So you do get part complexity for free with 3D Printing, but you sacrifice speed, surface quality, material properties, and tolerance - at least currently. As

So you do get part complexity for free with 3D Printing, but you sacrifice speed, surface quality, material properties, and tolerance - at least currently. As far as waste, laser 3DP probably wastes a lot of energy compared with CNC milling. The laser is probably several kW for many hours - where's a similar, but less complex, part in a CNC would take minutes - like everything it really depends on the application.