What benefit does "cloud" offer a 3d printer? Couldn't all the same features be offered with local computing? Isn't "cloud" just a route for trouble for almost all users?
I'm leery of the whole "image recognition to spot errors" thing anyway. you've got far more direct inputs to monitor. is image recognition truly that reliable or is it not just a source of more errors when the recognition software goes awry?
> What benefit does "cloud" offer a 3d printer?
A large print can take 24 hours or more. Offering the ability to walk away and check-in and issue commands remotely is useful to people.
(Yes, you shouldn’t leave a printer unattended, but the basic reality is people do leave their printers unattended anyways.)
> I'm leery of the whole "image recognition to spot errors" thing anyway.
I don’t think it’s inconceivable that it could work well. The main issue being monitored for here is “has the print prematurely detached from the bed”, which I’d imagine should be possible to reliably detect with a known camera, angle, and print characteristics.
> I don’t think it’s inconceivable that it could work well.
It's been done before, although others with actual experience of Spaghetti Detective will have to chime in with whether it works well.
This isn't intended to spot subtle layer shifts or something, it's more about fatal errors that left unchecked will just throw away filament or (in a worst case) ruin a printer.
The Bambu systems work just fine from a microSD card without an internet connection at setup or in use. The Cloud is optional, and I think that any user who decides to use the cloud should be aware of the logical risks included.
> Couldn't all the same features be offered with local computing? Isn't "cloud" just a route for trouble for almost all users?
Many can, including viewing the cameras, which now work just fine with LAN mode on Bambu printers. However, I would argue people want to remotely check on their prints (what if I started a 12-hour print, left for work, and want to make sure it looks good at lunch?). The alternative there is opening ports on their router which, for the average person, is a much worse and less secure idea.
just make people a printer and you don't need to develop a massive IT overhead
wouldn't this give you the ability to sell a cheaper product while marketing yourself as "not selling your customers information"?
The reality is that Bambu makes a premium product, in part precisely due to the cloud features. Which you can turn off, or never activate, but no-one does.
Printers like these really genuinely do benefit from cloud connectivity. Unfortunately that doesn’t mean you can skip on QC…
but think of all of those off-shored jobs you'd be taking away!
1. Any personal images/data sent to cloud need a FDA approval. (FDA = Federal Data Administration) 2. Any person working in this agency is banned for life to work in the private data sector for life (it better be lucrative to work there). 3. ... perhaps fill any loopholes you see here as you move along ... (along with percentage of revenue punishments for each loophole used first time)
So not just new regulation, but an entirely new regulatory body. Also, the Food and Drug Administration will have to change their name to something else.
What about the other way around? Can someone who works in the private data sector leave and go to work for the agency?