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I believe you're thinking of the GPS/Gyro locks that certain high end Japanese CNC machines have, and the ITAR compliance issues many CNC machines are subject t

I believe you're thinking of the GPS/Gyro locks that certain high end Japanese CNC machines have, and the ITAR compliance issues many CNC machines are subject to for export. The locks were implemented because somehow Iran got their hands on some Mitutoyo machines despite sanctions. Either way, it's the State Department and Department of Commerce that get involved and the ATF has nothing to do with individual machines.

jrockway 5y ago
I was thinking about the Mitutoyo incident, but I think those were coordinate measuring machines, not mills. (5-axis implies milling, but Mitutoyo doesn't make mills. CNC is a generic term that really applies to any sort of machine controlled by a computer -- we have CNC sewing machines at the local makerspace ;) As for geo locks on mills, I have heard about those. My understanding is that they're a software licensing thing -- sell the machine, move it to a new shop, the software stops working. That ensures you can't get your money for the machine on the secondary market, and that new customer has to buy a brand new one directly from the manufacturer. Just your standard DRM scheme to improve corporate profits. Also good to have that equipment on board so that you can switch to a subscription plan if the economy gets bad. I don't know if all 5 axis machines require registration with the government. I have looked at these before: https://pocketnc.com/ https://pocketnc.com/ and they don't say anything about it. Could be too tiny for anyone to care about, though.