3D printing & scanning spare parts for household appliances

[Filippos]

I just had the idea, so this is a braindump. Would be very thankful for feedback and scrutiny of my thinking / assumptions.

Problem: It´s a pain in the butt, when some small piece of household appliances break down. In the past few weeks, I wanted to replace a broken piece of my lawnmower and a broken piece of our baby stroller and I´m not even that kind of guy that fixes stuff in the house all the time.
For both parts, I had to google the supplier and the parts and find out that a replacement would cost at least 20 € plus shipment costs.
I caught myself thinking: "I wish I could just scan it and 3D print a replacement part without having to search or drive to the next possible shop that could potentially have the spare part."
Buying a 3D printer and a 3D scanner is too expensive just for those 2 parts every few weeks / months.

Solution: Setting up a local 3D printing and scanning shop could be one solution for many people.
For the parts I wanted to replace, a low accuracy scanner, such as a simple iphone or a tablet can suffice, as long as one takes several pictures from different directions (photogrammetry).
There are several apps that can be used to combine the pictures and create an .STL file that can be used on a 3D printer.
Taking several pictures from several directions could be automated by a simple fixture that I can design and set up myself (good thing I´m an engineer lol). But this can wait for a later stage. In the beginning, the customer can just come in the shop, place the part on a table and use the iphone or table I can have in the shop to do it manually.
A simple SLA 3D printer should suffice for the kinds of parts I have in mind. The 3D printer can work on standard Nylon filament (PLA).
Depending on the size of the part, a cost can be calculated automatically based on the amount of filament used for the part plus overhead.

CENTS:
Control - No
Entry - Effort to search for equipment, commission it, test it out. Expertise to automate and make use idiot-safe.
Need - It has to be tested, I don´t know how many people would jump on this and if they would pay enough to do it.
Time - I want to avoid waiting around in the shop until someone comes. One alternative would be to set up an online shop that creates a ticket. The customer can use this ticket to enter the shop and use the equipment. The problem is that I have to automate the use of the equipment in a way that anyone can do it without damaging it and without getting frustrated on how to get good results.
Scale - As long as it runs automatically and idiot-safe, the shop can be set up on many different cities. Maybe through a franchise system.

Next Steps:

1. Set up a small local campaign advertising that I want to open such a shop. I can ask people to either give a thumbs up or give feedback on the types of parts they wanted to replace before seeing the ad or even send money to get the shop going (e.g. through a link to crowdfunding).
2. Research the cost for the minimum viable product and how much overhead it creates.
3. Create concepts for automation and idiot-safe use.

 

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[RightyTighty]

Errors in your description of 3D printing and your assumption that there are idiot-proof 3D printers (there aren’t) lead me to assume that you don’t have much personal experience with the process. There are lots of people currently monetizing 3D printing in niche markets, but the only ones doing really well are those who provide specialty services and/or short run production to industrial clients. As in any other technical arena, there is always room for innovative marketing and delivery of services in 3D printing. That said, neither “plug and play” nor profitability in the one-off consumer market are viable business plans at this time. I do like the value proposition; the technology just isn’t there yet.

 

[Devilery]

I like the concept but I don't believe you can make it "idiot-proof". People don't read instructions, nor do they care about your equipment (generalized). There will be people who don't know how to use it, who don't (or don't want to) understand your instructions, and who will be frustrated with the process.

You need at least one specialist on site who gets paid hourly to oversee every machine.

 

[Filippos]

Agreed, thank you for your feedback.

I was thinking about adding some features that improve customer experience.
For example, I can programm an automatic evaluation of the ratio between polygons and overall surface, so that the customer doesn't have to analyse the quality of the scan.
This can be done on the .STL file with a python program that runs independently of the scanning app.
I'm sure this cannot solve all problems for all types of parts, but that could be enough for simple spare parts of household appliances. I can at least test this out for the two parts I got this idea from.
I can also show the result of the first optimization of the scan and give the customer the possibility to run a further optimization to use smaller polygons if necessary.
Instead of giving instructions on how to scan, I can set up a fixture that moves the scanner on predefined positions that can scan all surfaces of the part.

