this post was submitted on 12 Aug 2024
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Stratasys sues Bambu Lab over patents used widely by consumer 3D printers (arstechnica.com)
submitted 10 months ago by Bishma@discuss.tchncs.de to c/technology@lemmy.world
3 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Stratasys is claiming infringements on patents it owns (included ones acquired from Makerbot) on things like purge towers, heated beds, and force detection. Many of them things common to most FFF/FDM 3D printers.

Its an interesting coincidence that this lawsuit against one printer maker is happening on the same day as a new product announcement (the Prusa MK4s) from another major printer maker.

In two complaints, filed in the Eastern District of Texas, Marshall Division, against six entities related to Bambu Lab, Stratasys alleges that Bambu Lab infringed upon 10 patents that it owns, some through subsidiaries like Makerbot (acquired in 2013). Among the patents cited are US9421713B2, "Additive manufacturing method for printing three-dimensional parts with purge towers," and US9592660B2, "Heated build platform and system for three-dimensional printing methods."

There are not many, if any, 3D printers sold to consumers that do not have a heated bed, which prevents the first layers of a model from cooling during printing and potentially shrinking and warping the model. "Purge towers" (or "prime towers" in Bambu's parlance) allow for multicolor printing by providing a place for the filament remaining in a nozzle to be extracted and prevent bleed-over between colors.

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[–] fishos@lemmy.world 0 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

Someone seriously patented purge towers? Ffs, first hearing that 3D printers were shelved for decades because some douchy company camped on the main patent, and now shit like this? Patenting "printing a square tower to accommodate the waste created during filament swaps" is fucking ridiculous. I can't stand patents anymore. Corporate extortion through and through.

Fuck Stratasys.

[–] SkaveRat@discuss.tchncs.de 0 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Square tower. Time to make the purge tower a circle

[–] fishos@lemmy.world 0 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

Or on a Bambu, just do a longer "poop" purge and spit it out the side like they already do. A tower isn't even necessary. It's only needed on devices without a purge capability. I've printed plenty of multicolored prints without any tower whatsoever on mine. Literally should be suing anyone but Bambu for that one.