In response to recent threats against a developer who restored direct printing capabilities on Bambu Lab 3D printers without using the proprietary Bambu Connect app, the Software Freedom Conservancy (SFC) announced an investigation into possible free license violations in Bambu Lab's software and firmware, as well as the creation of a DIY repair initiative that has begun reverse engineering Bambu Lab's proprietary libraries and created an independent fork of the Bambu Studio platform.
Bambu Studio, a software package developed by Bambu Lab, is a fork of the open-source Prusa Slicer project and, like the original project, is distributed under the AGPLv3 license. A firmware update released a year ago for Bambu Lab 3D printers introduced a change that blocked direct printing. After the firmware update, using alternative 3D printing software, such as OrcaSlicer, required installing the proprietary Bambu Connect application. Without this application, layer-by-layer printing became unavailable.
One enthusiast implemented the ability for OrcaSlicer to directly send commands to Bambu Lab 3D printers without the need to install Bambu Connect, but Bambu Studio, under threat of legal action, forced the developer to delete the repository containing the created code, despite the fact that the enthusiast's method for directly sending commands to 3D printers was based on content from the Bambu Studio AGPL project repository.
SFC interpreted this move as an infringement of the rights granted by the AGPLv3 license. When pressed, Bambu Lab resorted to intimidation tactics, claiming that the product's terms of service superceded the requirements of the AGPLv3, thus violating clause 10.3 of the AGPL. This clause prohibits imposing additional restrictions that interfere with the exercise of the rights granted by the license.
Furthermore, the SFC human rights organization found a direct violation of the AGPLv3 license in the Bambu Studio application, which uses the libbambu_networking library, the source code for which is not provided. Since Bambu Studio is a fork of another open-source AGPL-licensed project, it must be distributed strictly under the original AGPLv3 license and cannot be licensed with exceptions. Accordingly, all components must be available in source code without additional restrictions, and combining AGPL code with a proprietary library in a single product is unacceptable. The libbambu_networking library is loaded through an interactive prompt in the user interface, but this maneuver does not circumvent the AGPL.
To help 3D printer users experiencing difficulties due to Bambu Lab's AGPLv3 violations, the baltobu project has been created, with three SFC-protected repositories:
- reverse-networking is a project to reverse engineer the libbambu_networking.so, bambu_networking.dll, and libbambu_networking.dylib libraries and create an open-source replacement. Since these libraries are used in code licensed under the AGPLv3, they are also covered by the same license, allowing for reverse engineering.
- orca-slicer-for-bambu is a repository for continuing work on the OrcaSlicer fork, which supports direct use with Bambu Lab 3D printers. The repository recreates the code of the OrcaSlicer-bambulab project, which was previously removed following threats from Bambu Lab.
- Viscose is a repository for the Bambu Studio fork that ensures the freedoms and rights of users granted by the AGPL are preserved, and maintains an open source code base in case Bambu Lab decides to remove anything from its repository.
Source: opennet.ru
