OEM Parts: Benefits for 3D Printers

Benefits exist for OEMs who embrace 3D printing parts — including by third parties

3D-printing companies were beginning to create a grey or black market for copies of OEM parts without the automaker’s validation, similar to how Napster created a black market for digital music 25 years ago.

Besides the loss of OEM profits, this situation poses risks for an automaker’s consumers. If the grey- or black-market part is produced using methods not up to OEM specs, the component could fail.

Automakers could do what musicians eventually did — digitize, distribute and monetize their products.

Customers will pursue what’s inexpensive and convenient. “The end users want to take advantage of it".

For example, Nissan could sell an authorized $10 digital specification file for a hard-to-find 1977 Datsun clip. A customer could upload that file into a qualified 3D printing device and reproduce the clip with an OEM-approved level of quality.

The part might have originally cost 15 cents, but paying the $10 and printing it means “it’s there tomorrow". The car doesn’t have to sit on the lot while the part is located through traditional means. An insurer might be willing to pay $10 to save the time, he noted.

Print-on-demand would work for regular replacement components as well as obscure, out-of-production ones like the Datsun clip. Not all parts will be candidates for 3D printing, however.

“It’s 5 to 15 percent of the products out there today".

A body shop manages say, 85 percent of its products with traditional inventory and traditional restocking processes. But for the other 15 percent, like obscure nozzles and other “oddballs,” you would contact the vendor and have them 3D-print the part. Both arrive on the same truck.

“A shop owner should not know the difference". The only indication should be the faster lead time possible when ordering a 3D-printed part.

It will be important to find a credible supplier, however.

Automakers who digitize legacy parts and futureproof repair parts “will reap the benefits first".

The OEM approves the part needed for the repair at 2 a.m. and activates the printers at its network facilities. The necessary number of parts are printed overnight and ready to go the next morning for the repairs.

The sooner an OEM begins to embrace the process, the less revenue will be lost to the black and gray markets. Plus, the OEM can shed the expense of managing some legacy parts.

Ford applied a form of this share-the-specs business model with the upcoming 2022 Maverick.

The hybrid truck contains a slot behind the center console designed for a system it calls “Ford Integrated Tether System,” or “FITS.” The OEM plans on creating and helping customers 3D-print gadgets to fit in the structure.

“An available accessory package includes cupholders, a storage or trash bin, cord organizer, double hook for grocery bags and purses, and under-seat storage dividers,” Ford wrote in June. “More FITS slot creations are in development and Ford is working to publish the slot geometry so people can 3D-print DIY solutions to further fit their lifestyle. Those accessories can be stored in multiple slots under the rear seats, which could also be used for novel applications on their own.”