3D Printers with proprietary filaments?

I was reading abut the XYZ Printing DaVinci models, when I saw a huge red flag: the writer said that one of these machines would "brick itself" if supplied with a third-party filament spool. Then I saw someone advertising filament spools with an RFID chip for compatibility with a particular (different) machine.

My question is, how common is it for printer manufacturers to build in an RFID system to force you to use their expensive filament by disabling the machine if you try to run competitors' filament? I absolutely will not - ever - purchase a machine that includes this limitation. A major justification (for me) for buying a machine is in the ability to make useful things from materials I could recycle - milk jugs, soda bottles etc.. - and being chained to one company's filament totally eliminates this.

So.. I ask all of you who have purchased printers - does yours accept any (chemically compatible) filament, or does your machine lock up if you use another brand, or unbranded filament?

My co-worker have an XYZ the 1.0 something, there's a way to crack that machine making work running on open-source filaments as well as slicer.

Make sure which version you are looking for.

Mine uses any filament but its not an XYZ.

There is so much choice now : just avoid machines with such limitations. Unless you aim top pro machines that hardly makes sense, and even then I'm not that sure.

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Originally Posted by LambdaFF

There is so much choice now : just avoid machines with such limitations. Unless you aim top pro machines that hardly makes sense, and even then I'm not that sure.

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+1

Absolutely agree!

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Originally Posted by LambdaFF

There is so much choice now : just avoid machines with such limitations. Unless you aim top pro machines that hardly makes sense, and even then I'm not that sure.

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That's the reason for this post - to avoid the machines that are programed to reject non-OEM filament. The manufacturers don't readily disclose this info, so I'm hoping that people will share what they know about which makes/models do/don't accept 3rd-party filament.

At Hyrel, we readily disclose that you can use any 1.75mm filament you want, provided it prints at 250C or less. Or 350C or less with a different head.

Or any wax, clay, paste or emulsifiable that prints at room temperature, or up to 100 or 150C, with different heads.

Or any photoinitiated polymer that crosslinks at a wavelength of between 365 and 450nm, at room temperature or heated up to 100C, with different heads.

In fact, we don't sell filament or other print media. Just the printers.

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Originally Posted by Steve W

So.. I ask all of you who have purchased printers - does yours accept any (chemically compatible) filament, or does your machine lock up if you use another brand, or unbranded filament?

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You have two choices:
1. Support the DRM style monopoly of that specific brand of printer. Buy their printer and continue buying their filament.
2. Vote with your wallet by buying another brand printer and then telling XYZ that you did and why.

Companies like this continue to prey on the myopic or under-informed buyers flooding the market. They have one goal and one goal only. Sell you their printer then rape you for the supplies for it. Same for inkjet printers such as HP and and Epson who chip their ink cartridges. Cheap printer, expensive ink. Same with XYZ. Make your own choice. Many here would like you to choose #2 above but its your money to vote with.

MOST printers are NOT like the XYZ. There are some that are, but the vast majority are not.

Mine, a LulzBot Taz5 may not be in your budget range, but I can attest it will take ANY filament brand you can shove in it. In fact I have printed exactly ONE print using Lulz' brand filament and that was the first test print with the sample it shipped with ;) The rest of my prints have been from filament from MakerGeeks, MatterHackers, ColorFabb, GlobalFSD, etc.

Fusion3 completely agrees; we encourage open filament and got out of selling filament ourselves to distance ourselves from this practice. We've vetted a number of suppliers that make great quality filament and sell at competitive prices. More info here: http://www.fusion3design.com/3d_printer_filament/

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You have two choices:
1. Support the DRM style monopoly of that specific brand of printer. Buy their printer and continue buying their filament.
2. Vote with your wallet by buying another brand printer and then telling XYZ that you did and why.

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Actually you generally have 3 choices.

3) go on youtube and watch a video on how to convert your drm machine to opensource filament. Pretty much all the desktop systems have been 'jailbroken' as it were.
In some cases you can actually print a little doohickey that reroutes the filament from a standard spool through the propriatary cartridge - I think I saw that on a davinci printer of some description. In others you might have to hack the cartridge itself. But there are a lot of ingenious people out there who spend a lot of time on this sort of thing.

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Originally Posted by curious aardvark

Actually you generally have 3 choices.

3) go on youtube and watch a video on how to convert your drm machine to opensource filament. Pretty much all the desktop systems have been 'jailbroken' as it were.
In some cases you can actually print a little doohickey that reroutes the filament from a standard spool through the propriatary cartridge - I think I saw that on a davinci printer of some description. In others you might have to hack the cartridge itself. But there are a lot of ingenious people out there who spend a lot of time on this sort of thing.

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Sure, but is there a quantifiable gain justifying such efforts ??? I wouldn't think so.

yep you pay a lot less for your filament and have a much greater choice.

