This is a DRM chip from a Stratasys cartridge.

Actually, regarding Filament Feeding, a small Servo with a wheel is enough (you need a full rotating one) - if there is no change of the Servos Direction while the feeder motor is working -> no filament feed

One of these: http://www.adafruit.com/products/377 would do just fine. Would just need something more suited to our cause. Something with more steps per rotation.

Another fine example of the trouble we’re headed to if the stupid Americans don’t change their IP laws.

I hope the smart Americans get together for once an change a few laws…

I agree this is BS. For those who may have a Stratasys and see this, I think Bolson Materials sells chips with their materials that work around this. My old boss bought a bunch of it for the Stratasys at work. However, he had issues with the filament bending between the nozzle and pinch wheel so he gave the filament to me. It works great for me because I can manually control the temperature, but in the Stratasys he could not and I believe that was a cause of the problem.

This is the main reason I like open source haha

we could simply add @Stratasys_Incorporat and maybe they could tell us what they think about it

Sell them a chip so they can join discussion :slight_smile:
…for a day… with a pre-selected words to use…

@Jeff_Keegan I like your #2 idea. It could send out and error message or trigger emergency stop

I added an extruder stop switch into teensylu, and it was inherited into the printrboard. Firmware support already exists.

Stratasys put rfid tags on the resin reservoirs on the photolith 3d we have at work to ensure that only genuine stratasys resin was being used (and not being refilled/reused.)
Gah.

I don’t see the problem. It will just hasten their demise as a dinosaur.

Only if they do in fact die. If they buy up all the competition and keep on with their current tactics, then we have a problem.

Yeah as much as I hate what this chip represents, I’d rather see us spending our time engineering improvements to open machines than reverse-engineering closed ones.

That interview with Adrian Bowyer in RepRap Magazine (http://reprapmagazine.com) does a good job of explaining why these closed machines can never win, unless it becomes globally illegal to build open machines; at which point it’s #occupymars time :slight_smile:

I’d also like to see a way to update my BST 1200 to an SST 1200 system. Once these machines are bought, users can’t afford to buy another one. At least not for a school that is. The one thing i have to say for buying the Dinosaur is that it works every time. Any student or Teacher can walk in and print. It doesn’t sound like the hobby market is there yet, but my fingers are crossed. I would much rather spend my $2700 a year maintenance contract fee on a new Makerbot. I could buy a printer a year and still be ahead of the game.

@Brian_Buonomo for $2700 a year I bet @ThantiK will personally install and configure a reprap for you once a year :wink:

Also fwiw I did some tweaking on adding an “end of filament” switch and it was going well until I ran into some major trouble finding a way to pause (immediately) the printer and resume, due to the nature of how the firmware does its planning, etc.

There’s plenty of documented hacks to make the Stratasys “forget” the cartridges it has spent. You can also trade the chip with someone else to do refills.

@Jason_Gullickson Just don’t put the switch right next to the extruder. Feed the filament through a tube (which you should be doing anyway to prevent it’s tension from pulling on the extruder) and put the switch at the other end.

You’re probably going to hate me a little for this, but I’ve worked with a similar DRMish chip because a company I worked for was considering DRM’ing their product. It required SHA-MAC signing in both directons, so unless you knew the secret key, it would be pretty hard to emulate and workaround the chip. The best way is to swap your chip with someone else’s (which is what Bolson apparently does). I can’t tell you more… :frowning:

The solution is simple: don’t use those printers if you don’t want those features (aka “vote with your dollars”).

That said, there may be instances where some kind of materials-DRM is warranted. For example, consider a printer used to make replacement “bones” for joint replacement surgery. It is a good idea for the manufacturer to ensure that only the proper materials are used.