It is important to briefly look at the concepts of additive and subtractive manufacturing to understand why the modules have been generated. Subtractive manufacturing involves creating objects by removing (or subtracting) material from a solid block of material (e.g. metal). Typically, machinery and components manufactured with a CNC Machine fall under this category. This cutting is actually done in the 3D space (x, y, z) and numerous advances have been made in CNC machine technology over the years that have greatly enhanced the processes. On the other hand, with additive manufacturing objects are built by consecutively placing material in the form of layers (one on top of the other) so as to create a specific shape. Depending on the actual product and industry, these steps may change but these represent some of the basic steps generally followed in additive manufacturing processes.

When viewed with standard desktop virtual reality on standard web browsers, additional low-cost devices such as TouchPad and Stylus Pen can be used to enhance interactions and navigation functionalities.