A German design studio tried to drop clay and design in 3D only. The result surprised even the team.
One front bumper took 8–11 weeks to reach an approved design. It needed two full-size SLS prints, about €12,000 for printing alone. The same part in clay took one to two weeks, with zero design prints.
The reason is scale. A car is five metres long. A monitor never shows the whole picture.
I broke down the full numbers, the step-by-step process and where 3D still wins. Read it here: https://diagnozabam.ro/sfaturi/blog/clay-crushed-3d-2-weeks-vs-11-for-one-bumper/
If you find this kind of breakdown useful, a coffee helps me keep writing them.