Philips has launched a new initiative in collaboration with Prusa Research which allows consumers to 3D print their replacement parts for its products.
Philips Fixables is now live on Prusa’s Printables platform, allowing anyone to download a printable file for free and build their own spares and accessories at home. Currently, there’s just one model being offered on the site, a comb to fit a Philips OneBlade razor, but the company says if the pilot project is successful, Fixables will eventually host a collection of open source 3D printable spare parts along with “clever fixes, and creative upgrades, designed with sustainability and longevity in mind.” It’s also inviting the 3D printing community, repair enthusiasts and customers to get involved to help grow the platform and decide which parts to focus on next.
Philips, no stranger to 3D printing in its own product development, says its collaboration with Prusa has been key to ensuring file data is prepared to the highest quality to deliver finished parts that are durable and long-lasting. Each listing also details recommended materials for best results per Philips’ testing.
The intent is to encourage consumers to repair rather than replace their electrical products. According to data from the UK’s Recycle Your Electricals campaign, 103,000 tonnes of electricals are discarded annually, and just last year alone, almost half a billion small electrical ‘FastTech’ items such as cables, decorative lights and mini fans, were tossed away instead of being reused or recycled. With claims that 77% of Europeans would prefer to repair rather than buy new, Philips hopes its latest offering will mean its products last longer in people’s homes and avoid being unnecessarily tossed into landfills.
The pilot is being launched in the Czech Republic, where Prusa is headquartered, but Philips says, once proved out, it plans to expand to other countries with additional parts.
3D printing has been widely adopted by industrial users for spare parts for everything from replacement rail parts to critical marine components, to overcome long lead times and challenges associated with operating in remote environments. On the consumer side, brands like IKEA have experimented with offering customers the option to 3D print their own accessories, while previous initiatives like ShaRepair, aimed to decrease WEEE (Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment) from consumer products through citizen repair initiatives leveraging digital tools. Although the dream of a 3D printer in every home never quite came to fruition, and it’s not that easy to disrupt established spare part supply chains, initiatives like this demonstrate where the sweet spot is for 3D printing to offer an alternative to the traditional spare parts model.
