[dnautics]

Shuttle tiles were also unique per position and starship tiles have a few base forms that are interchangeable

[amluto]

I would also believe that a robot could inspect and replace tiles a lot faster than humans.

[laughing_man]

Shuttle tiles were also bonded to the body, which I don't believe is the case with most of the Starship tiles.

[cma]

I thought Starship has many unique tiles, they ended up needing to vary thickness to match heat patterns to save weight and have some complicated geometry near the fins.

Shuttle had more unique perimeter shapes, but starship still has a lot of variation due to tickness. I don't know if that is easier to vary in production or still needs custom molds for the variation.