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Stratasys sues Bambu Lab over patents used widely by consumer 3D printers (arstechnica.com)

submitted 1 month ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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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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[–] [email protected] 47 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (6 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.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

I can't stand parents anymore

Anymore? They are literally government enforced monopolies. Monopolies are always great for that single company and the consumer pays the price.

Their intent to protect the lone inventor from evil corporations hasn't been relevant at least in our lifetimes - it's always just corp/troll holding the patent.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago

For awhile I still believed there was a use for creators themselves. It's basically the only way for an individual to sue a company for stealing their idea. But of course it gets captured by corporations and ruined. But until patents get some serious limits, yeah I'm out. They're more harm than good, I agree. I just felt the good they were doing still had some merit....

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