Quote:
Originally Posted by HardDrive
So why is adding material better than taking a block of existing material and removing the excess to reveal the shape?
|
The operative word is "prototype". The stl prototypes, when finally approved, are generally used to make molds for casting, as a model for parts to be machinined, or as a visualization tool for whichever process is most amenable to the number of parts to be produced. To produce a thousand parts using stl would most likely be cost prohibitive compared to alternatives and the media applicable to the process is limited. Unless things have changed recently, that's my understanding.