“Nonetheless, being able to insert bulk raw material & push one button and have the entire functional product appear is a major paradigm shift.”
It’s really not that big of a shift from what is currently possible with a CNC Mill. You’d have to change tool heads manually and flip the billet over manually with a “hobbyist” level mill, but it’s essentially just “push a button” and the mill does all the work.
I’ve wondered the same questions using CNC. Seems someone did design an AR15 lower for easy CNC manufacture close to push button easy.