That makes it a great candidate for near-net casting. That way you save the 80% of tre billet you'd be turning into chips, and your fancy CNC gets more parts per shift.
Alternately, you can do the rough machining on a cheaper 3-axis machine (even outsourcing it).
That’s a good point. Running two CNC machines is a lot easier than running one machine and dealing with a foundry. I mean I’ve only ever dealt with one foundry and they were flaky, and obviously there must be reliable foundries out there, but I don’t like relying on outside shops any more than necessary.
Came here to say the same, and want to add: And longer tool lifetime as well.