Where's the issue ?

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Originally Posted by curious aardvark

yep you pay a lot less for your filament and have a much greater choice.

Where's the issue ?

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I'm sorry I was unclear. Yes, modding the printer to buy non proprietary (cheaper) filament, I can totally get. But I don't understand buying a printer limited to proprietary filament in the 1st place. If you intend to mod it for non proprietary filament, why not save the effort and buy something you don't need to mod straight away ? Thus my remark.

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Originally Posted by curious aardvark

Actually you generally have 3 choices.

3) go on youtube and watch a video on how to convert your drm machine to opensource filament. Pretty much all the desktop systems have been 'jailbroken' as it were.
In some cases you can actually print a little doohickey that reroutes the filament from a standard spool through the propriatary cartridge - I think I saw that on a davinci printer of some description. In others you might have to hack the cartridge itself. But there are a lot of ingenious people out there who spend a lot of time on this sort of thing.

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But, that option simply feeds their coffers. You have to buy the machine to jailbreak it and that puts money in their pockets and voids your warranty so they don't have to support it. That is a win for them as well. The only way they will change is when they see enough revenue walking away to buy competitor's machines. That is how you change their minds.

A DRM based printer is usually FAR cheaper than a non DRM one, or at least thats the theory. The manufacturer then makes up the difference selling ink... errr... filament.

For the XYZ, flashing it over is fairly easy. Firewall the software and hardware, revert the firmware, use a flash chip to use any filament you want. Once you have the chip, 30 minutes at worst.

Yep as marm says - drm based machines are often dirt cheap and decent kit.

So in some circumstances buying and jailbreaking is a good option.

And technical support. Has anyone ever got any joy from technical support for a cheap desktop 3d printer ?
These days it's pretty much forums and DIY that get the job done.

Rylan at peachy printer isn't even considering it. As the above methods are usually quicker and cheaper for the user.
That said he's in a pretty unique situation.

But as most cheap printers in the uk are made in china - shipping back to the manufacturer isn't a sensible option. So diy is where you tend to look first.

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Originally Posted by Marm

A DRM based printer is usually FAR cheaper than a non DRM one, or at least thats the theory. The manufacturer then makes up the difference selling ink... errr... filament.

For the XYZ, flashing it over is fairly easy. Firewall the software and hardware, revert the firmware, use a flash chip to use any filament you want. Once you have the chip, 30 minutes at worst.

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Originally Posted by curious aardvark

Yep as marm says - drm based machines are often dirt cheap and decent kit.

So in some circumstances buying and jailbreaking is a good option.

And technical support. Has anyone ever got any joy from technical support for a cheap desktop 3d printer ?
These days it's pretty much forums and DIY that get the job done.

Rylan at peachy printer isn't even considering it. As the above methods are usually quicker and cheaper for the user.
That said he's in a pretty unique situation.

But as most cheap printers in the uk are made in china - shipping back to the manufacturer isn't a sensible option. So diy is where you tend to look first.

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I doubt that's true for the big names like Stratasys though. Their machines aren't cheap and sourcing components can be a nightmare if by passing correct channels. Not only that but using a non-brand filament causes further hassles due to the software (proprietry) and firmware (also proprietry) being non-adjustable.

Just what I've read, maybe I'm wrong.

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Originally Posted by Marm

The manufacturer then makes up the difference selling ink... errr... filament.

For the XYZ, flashing it over is fairly easy. Firewall the software and hardware, revert the firmware, use a flash chip to use any filament you want. Once you have the chip, 30 minutes at worst.

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Exactly what I said, sell you their machine (cheap) and then force you to pay their prices for filament. You buy a printer once but you buy filament (ink) over and over and over.

I am sure flashing it is easy enough. Not my point.

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Originally Posted by curious aardvark

Yep as marm says - drm based machines are often dirt cheap and decent kit.

So in some circumstances buying and jailbreaking is a good option.

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The only circumstance where that is a good option is if you didn't know what you were getting when you bought it and don't have another option than to keep buying their filament.

Any other circumstance its a poor option. Knowingly buying a DRM printer is akin to feeding the fire. You are giving a company revenue and they are seeing sales numbers. That means they will continue in their path because of the sales. Only when they see sales curtailed will they see reason and change their practices.


The only way to force them to change is stop giving them money. Buying their printer and jailbreaking it is feeding them. Stop feeding the parasite and it will die.

This DRM discussion is precisely why I chose a Taz 5. All of its hardware, all of its software, everything about the machine is open source. All of it. No secrets. Nothing hidden. Nothing proprietary. I chose to feed that company and reward them for good behavior. The only power we have as consumers is our wallet. Opening it and giving it to a company with poor behavior because you know you can get around their poor behavior is not helping.