to their cloud. So, for privacy issues, some people go “air-gapped”, meaning there is NO connection between your printer and the internet, and you can use a USB drive to physically transport your prints from your computer (which runs a stand-alone copy of Bambu Studio slicer, or any other slicer for that matter) to the printer.

Most people (including AI searches) may tell you that, to hook up a Bambu printer, you must (at least initially) connect to the internet, register with Bambu, and then disconnect from the internet and run on your local area network. But that is NOT TRUE. When the printer asks to be connected to the internet, there is a “SKIP” button that basically lets you avoid ever having to connect to the internet. You do NOT need to register with Bambu, and you can run completely independent of them. What you lose are things like I mentioned right at the top of this reply. I run it this way because I design my own model airplanes, and I do not want any of my designs to suddenly appear as “kits” on some Chinese or Hong Kong manufacturers website! For people who do contract work that includes designs that need to be private, then this is the best approach.

Please do not hold off on buying Bambu - they are hands-down the BEST possible printers you can get today. Prusa’s are good too, but they are “tinkerer” machines - if you just see 3d printers as tools, and you want them to work without any tinkering, then Bambu is your answer. I have owned Creality’s, Prusa’s, and Elegoo’s, but my Bambu P2S creates prints that are of stunning quality, and I have not had to tinker with it to get started. I am hoping that their long-term quality is as good as most reviews suggest.

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Yes, this works fine.

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I run my Bambu in LAN only mode with the printer IP address blocked from having external access. Slicer’s on a linux PC and things work fine.

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Thank you for this detailed reply it is very informative. I did think about a USB to USB connection between PC and Printer, but I guess it requires a USB or SD flash drive. Guessing that is better due to some long print times. Home network is a standard router to the Web but I also run another network within the house which is just for me, stops some of my software flooding the rest of the family with UDP packets from some broadcast gear I have. So adding a firewall rule to blocking access from the printer to the outside world would also be easy. So again thank you for your response.

Adrian

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This Printer IP blocking would be easy for me as well. Can I ask what slicer you run under Linux, I have just realised that Bambu Studio can run as an app under Linux, this may give me an easier learning curve at first, but would appreciate knowing what other Linux users use?

Thanks

Adrian

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Bambu Studio, OrcaSlicer and PrusaSlicer flatpacks are all available via the distro’s software manager. I’ve printed from the first two in LAN-only mode without any issues. Orca was more out of curiosity than a need for any of the additional capability it has; Bambu Studio is plenty good enough for a hobbyist or just starting out. Haven’t tried the third.

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OK thanks, it’s all useful info to me.

Adrian

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This has already been mentioned here in passing, but I want to reiterate that one can absolutely still use a local network to communicate with the printer, in “LAN Only” mode. Sneaker-netting is not required (but remains an options, along with SFTP for that matter).

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Not sure which printer you’re considering, but none of the BL printers I know of can connect directly to a computer via USB. Only via a WiFi network.
EDIT: A1 only has an SD card interface (as I now see you’ve noticed).

I suggest researching “LAN mode” or “LAN only” a bit, but it should work for you.

I absolutely recommend installing Bambu Studio and trying it out before buying anything. This is the software you absolutely need to do any printing with your printer (basically), so you’ll be spending a lot of time with it. Orca Slicer may work in some scenarios (depending on printer), but if Studio doesn’t work or you don’t like it, that would be a deal-killer IMHO (Orca is a copy of Studio so the interface if very similar if not identical). Prusa Slicer… maybe but will require a lot of hoop jumping, if that’s even possible (don’t see many users here like that, if any), and same with any other slicer.

Studio and Orca slicers require a special Bambu Lab network “plugin” to be installed before they can communicate with BL printers (they both should prompt you to automatically download & install it when first run). As long as the printer is in “LAN only” mode, this will still preclude any Internet connection requirement, for both Studio and printer. Studio itself has some “cloud” features which can be easily disabled in the prefereces.

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Some of my previous posts on the subject:
[ Orca Slicer or die! - #643 by MaxThreeD ]
[ Printing without "network plug-in"? - #3 by MaxThreeD ]
[ How does a print get from my PC to my 3D printer? ]

Generic instructions for most/all printers: How to enable LAN Mode on Bambu Lab printers | Bambu Lab Wiki

Cheers,
-Max

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Thanks Max;

“Not sure which printer you’re considering, but none of the BL printers I know of can connect directly to a computer via USB. Only via a WiFi network.” OK thanks for this, The A1 was recommended to me from a Maker place here in Blackburn, so was looking at that initially. If I go for the basic version I am not sure if anything is provided to hold/dispense the filament, or if I go for the Combo package if, I need to purchase an extra piece, This is due to this comment on the sales page “* To connect the A1 printer to the AMS/ AMS 2 Pro/ AMS HT, an AMS HUB (SA013) accessory is needed.”

Your comments on Studio are interesting, but leaves me wondering if I can dry run Studio without a printer ready to connect to, so tomorrow I will download Studio for Linux as an app and start the learning process. (Still got to fully understand FreeCad yet passed just making basic shapes).

If nothing else I am happy initially to transfer files using an SD card.

