New York 3D printer blocking technology mandate: Difference between revisions

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Scope and definitions: cite Adafruit (Torrone) primary; add additive/subtractive machine-category list (FDM, resin, open-source firmware, offline, CNC mills); upgrade from Techdirt-secondary sentence
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<blockquote>''"Three-dimensional printer" means: (a) any machine capable of rendering a three-dimensional object from a digital design file using additive manufacturing; or (b) any machine capable of making three-dimensional modifications to an object from a digital design file using subtractive manufacturing.''<ref name="bill" /></blockquote>
<blockquote>''"Three-dimensional printer" means: (a) any machine capable of rendering a three-dimensional object from a digital design file using additive manufacturing; or (b) any machine capable of making three-dimensional modifications to an object from a digital design file using subtractive manufacturing.''<ref name="bill" /></blockquote>


The statute does not separately define ''"additive manufacturing,"'' ''"subtractive manufacturing,"'' or a CNC machine, and it contains no carve-out for machine size, intended purpose, or consumer use.<ref name="bill" /> Writing in Techdirt, Karl Bode argued that the law as drafted would reach open-source printer firmware projects such as Marlin, Klipper, and RepRap, offline office printers with no network connection, and CNC milling equipment.<ref name="techdirt" />
The statute does not separately define ''"additive manufacturing,"'' ''"subtractive manufacturing,"'' or a CNC machine, and it contains no carve-out for machine size, intended purpose, or consumer use.<ref name="bill" /> Writing for Adafruit, Phillip Torrone read the two prongs as reaching past consumer 3D printers, arguing the definitions ''"sweep in not just FDM and resin printers, but also CNC mills"'' along with any machine that performs subtractive manufacturing from a digital file.<ref name="adafruit-ctrlaltdel">{{Cite web |url=https://blog.adafruit.com/2026/02/03/new-york-wants-to-ctrlaltdelete-your-3d-printer/ |title=New York Wants to Ctrl+Alt+Delete Your 3D Printer |author=Phillip Torrone |publisher=Adafruit Industries |date=2026-02-03 |access-date=2026-06-02}}</ref><ref name="techdirt" /> On that reading the mandate would apply to:
 
* '''Additive manufacturing''' (prong (a)):
** consumer FDM and resin printers
** machines running open-source firmware such as Marlin, Klipper, and RepRap, which Torrone noted are maintained by volunteers with no resources for compliance
** printers that operate offline and never contact the internet
* '''Subtractive manufacturing''' (prong (b)):
** CNC mills, which Torrone wrote can machine any shape from any material
 
Torrone added that the requirement also reaches file formats and workflows the detection algorithm cannot parse, including raw G-code, custom slicers, and parametric designs generated at print time.<ref name="adafruit-ctrlaltdel" />


Under the statute, the minimum performance standards for blocking technology are left to the working group and the rules that follow, rather than written into the law itself.<ref name="bill-pdf" />
Under the statute, the minimum performance standards for blocking technology are left to the working group and the rules that follow, rather than written into the law itself.<ref name="bill-pdf" />