Manufacturer Tells Customers to Print Replacement Parts with 3D Printers | Hacker News Reader

Manufacturer Tells Customers to Print Replacement Parts with 3D Printers

wired.com

I don't see a lot of companies doing this in the near future. Most of the products out there are made in different materials and most companies consider their CAD drawings to be their IP. You might as well partner up with a Chinese company and let them copy your product.

I have 2 questions: What's the cost to print one of those components ? And if every component can be 3D printed, how do you make money ?

A lot of the 3D printing as a service sites allow you to choose the material. Obviously it's limited to materials that can be 3D printed, but most support some plastic, ceramic, and metal. [1]

The price per part depends on the material and the size of the part. In this case, the parts were linked in the article [2]. It looks like $2-$5 per part, depending on the material.

It didn't say all of the parts were 3D printable, and from the looks of it, they've only put up STL files for the boring parts. It would take a good CAD person less than 10 minutes to reproduce most of the parts they have listed, generate their own STL, and have it 3D printed anyway.

[1] http://www.shapeways.com/materials

[2] http://www.shapeways.com/search?q=acc+stl

"Buttons" sound like a complement to the synthesizer's business. If buttons become super-cheap for their customers, their customers will buy more synthesizers, without the need for the company to maintain any kind of inventory or fulfillment for replacement parts.

There is the "sell the razor for free and make up for it on the blades" model that completely doesn't work if customers can print their own blades, but this company doesn't seem to be using that model.

Interesting. I own an OP-1, amazing synth. These guys at teenage Engineering are an impressive cutting edge company, I love their design and the way they bring a fresh approach to their products. The OP Lab is great example (beside the OP-1 itself), sort of a audio addon laboratory for sound nerds: www.teenageengineering.com/products/oplab

Should this become commonplace in the future, we'll have to have a way for either everyone own a 3d printer, or for people to easily be able to find a 3d printer.

Incidentally, I'm working on something that does this and more. Details coming over the next few months.

If this does become commonplace, I think the likely outcome is that we see a Kinkos of 3d printing emerge.

That is a distinct possibility. Gives a new meaning to "General Store" if they can print anything.

My exact thoughts. Wouldn't be surprised if Kinkos themselves (FedEx Office, now) pushes into the field. And that we possibly start seeing CVS/Walgreens 1-hour photo-style printing services as well.

And maybe they can call it Shapeways.

Maybe Shapeways can open kiosks in mall parking lots.

I'd use that service.

Interestingly this approach also paves the way to create larger communities around their core product. Checkout controllerism and specifically a guy named Moldover on YouTube. Allowing the printing of simple parts is the first step towards more complex controller parts and getting people more and more invested in your product ecosystem.

I've been predicting this since 3D printers showed up

Wow

That is just odd normal printers work fine!

I agree

Me too

Me three.

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