Is nothing sacred?
This wouldn’t work outside of thermoplastic printers
Sincerely,
Tim Nielsen
I think your statement is incorrect. This an excellent example of a side-channel attack (ie. intercepting data without actually getting a copy on the wire between the controller and printer).
SLA printers have only two servos, one that shifts the bed, and oe that
raises it. The laser is not audible. Powder sintering are highly
contained, also limited audio.
Sincerely,
Tim Nielsen
Anything that radiates noise, EM, etc. can be “listened” to. It just requires the right equipment.
Have you ever noticed the laser power supply making high pitched noise when it operates? I bet it has some relationship as to when it fires. 
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For other examples of a side channel attack
This was a big deal with the Soviet Embassy decades ago. They were picking up signals from the IBM Selectric typewriters and other electronic devices. Lasers were also hitting windows, water in toilets and sinks acted as transducers for sound and mic’s had been run up sewer pipes to capture vibrations. As I recall they had to use the old wax tablets for very high secure meetings because it was so insecure for a while.
The math in this paper is pretty heavy (and I don’t understand a lot of it), but shows how possible this is:
Is it really a hack if you have to leave your cell phone with a printer for the entire length of the print?
Sounds like an opportunity to steal a phone loaded with some pretty sweet software!
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Nah, the equipment on a cell phone is not going to pick up the sound of the
movement of a laser. It’s just not a good enough of a microphone.
Something noisy, sure, and you’d need some information on the printer specs
as well. Can you hear it? No? Then why would you design a lowest bid part
that is built to hear you speak only at close range to fulfill more than
that role? Take it from a guy who works at a cell phone company. Or look
into the specs of the device. Only on a reprap.
Sincerely,
Tim Nielsen
What Zack was talking about is that you can use various emisions from any printer to reconstruct the design in a manner similar to the OP. It doesn’t have to be a cell phone.
The OP general approach represents a viable way to hack a proprietary design. For good or bad…