If the machine is available and it’s a hobby project it’s ok, but you’re right this is not a cheap or easy way to do it.

But as a mechanical engineer, the whole project is such a “software” approach to me, starting from turning the selected tool into a requirement to use. Then, rather than just powering through in solidworks for a one-off design, the author spends a lot of time looking for automation tools like they are a library, points out this approach feels like coding in rust, gives up, and even blogs about it.