Ecosystems

[Bryan Eckert]

So, might be a great discussion, and I believe an important one. Because it is shaping and will shape 3D printing on the hobby side at least in the immediate future. This is a lengthy post, so apologies in advance.

So much we focus on hardware. Which printer is this, that and the other. At least on the FDM side of things, but honestly the hardware now is kind of ubiquitous. Many of us here built our own machines, we extreme mod our printers so that’s in our nature.

The Bambu X1C tossed the FDM world on its head when it came out. Me personally, it was the only Kickstarter I have ever backed (but I was close to grabbing a U1). My serial number is 890, out of 5,500 kickstarter machines. 

Bambu released a machine that set the standard in the hobby/maker space, which we now see personified in other brands like the Elegoo Centuri series, the Creality K series and Prusa Core series. Clones building off Bambu’s success. 

Most importantly in my mind it set a fire under Prusa’s ass, which had been resting on its laurels. I’ve always been a Prusa fan, and hope for their continuing success. 

But now, Bambu is just an undeniable juggernaut. I just read an article that Tencent is seeking to invest, which could push Bambu valuation to well over TEN BILLION dollars. That’s more than all the other 3D manufacturers - including Stratasys - COMBINED. 

I see videos of print farms with THOUSANDS of X1C’s and P1’s. Bambu has virtually unlimited R&D with hundreds of engineers (250 worked on the H2 series since immediately after the X1C debut)

We can discuss and argue how good or bad that is, but I’d rather draw light to WHY. 

To me, it comes down to 3 things… hardware reliability (My X1C is ancient at this point, and I do damn near zero maintenance on it), software and ecosystem. 

As far as software, those of us in the kickstarter that got our machines early helped pave the way with feedback - and opting in to sharing with Bambu our print results, etc. with Bambu. We found security holes in the software that got patched quickly. We made Bambu change their stance in thermal runaway (the hotend cannot actually have thermal runaway to ignition temps due to physical design as pointed out by Bambu) and alter code. My X1C is the only printer I owned that constantly got better and improved print quality on its own, which I had a hand in.

But, we were just focused on polishing the printer. 

What truly has made Bambu that juggernaut in my eyes is ecosystem. Bambu Studio, Handy and Makerworld. Because other manufacturers offer similar printers - some at half the price - but none really match the experience. 

And now Bambu is enhancing that even more with things like MakerSupply - where you can get parts like magnets, screws, LEDs, etc. And Cyberbrick, a modular offering of electronics where you can design and print your own robots and RC cars, and there is a huge repository of models on Makerworld already. Bambu is heavily invested in STEM, and is now offering $300K grants for makers. 

When we talk innovation in the 3D printing world - it’s not simply limited to hardware.

Imagine what Prusa could have done if they’d have had the foresight to build out such an ecosystem.

That’s not to say Bambu is going to rule forever. Look at Stratasys. They were the King, until a new kid came along and punched them in the mouth and invaded their space - by accident. 

Anyway I’d like to hear others thoughts about this.  Bambu is definitely taking the DJI and Apple road. Remember- Apple wasn’t a phone company until they released one. 

[3D Printing Tips and Tricks]

"Imagine what Prusa could have done if they’d have had the foresight to build out such an ecosystem."

Imagine what Prusa, or just about any other producer, could have done if they too could ignore basic capitalist, business/market fundamentals and simply produced without worrying about supply chain, funding, profit or paying off investors!

It's well known that all production out of China works by completely different rules from Western companies. They overproduce and then dump at absurd low prices.

From my perspective Bambu's achievement is singular... ease of use for those who are new to 3D Printing.

I agree about how quickly fortunes change. Especially since in China copying designs is considered a compliment instead of IP theft. Its a sure bet that every "original" design from Bambu will appear in other Chinese products and will sell for a lot less.