illustrator or 3d printing

Ah, the joys of working with a large, wealthy, well equipped company. Oh, you need that model 1:1? Send it to the model maker for an overnight print on the 3d printer. In hand the next day, you get "it" and adjust accordingly.

Ah the joys of working with a small, running in the red, resourceful company. Oh, you need that model 1:1? Make it in Illustrator (a 2d program), wave your hand in front of lcd screen, print it out, more waving, maybe mount it to foam core and make believe. Half a day later you get the gist of the form, and adjust on vague knowledge. Maybe one step forward or two back, who really knows.

While 3d printing is very expensive, takes a bit longer, you get REAL results. Illustrator only takes you so far, before long you'll need to make by hand, which takes two days maximum.
So, money gets you results? I haven't yet experienced having the luxury of a 3d printer that ultimately skews ones design sense, resulting in a miss communication, time lost, boss and client angry, well maybe not the last one.

Alas, there are exceptions to every rule.