Bingo. Pistons have about as much work in them as a piece of jewelry. by the time your 3d printer cranks out a part, a five stage hot press and a normalizing

Bingo. Pistons have about as much work in them as a piece of jewelry. by the time your 3d printer cranks out a part, a five stage hot press and a normalizing furnace have already shot out enough raw forged parts to make your printer an expensive paperweight. depending on the metal you can still heat-treat it, but thats a big "depending." metals for pistons and gears are an incredible trade secret. sometimes gas furnace hardening happens after shave or milling steps or even inbetween them. 3d printed parts are right up there in terms of durability with prototype parts, but miles away in terms of cost. these arent your average sintered metal molds.