Philips debuts 3D printable components to repair products

Only one part available right now. The idea is great, though.

Nice.
Those parts would be anyway hard to sell.
For the company would be a struggle to have a distribution for spare parts and they would cost more than the product anyway. So they can reach the customer through 3d printing and make their product live longer with a minimal effort. More brand should act like this.
- Making their product live longer is not usually the top priority for manufacturers. I like the initiative, of course, but I'm sort of waiting for the other shoe to drop. Sounds too good not to be a greenwashing gimmick.
  
  They make money on blade replacement cartridges. If the base unit lasts longer they still make more money in the long run from consumables. A lot like electric toothbrushes.
  Source: I have this shaver and buy replacement blades a few times a year.
- @hahaohwow @PotatoLibre I wonder if this isn't the way to cut costs on #RightToRepair in #EU - you just put out STLs and it's up to customer to fix his problem
  
  Still good! Printers are quite common these days: you either have one or maybe know someone who has one.
  
  That was my first thought, but it seems easier to run a few thousand more off the assembly line and make the original part than I'd think to have at least one person develop an adequate 3D part for an items that wasn't originally designed to be 3D printed.
  Even for a relatively simple item like the trimmer guard shown, as someone who used those on their whole head for many years, they need to have decent rigidity coming from a number of angles so it cuts evenly, so someone needs to design a decent print, find what types of stock provide the right durability, flex, etc.
  So it's doesn't sound that free for them or quick, but it's much cheaper than distribution for a bunch of random parts that may never get used.
  I'm curious to see long term effects if this catches on. Will more original parts be made with 3D printing if they need to design prints anyway?
  The big downside is even if this were available, I don't have a printer. I don't know anyone with one. I don't know where I could go to (?) rent time on one. So to me at the moment, this is as useful to me as no available replacement part! 😅

I want to see more companies doing this.
- https://www.thingiverse.com/miele_3d4u/designs
- The one that leaps to mind is Miele. You know, the $1400 vacuum cleaner people. So that's a little weird, but there it is.
- you don't need permission from the company to model your own replacement parts. It's nice if they provide the models but it's not necessary.
  
  I don't ask for permission to make my own parts. I do it all the time. What I mean is I want to see more companies proactively offering consumers replacement parts and design files that would otherwise not be available without good drawing and modeling skills.

Direct link: https://www.printables.com/@Philips

Thats really cool, hope this becomes more of a trend
- I don’t. Fdm printing has very small cracks at the layer lines. It wouldn’t be quite as bad as say, something with food, or for a close shave rather than a trim, but bacteria will grow in it.
  Fdm cannot be reasonably sterilized. Resin printers are better, but not perfect. Even if it doesn’t cause infections, it’s going to pick up an odor.

More.

I was thinking about 3D printing guards just the other day. It might be worth doing
- Yeah, half sizes are hard to find for a lot of clippers. Would be nice if more brands did this
- I need to, my partner knocked my Wahl off the cabinet and broke the guard, but I haven't printed anything in years and need to clean up/recalibrate my printers.

New from your friends at Heathy Awesome company Unite, a whole entire 3D printable set of body parts!
That's right! You'll be able to 3D print your own tooth and leg hip and knee implants! Need a heart or a lung? Don't worry you can just 3D print these and live a normal life! Poked your eye out? Chopped an ear or nose accidentally in a normal mowing accident? No problem! We got you covered!
Need extra toes, fingers or arms? Yup! You've guessed it! The number was 57! Congratulations! You're really good at guessing 57!

Or like,just buy one good razor
- They're less than useless for anyone that doesn't do a full clean shave. These guards are for trimming the length of the beard, not remove all of it.
  
  Er...are scissors not a thing in your country? Look I understand why you think that I also swallowed the Phillips coolaid,but they're lying to you man. Men have had beard and mustache for a long long long time before eletric razors. So I'll ask a favour of you,try the safety razor/ scissors for a month. Then come bad and tell me I'm wrong. Don't buy into the disposal plastic propaganda, get a real razor,it's cheaper,nicer and better shave.
- The guards on any razor can break, unless you're talking about a safety razor. Those are awesome, but only good for a close shave.
  
  That's exactly what I'm talking about,your a man of class I see
- Which ones?
  
  I have an electric razor from The Beard Club. My previous one was this Phillips, and it is leagues upon leagues better.
  
  https://www.traditionalshaving.co.uk/268151-Safety-Razors
  This is where I get mine
  
  I use a muhle (they sell them on the link.) I’d suggest starting with a closed comb head and whatever handle suits you. (They’re interchangeable,)
  I use an open comb and it’s much more aggressive, and not for starting out.
  I’d recommend staying away from the frequently recommended “entry” razor- the Merkur 34c. The head on the one I tried has a ridiculous amount of play in how it held the blade- it’d clamp down but it’d never consistently seat itself so it was always off center or twisted.
  As for blades, I use feather, but you can buy variety packs and find the set that works for you. That tends to be the most variable part.
- Love my electric razor. It's 25 years old and still kicking. Never replaced the blades or battery. Ride or die electric forever. You can take it from my cold dead hands!
  
  THEN I WILL
  **lunges wildly **