Time is money - even in component manufacturing. Researchers can continuously print out three-dimensional metal parts using a rapid manufacturing process. The unique feature is that they can vary the material composition in many ways.
Practice makes perfect, but even an expert in tool engineering and mold construction may be at his wits' end sometimes. If the craftsman is to integrate special features such as hard surfaces into parts with a complex shape, he would be well advised to use a generative process instead of machining. Rapid manufacturing processes of this kind do not remove material, but instead build up the pieces layer by layer.