Subscribe to updates

Update March 4, 11:15 UTC+1: IndieGoGo campaign now under review, not accepting funding.
Update March 1, 21:18 UTC+1: Added a statement from Kickstarter.

Well, that didn’t take long. After a successful launch on February 25, 2024, saw funding attained in just five minutes, Kickstarter has pulled the plug on Coast Runner’s campaign to fund the CR-1 desktop CNC machine and its associated software, one component of which appears to have triggered Kickstarter’s “Trust & Safety” team to action.

In a post on its website, a Coast Runner company statement by CEO Garret Walliman explains: “Kickstarter said we failed to disclose our project’s use of AI technology or AI-generated content, in violation of their rules. But, as you have seen, Coast Runner’s CNC mill does not involve the development of AI, nor do we use AI content.”

There is talk of access to an AI-powered tool, CloudNC CAM Assist, as a part of Coast Runner’s pledge rewards. The statement continues: “We were offering an optional add-on from CloudNC that involves AI – a license for a third-party software for generating toolpaths called CAM Assist.”

The company says backers of the Kickstarter campaign will be fully refunded, and it encourages those supporters to back the Coast Runner CR-1 on IndieGoGo instead, where largely the same offering is made minus all mentions of CAM Assist.

Why Did Kickstarter Cancel Coast Runner?

The Kickstarter campaign rules page highlighted by Coast Runner in its explanation hedges things, saying, “Projects developing artificial intelligence (AI) technology or including AI-generated content are allowed in some situations”, stipulating only that usage must be appropriately disclosed.

It’s unclear to us exactly how the campaign breaks Kickstarter’s policy regarding the use of AI. Coast Runner released one email it had received from Kickstarter, giving notice of the suspension and the 48-hour window until the campaign would officially shutter.

“In any case, Kickstarter refused to provide any further clarity until this afternoon , when they both suspended the account and informed us that reselling a third-party product is forbidden by their rules.”

We can point to other Kickstarter campaigns that have offered supplementary third-party products as part of their pledge rewards, undermining the notion that the inclusion of CAM Assist as a third-party product is the ultimate reason for the termination. At face value, the product is not a part of Coast Runner’s offerings.

Following the publication of this article, All3DP received a statement from Kickstarter explaining its decision. The email posted by Coast Runner was, a spokesperson claims, the original warning but not the final determination. They continue: “After sending that, Kickstarter investigated further and found a number of rule violations. In addition to the initial inadequate disclosure of AI in violation of our policy, the project was reselling an add-on, which is also a violation of our rules. The project also replicates a CNC machine used in connection with heavily regulated and banned items. Our rules prohibit projects that are illegal, heavily regulated, or potentially dangerous for backers, as well as items that already exist. On the whole and based on this combination of factors, we found that the project did not meet the criteria that creators present projects honestly and clearly as required, and suspended the project. ”

While this doesn’t fully account for some of the weaker arguments against Coast Runner that we outline above, Kickstarter’s list of reasons runs longer than Coast Runner lets on.

In a previous post about the Coast Runner, we drew attention to the fact that there are clear links between Coast Runner and Defence Distributed, the manufacturer of the Ghost Gunner, a CNC machine specifically tailored to the production of firearm components. On paper, the Coast Runner CR-1’s stated performance and design are extraordinarily close to the Ghost Gunner. Coast Runner has repeatedly ignored All3DP’s requests for clarification on its links to Defence Distributed. Kickstarter’s statement and Coast Runner’s lack of public acknowledgment of elements of Kickstarter’s decision appear to back this assertion up.

The project is far from over. At the time of updating this piece with Kickstarter’s statement, Coast Runner says it has blown past its IndieGoGo funding goal in just ten minutes. There aren’t many lower-cost desktop metal CNC machines around, and the project as outlined, even if it is (or isn’t) a reskinned Ghost Gunner softened for a broader customer base, could be a good thing for lowering a barrier in desktop CNC machining.

You’ve read that; now read these:

License: The text of "Coast Runner Kickstarter Campaign Terminated, Relaunches on IndieGoGo" by All3DP is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.