> why does it appears as if this isn't much of a thing outside of the US?
Patents. SawStop does not sell outside the US/NA to my knowledge and they hold all the patents required.
In 2015 Bosch introduced a system that did essentially the same thing as SawStop, but with a slightly different mechanism. SawStop sued in the US and won against Bosch.
Since 2017 SawStop is part of Festool, which explains why their tech is slowly making their way into Festool products. For example, the TKS 80 has the SawStop functionality built in. But at an MSRP of ~2.500€ it’s not really a hobbyist machine.
Bosch REAXX has a significant advantage, that being it is non-destructive to the saw blade when it activates. All you have to do is press a reset button and you are back to work. Not having the option of buying this tech instead of SawStop's in the US was a net negative for consumers, IMO.
Patents. SawStop does not sell outside the US/NA to my knowledge and they hold all the patents required.
In 2015 Bosch introduced a system that did essentially the same thing as SawStop, but with a slightly different mechanism. SawStop sued in the US and won against Bosch.
Since 2017 SawStop is part of Festool, which explains why their tech is slowly making their way into Festool products. For example, the TKS 80 has the SawStop functionality built in. But at an MSRP of ~2.500€ it’s not really a hobbyist machine.