3D printed spares: broken and discontinued parts
We reproduce in Barcelona the plastic part that broke and is no longer made: knobs, clips, gears, brackets. What can be copied and what cannot.
The story is always the same: a three-euro plastic part breaks and the manufacturer tells you the model is from 2014 and there is no spare. The whole appliance works perfectly. Printing that part costs far less than a new appliance, and often comes out stronger than the original, because the original was moulded in the cheapest plastic that would outlast the warranty.
What we need in order to copy it
In order of preference: an STL you already have or have found, the broken part itself, or a dimensioned sketch measured with callipers. A photo alone is not enough — no scale, no depth — but a photo with callipers or a ruler beside it, plus the three or four dimensions that actually matter, is usually enough for simple parts.
Which material, by where it lives
| Where the part lives | Material | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Indoors, no heat | PETG | The default. Tougher than PLA, does not go brittle. |
| Near a motor, oven or lamp | ABS | Holds to 95 °C. Essential inside appliances. |
| Gear or rubbing part | Carbon fibre PLA | Stiff, wears well. Not for high-torque gears. |
| Seal, bumper or damping part | TPU | Flexible. Replaces lost rubber feet and grommets. |
How to make it stronger than the original
- Orientation: the part is placed so the load does not try to peel layers apart. It matters most, and costs nothing.
- More perimeters before more infill. Four walls at 20 % infill beat two walls at 60 %, and cost less.
- A fillet on the corner where the original snapped. It almost always broke exactly there, on a sharp edge.
- Order two. The second carries the volume discount and saves repeating the whole exercise in two years.
Can you make a part that is no longer manufactured?
Yes, as long as it is plastic and not a safety part. It is one of our most frequent jobs: knobs, clips, covers, low-load gears, trim and brackets from discontinued appliances. We need the broken part, a dimensioned sketch or a 3D model.
I only have the broken part, no drawings. Is that enough?
That is normal and it is enough. With the part in hand it gets measured with callipers and modelled. If you also still have the matching part from the other side, or the recess it fits into, better still: that is what resolves the missing geometry when the broken piece is gone.
Which parts will you not print?
Anything whose failure could hurt somebody: brakes, steering, suspension, child-seat anchors, seat belts, structural members, helmets or ladders. Nor anything under pressure or in a gas circuit. A printed part has layers, and layers are a fracture plane a moulded part does not have.
How long does a bespoke spare take?
What sets the schedule is the modelling, not the printing. The biggest help in shortening it is bringing the part to the workshop rather than sending photos, and saying from the start which dimensions have to fit. With that, a simple part is settled in days and printing then follows whichever lead time you pick.
Where it works well
- Knobs, dials and handles for discontinued appliances
- Plastic clips, tabs and anchors that have snapped
- Covers, grilles and trim nobody makes any more
- Low-load gears in toys, blinds and small mechanisms
- Furniture brackets and feet, when one is missing and is not sold separately
Where it stops
- Safety parts. No brakes, seat belts, child-seat anchors, helmets or ladders. No exceptions.
- Trademarked parts for resale. We reproduce a spare for your own appliance, not runs of another brand’s parts.
- Parts under pressure, gas, or hot pressurised water. Printed plastic has layers, and layers are where it splits.
- Reverse engineering from a photo. We need the broken part, dimensioned measurements, or a scan.
Recommended materials
Related guides
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