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Looks like there were only 620 backers, and 100 of those did not back something with enclosure. So that is just 520 enclosures, which sounds much more cost-effective to 3D print them.

Bet he was already over budget and the time to research that and get it done are huge and with many risks if you are new to it.

If you accept the look (which you did if you bought it) 3D printing seems like a no brainer for this project.

What if you realize that you need to make an adjustment of that $5k mold though?

You can also cast these with polyurethane. This reminds me of those 3D printed computer mice that cost a hundred dollars. They didn't bother with polyurethane casting nor did they bother with getting a high quality 3D printer... The thing is, 3D printing is so slow that even a manual process like polyurethane casting is faster and every mold is a "3d printer" in its own right so you could be making hundreds of parts in an eight hour shift as opposed to a single one.