How Does It Work?
Because keeping an inventory of spare parts can be rather costly for suppliers, many turn to additive manufacturing (AM) solutions. That’s because it’s much easier and cheaper to only keep digital blueprints instead of physical parts.
The process is simple. You need a certain spare part, so you call the supplier in order to get it. Immediately after, the supplier gets in touch with their AM partner to have the part 3D printed.
Of course, there are multiple solutions to have spare parts 3D printed, and the above seems like it’s best suited to businesses. So how should you go about printing spare parts?
Well, one option is to use a 3D printing service to get your already existing 3D file of the spare part printed. Alternatively, you can search the web for 3D models of spare parts you need and then print the parts by yourself. (Or, again, have them printed by a professional service.)
In the following, we take a look at some of the best sites for 3D printing spare parts and finding their models.
MyMiniFactory – Browse 3D Models of Popular Spare Parts
If you’ve been in 3D printing for some time, you’ve probably already heard of or even used MyMiniFactory. It’s an online library of 3D models, all of which are available for download so that you can use them and print them yourself.
Because MyMiniFactory has a great community of makers, there are lots of 3D models of spare parts available. Spare parts even have their own section on MyMiniFactory’s website. Many are even separated into categories, which should make it easier to find what you’re looking for.
Although we can’t guarantee everyone will find what they need, it’s definitely worth checking out MyMiniFactory’s selection of spare parts.
If you find a 3D model of a spare part you need on MyMiniFactory, simply download it and print it, or get it printed by a professional 3D printing service. Click here to find out which are the best 3D printing services.
SpareParts3D – Stop Warehousing
If you own a business that requires an inventory of spare parts, consider looking into SpareParts3D. Here’s why.
As we briefly described above, many suppliers have recently turned to additive manufacturing to solve the problem of maintaining inventories of spare parts.
Instead of keeping an inventory of physical objects, SpareParts3D provides a service of “digital warehousing”, which basically means there are no physical objects, only blueprints. When the request for a certain spare parts pops up, SpareParts3D takes the blueprint and manufactures the necessary piece.
Not only does it kill the need for keeping an inventory, it also reduces transport as parts can be locally manufactured for a very low price.
Kazzata – Digital Spare Parts Supply Chain
Kazzata is, as it’s creators say, an online spare part platform and CAD file repository.
Kazzata works similar to SpareParts3D. The idea is, if you’re a manufacturer and you keep physical versions of spare parts, to get rid of your inventory and turn it into a digital marketplace.
Kazzata can integrate with your online store, which makes it easy to sell spare parts online. All you need to do is to create a digital inventory of spare part blueprints and that’s pretty much it. When a customer orders a certain spare part from your website, Kazzata takes care of billing, producing and shipping the part to the customer.
To make things easier, Kazzata works with many 3D printing bureaus, so spare parts can be 3D printed as close as possible to the customer.
Traceparts – Over 100 Million 3D CAD Models
Traceparts is an online platform where engineers can publish their own designs for spare parts and earn commission when people purchase their models. It also hosts catalogs of spare parts from many suppliers.
To give you an idea of how Traceparts works, imagine you’re the owner of a harbor in Italy. Then, one day, a bridge suddenly breaks. Well, now you need to purchase a new one, and that’s where Traceparts comes in handy. Among others, the website offers a catalog of spare parts from Osculati Srl, a company which produces nautical accessories in Italy.
You can simply browse the supplier’s catalog trough Traceparts and order the part you need to be 3D printed in high quality and delivered to you. This way the supplier doesn’t need to maintain and pay for keeping inventories as they have digital blueprints of spare parts.
Traceparts is a platform that enables suppliers to get rid of traditional inventories. However, you can also make a profit by selling your 3D models on Traceparts.
DiManEx – End-to-End Spare Part Service
As it’s creators say, DiManEx offers an end-to-end service for spare parts. And if that’s not enough, it also helps you reduce material and financial waste in your supply chain.
The idea behind DiManEx is to help companies build a smarter supply chain. It’s very similar to Kazzatta and SpareParts3D: Instead of mass producing spare parts, parts are produced on demand, cutting costs and transport time.
Thingiverse – A Plethora of Parts
Like MyMiniFactory, Thingiverse is a very popular site for downloading 3D models. As there are many active users on Thingiverse, it’s no surprise that there’s a handful of spare parts to choose from. Just search for the part you need and chances are someone has already designed it and made it available to download.
All you need to do is hit download and print. 3D printing spare parts locally has never before been so easy!
License: The text of "3D Printing Spare Parts: The Best Sites & Services" by All3DP is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.