Chitubox warning sign, read why.
Description
Until now i have believed that the most toxic part about UV-resin printing was the resin, but i was wrong! It is Chitubox (resin is still pretty nasty so wear your PPE). You might think that I'm salty about something, and that's correct, let me explain. TL;DR: Chitubox is preventing 3rd party slicers to work with their printers since the 1.9 version, limiting how you can use a product you bought. They are also overcharging a lot for their "Pro" version slicer. Chitubox are using their power as a sole supplier to multiple printer manufacturer to screw Us, the end consumers, over. Since Chitubox 1.9 and the associated firmware update, they are preventing the printers from using files prepared 3rd party slicers. If you have an older printer with an older firmware you can still keep slicing with 3rd party software, but if you upgrade to 1.9 and let them update your firmware Chitubox will lock your printer down preventing you from using it as you see fit. They have also released a "Pro" version of their slicer that will cost US$ 169/year, more than half of what a new Elegoo Mars 3 cost. But they bundled a years subscription with the printer, so don't worry. You won't have spent more on the software than the printer until after 2 years. Another good slicer example is Lychee Slicer, and they only charge 30€/year. Oh, but wait... you won't be able to use that with printers with an up to date firmware because Chitubox doesn't believe in a free market. Yes, Chitubox have started talking about and SDK to make it possible for 3rd party slicers to work with their printers, but there is a lot of secrecy around it still, and from what i've seen it requires other slicers to enter an agreement with Chitu, not release code etc, so it's very much against open source. In conclusion, whatever Chitubox is cooking up is more toxic and more stinky than the resin we print with. Please mark your Chitubox-based printer with this warning sign.
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