Some Early Machines by Tim Hunkin 

For sure I did a ton of tinkering like the hunkin, I wish I knew about his work sooner than Age 52

Ok but who is going to pay for the parts and the workshop

mmh, no, im knows very well microcontrollers and 3D printing, bu he chosed o use mechanical contraptios and PLC because these devices are used all year long by the public and need to be very strong and reliable. All the contrary of what you can do with a 3D printer. And for simple automation micrcontrollers are not better than PLC, actually they are not as good because these systems usually work with 12V or 24V and decent amount of current for motors and actuators, leading to a lot of back EMF, which microconttroller will nto like unless the circuit is designed to handle it? Using a PlC is simpler because it is already rugged.