As a first step, I think just having a scanner in the stop would be enough.
3D printing takes a lot of time. No one would wait around until the part is 3D printed. I'll have to ship it later anyways or feed the part on a locker that can be opened up from outside the shop with a password, similar to what DHL is doing with the automatic post stations in Germany.
So it makes more sense to focus on improving the customer experience with the scanner and make this step idiot-proof.

What other problems do you guys think of when you're saying the technology is not there yet?
Maybe there are some solutions I van think of and test them out.
Thanks again for your replies.

 

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[Filippos]

starting to think whether this is more suitabe for selling it to big shops like Bauhaus, OBI, Brico, Hubo, etc.

challenge here is to provide services when the scanner breaks down or the software doesn´t work properly
there is no big downside for such shops: if the equipment doesn´t work, no customer will say that they don´t want to go to the shop anymore, if anything, their customers will be surprised and excited that this shop is providing such a solution

I will ask some of the local shops if they are down to get this in their shop.

not sure how much money I can ask for this from a shop, probably on a monthly rate
the shop doesn´t have to pay any expendables, since the parts can be 3D printed by some other 3D printing supplier

 

[NervesOfSteel]

I just had the idea, so this is a braindump. Would be very thankful for feedback and scrutiny of my thinking / assumptions.

Problem: It´s a pain in the butt, when some small piece of household appliances break down. In the past few weeks, I wanted to replace a broken piece of my lawnmower and a broken piece of our baby stroller and I´m not even that kind of guy that fixes stuff in the house all the time.
For both parts, I had to google the supplier and the parts and find out that a replacement would cost at least 20 € plus shipment costs.
I caught myself thinking: "I wish I could just scan it and 3D print a replacement part without having to search or drive to the next possible shop that could potentially have the spare part."
Buying a 3D printer and a 3D scanner is too expensive just for those 2 parts every few weeks / months.

Solution: Setting up a local 3D printing and scanning shop could be one solution for many people.
For the parts I wanted to replace, a low accuracy scanner, such as a simple iphone or a tablet can suffice, as long as one takes several pictures from different directions (photogrammetry).
There are several apps that can be used to combine the pictures and create an .STL file that can be used on a 3D printer.
Taking several pictures from several directions could be automated by a simple fixture that I can design and set up myself (good thing I´m an engineer lol). But this can wait for a later stage. In the beginning, the customer can just come in the shop, place the part on a table and use the iphone or table I can have in the shop to do it manually.
A simple SLA 3D printer should suffice for the kinds of parts I have in mind. The 3D printer can work on standard Nylon filament (PLA).
Depending on the size of the part, a cost can be calculated automatically based on the amount of filament used for the part plus overhead.

CENTS:
Control - No
Entry - Effort to search for equipment, commission it, test it out. Expertise to automate and make use idiot-safe.
Need - It has to be tested, I don´t know how many people would jump on this and if they would pay enough to do it.
Time - I want to avoid waiting around in the shop until someone comes. One alternative would be to set up an online shop that creates a ticket. The customer can use this ticket to enter the shop and use the equipment. The problem is that I have to automate the use of the equipment in a way that anyone can do it without damaging it and without getting frustrated on how to get good results.
Scale - As long as it runs automatically and idiot-safe, the shop can be set up on many different cities. Maybe through a franchise system.

Next Steps:

1. Set up a small local campaign advertising that I want to open such a shop. I can ask people to either give a thumbs up or give feedback on the types of parts they wanted to replace before seeing the ad or even send money to get the shop going (e.g. through a link to crowdfunding).
2. Research the cost for the minimum viable product and how much overhead it creates.
3. Create concepts for automation and idiot-safe use.

Done and dusted with this business back in 2016 when 3D printing was a craze!

1. Most stl files sux, probably because they're done with people who don't know how NOT to fu*k up the print. Just as @RightyTighty said, there's no Idiot-proof 3D printer!

2. You're responsible for delivering the "good" print. All bad prints are your loss in material, time and money.

3. 3D printing consumes time. Its an extremely slow process. All the videos on YouTube are fast forward. I have done prints that took more than 18 hours.

This might have changed since 2017 with development in 3D printers but I have not been tracking this niche anymore!

4. 3D printers consume electricity, need maintenance and nozzles often require cleaning.

I did made some money initially but in the long run it turned out to be extensive time consuming vs low overall return business!

Edit : The low cost 3D printers don't produce prints that qualify for industrial grade prototyping!