Philips is launching a new Fixables initiative, in which the company will publish 3D drawings of spare parts for its trimmers and electric shavers. This will allow owners of the company's products to 3D print parts for self-repair, reports Engadget.
For the new program, Philips will partner with Prusa Research and LePub, as well as Printables to host 3D models. The project is currently in its early stages and is launching first in the Czech Republic. Philips explains this by saying that the program is launching in Prusa Research’s home country and that it is tapping into the 3D printing company’s existing community of makers for the project.
The Fixables project also has some limitations at the moment. Only one model is currently available on the Printables website, a comb attachment for the OneBlade trimmer. At the same time, according to the company, work is already underway on two more parts, and the presence of three additional elements without descriptions hints at a possible expansion of the range in the near future.
The Fixables website also provides a function for owners of trimmers and electric shavers - they can leave a request for additional models of parts that they would like to print on a 3D printer. At the same time, this approach has its drawbacks: in particular, the quality of the printed parts will depend on the materials used by the user. In addition, another limitation remains the accessibility of 3D printers themselves to the general public.
Even so, it's a pretty good initiative that will make repairing the company's products much easier. In the video presentation, Philips also notes that the ability to repair your devices yourself instead of throwing them away will have a positive impact on the environment.