Xenon™ user, Richard Shannon, offers this insight about the additive rather than subtractive manufacturing process using 3D printing.

I’ve got an illustration degree and have been using a lot of large printing equipment, 3 axis cutting and milling equipment for making signs. So it’s an interesting transition going to something that is additive as far as manufacturing goes. I’m used to cutting and removing things using like a mill which would be subtractive. It’s kind of a different mindset on how to approach things and how you design things. When you’re adding things you have the ability to have complete hollows inside things and you can make “blind” things that you can’t see or get to with some sort of cutting tool. When you’re 3D printing you’re building in layers. So layers can cover up what was layers underneath them and in the process of doing that you can have cavities and moving parts pre-assembled that aren’t really possible with traditional subtractive kind of milling and water jet techniques.

Richard Shannon