Re: In business (It's a funny thing that CNC)
"no one puts a program together for just one piece"
Where I work, we do - and CNC is used because it can consistently machine to tolerances finer than any mere human could achieve.
It's amazing to see a 30kg aluminium ingot turned into a box with paper-thin walls, supporting ribs, etc. (Weight savings of 90% for spacecraft parts). Yes, it could be 3D printed (and probably will be in future) but current printing tech outgasses too much to be flyable on long-duration missions.