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California’s New Bill Requires DOJ-Approved 3D Printers That Report on Themselves
(blog.adafruit.com)
Some poor government employee is going to see loooots of dildos
this post was submitted on 19 Feb 2026
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But….if someone sold a manually operated plastic extruder, that’s fine?
And if someone separately sold CAM software that’s fine too?
Just sayin’
Already contacted my assembly person to oppose it. I get the intent behind it, but theres no way im going to ask the government for permission to use my own hardware.
I dont even own a 3D printer yet, but I wouldn't want to be subject to such a bad and dumb law if and when that changes.
Oh boy, what's a good not too expensive 3d printer to buy right now, preferably all FOSS? It hasn't been on my short term shopping list but I figure if I'm ever likely to want one, better get it now. I remember the original RepRap. I think modern stuff is a lot better, but might have more closed source software.
You can still get an Ender 3 (essentially the end result of RepRap). Every vendor has their own.
That said? If you buy a printer in 2025 (let alone 2026) and it does not have an integrated enclosure, you are opening yourself up to a world of hurt. The price difference isn't that much anymore and even just having a box to hold the waste heat in solves like 90% of print problems.
Bambu are, above and beyond, the best bang for your buck. They ALSO are ahead of the curve on locking things down to support only their networked slicers. Which... is a huge concern with stuff like this.
Personally? I love the Qidi printers. I have a Q1 something or another and convinced a friend to get a different model. They use a semi-open fork of Klipper so you can theoretically make something work when it is abandoned. Which is good because the various CoreXY printers are no longer all based on the same standard so part kits aren't (easily) interchangeable. And, of course, you can use Orcaslicer or whatever else you want.
Keep in mind that is all FDM. For Resin (SLA?), the ship has already sailed and people are genuinely happy to run slicers with literal fucking ads in them. Assuming the vendor doesn't lock them out of even that garbage.
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