I will have a look at your linked posts tomorrow. It is going on to Midnight for me and I need my sleep. I appreciate this is a world wide forum and I am very pleased with the response from users I am getting. I do not want to make a costly mistake and buy something that just sits on my shelves unused, so I am sure as I learn more I will have more questions to ask.

Cheers

Adrian

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I recommend giving the sneaker-net some use, particularly on days when one has been sitting on the chair for too long. Resist the temptation to send the sliced file through LAN, instead exporting it to USB drive and walk over (even better if the printer is in another room or basement). When prototyping, these short walks add up and are better than sitting all day long.

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Hi Adrian,

It comes with a basic spool holder, as far as I can tell. The combo comes with the “AMS Lite” which is an open-air AMS, and includes everything you need to hook that up.

The wiki pages are a good review, if you haven’t seen those yet: A1 | Bambu Lab Wiki

dry run Studio without a printer ready to connect to

Yes, absolutely, at least to a large extent. You can import 3D models, pick any printer/nozzle/filament (even set it up so there is/are AMS’ connected, if desired), play with all available settings, and “slice” the model into what would eventually be sent to the printer (with a very useful preview of the result). Basically everything up to the point of actually sending a file to the printer (just like, say, in a world processor program w/out any physical printer).

Have a good night, or a good morning!
-Max

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I’ll assume you’re talking about yourself, since you know nothing about my lifestyle or (most likely) anyone else’s here.

On the practical side, for anyone not already familiar, the user interface/experience of sending via Studio vs. initiating on the printer is different. The latter requiring using a relatively small screen and paging through some options. Personally I prefer doing that via Studio, possible health issues notwithstanding, but of course to each their own. Studio can also be used for some other remote operations, for example pre-heating the bed before sending the print, adjusting options, and so on.

-Max

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“sneaker-net” It surprises me how there are, shall I say technical terms for walking to the printer. I maybe a retiree, but I know I am more active then my 24 year old son!:grinning_face:
Have fun and thanks for the reply.

Adrian

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OK thanks again to the group and all that has answered my request for information. After another trip into town and found a trader with about seven A1 printers running on their stall selling fidget’s, snakes, owl’s etc. I will go for the A1 Combo, just have to figure what types of filaments there are and go for a few basics for now.

I will say that my main use for the printer is not all the toys and trinkets one sees around. I play with vacuum Valves/Tubes with some small build it myself projects. To be able to make a case front or wrap around case for some of these hiding the bare metal finish, possibly add the odd bit of text on the front panel etc would be a nice thing to achieve. I guess I have to watch out for heat.

Adrian

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I run bambu studio on ubuntu, all works fine.

Bambus do work with USB sticks and LAN. However the idea of using USB stick for a printer is ridiculus. Who wants to have to plug in and out the stick and carry it? Put it on LAN. LAN would also be beter than USB data connection, as you can use remote monitoring tools etc.

If you care about open standards and no internet access, build a voron, or buy a cheaper open printer. Sovol make a nice voron clone. You will lose bambu’s proprietary AI/user assist software, but you’re prepapred to use USB so I doubt you care that much about usability.

Bambu’s main tech is in their software. The hardware is not really any better than what the other companies are using.

I presume you are aware that ubuntu ships some proprietary blobs so you’ve already crossed that bridge.

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It was the YouTube videos on Bambu seemingly putting restrictions on Internet access that made me start asking the questions. And why it needs to go through their servers, I do not still fully understand, and see it as a possible route a subscription model?
Anyway for me and my home network I can restrict the printer from accessing the WWW, as I run a second small network within the household router one for amateur radio use, that so I do not flood the families connections with broadcast UDP packets.

So using LAN only is a possible solution, or just walking over and sticking in an SD card is also very simple and easy for me to do.

I have installed the Bambu studio app on a Ubuntu PC and it is running OK, so I can play for a couple of days.

Also last note. One of the reasons I run Linux rather than Windows is to restrict what information is passed about what I do on the net to all and sundry, I just get fed up of all the tracking information that is requested.

Have fun

Adrian

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It does that because Bambu’s tech advantage is currently their software and its integration into their product, not their hardware. Other printer people have caught up with hardware.

Ubuntu Pro is a subscription service. Do you have an objection to companies that offer one?

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Ubuntu Pro is free for home users up to 5 computers, but no I do not use it. It is a paid subscription if I was a business, fine then the business can get tracked, why track me as an individual. I think we may have different views on the use of Subscriptions which is OK by me. If I buy something to use I just do not want to have to pay subscriptions later for the continued use.

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It wasn’t a guess or comment on your lifestyle :slight_smile: . It wasn’t even about mine in particular, but about the general consensus that modern life is sedentary. Peopel sit in the office and go home sit some more. It is generally agree that we, or most of us, can use more movements.

It is not a choice of one or the other either. I have been doing both, LAN and sneaker-net. In the situations that I mentioned, on days that I had been sitting for long, and then doing 3D design and prototyping (another long period of sitting), I have used the sneaker-net.

user_1169461866 has given you a very good set of info, so I won’t repeat. I can confirm that one can use BL printers without the cloud. I have been exclusively using LAN (and the sneaker-net when I feel like it) since day one (2022) and have never printed using the cloud.