Re: Labour cost
Bingo, most of the replacement parts I buy are metal and while I could easily print out a wax form for casting it's much easier to hit the local hardware store and buy, let's say, a ball valve for $4.87 than it would be to model, print and cast the same thing. Talk to me about a cheap SLS machine and you've got my attention but the current hobby status is just that.
Consider in the past three years I've spent a total of $16-20 on plastic parts ranging from shower handles to cupboard door catches but I'd have to be pretty ham-handed to need to buy a hundred times that in a single year. Note that includes the things a certain fuzzy one has gnawed to bits during that time, albeit less so now with a proper set of teeth.