Remake a discontinued spare part

A discontinued spare part can be remade with 3D printing, even if you have no file at all and the part is broken or incomplete. What you need is the part (or photos with measurements), CAD remodelling and the right material for the environment it works in. A typical part costs from 30 to 150 euros all included — far less than replacing the whole appliance or paying collector prices for an original.

The oven knob, the dashboard clip of a classic car, the roller of a dishwasher basket, the housing of a machine the manufacturer no longer supports: the problem is always the same — the part no longer exists and nobody tells you how to get it remade. Here you'll find the complete process, the real costs and the cases where 3D printing is not the right route.

What do you need to get started (even without a file or drawing)?

The starting point depends on what you have in hand. In every case you don't need to know CAD: the service rebuilds the model for you.

What you have	What to do
The 3D file (STL, STEP)	Upload it to the instant quote: price in a few seconds
The whole part (even worn)	Sharp photos from several sides + main dimensions taken with a caliper
The broken part in two or three fragments	Photos of the fragments placed together + measurements: it's rebuilt in CAD
An incomplete part (a piece is missing)	The missing geometry is worked out from the symmetrical side or from the seat it mounts into
Only the seat (the part is lost)	It's designed from scratch by measuring the mating part: screws, fits, overall dimensions

And no, 3D scanning is almost never needed. A part made of regular shapes (brackets, knobs, clips, gears, covers) is better measured with a caliper and redrawn in CAD: more accurate than a hobby scanner, which returns a messy mesh that takes hours to clean up. Scanning only pays off on complex organic surfaces, like a shaped fairing.

How it works, step by step

1. Assessing the part. Why did it break? Where does it work (heat, sunlight, petrol, load)? Material and design changes come out of this.
2. Measuring. Dimensions from the physical part, from dimensioned photos or from the mating part. The dimensions of an industrial part are almost always round numbers: 25.4 mm is one inch, and the model is rebuilt with logic, not by copying the wear.
3. CAD remodelling. The part is redrawn from scratch as a clean solid. It's also the moment to reinforce it where it broke: fillets, ribs, thicker walls. The printed copy can come out better than the original.
4. Preview and confirmation. You see the 3D model and the dimensions before anything is printed.
5. Printing and fit test. On critical fits it's normal to budget for a test print: FDM holes come out 0.1-0.3 mm undersized and the perfect fit is nailed on the first or second iteration.

How much does it cost to remake a discontinued spare part?

The main cost item isn't the printing, it's the CAD modelling. Printing a small part costs a few euros of machine time and material. Rebuilding the model is another matter: it takes hours of work and experience to capture the right dimensions, interpret the wear, understand where to reinforce and draw a solid that prints well on the first try. That's what you're paying for, and it's the reason the part arrives ready to fit. Some concrete reference figures, all included:

Part	Examples	Indicative cost
Simple	Knob, clip, spacer, hook, handle	30-60 euros
Medium	Shaped bracket, geared roller, hinge, mount	60-150 euros
Complex	Housing, grille, duct, panel, large part	150-400 euros

If you need more than one copy the numbers improve straight away: the modelling is paid once, and extra copies only cost the printing (for small batches see how contract 3D printing works). And the file remains yours: if the part breaks again in two years, it's reprinted the same day. To understand how the print price is built, read how much 3D printing costs; if you already have the file, here's how to prepare it.

Will the part hold up? The right material for every environment

It's the number one fear, and it's well founded: nearly every printed spare part that fails was printed in the wrong material (usually PLA on hot parts). The rule is to choose the polymer for the environment the part lives in, not for the price of the filament.

Where the part works	Material	Holds up to
Indoors, household environment	PETG	~65-70 °C
Outdoors, sunlight, dashboard	ASA (UV-stable)	~95 °C
Petrol, oils, greases	PA12 nylon (used in real fuel lines)	~100 °C
Gears, friction, impacts	PA nylon, plain or filled	~100 °C
Engine bay, high heat	PA6-CF / PAHT-CF (carbon fibre)	150 °C and above
Gaskets, flexible parts	TPU	room-temperature use; stays elastic, doesn't crack

Two precautions that matter as much as the material. First: the part must be oriented in printing so the load pulls along the layers, because the bond between layers is much weaker than the material in plane (strength in the XY plane is typically 4-5 times the strength along Z). Second: if the original broke at one specific spot, the design must be reinforced there, not copied.

There is, however, one deliberate exception: some parts are fragile on purpose. In a wire-feed welder the plastic gear acts as a mechanical fuse — it breaks to save the gearbox that costs ten times as much. In those cases the spare part should be made as strong as it needs to be to work for months, but no stronger than the original, otherwise the failure moves to the expensive component. The real figures for every material, temperature included, are in our materials guide; to help you choose, there's also the guide on which material to use for each application.

Is it legal to remake a spare part?

In the vast majority of cases yes, and it's worth knowing why. Patents last 20 years: on a discontinued product they have almost always expired. A registered design lasts at most 25 years, and for purely functional internal parts it usually never existed in the first place: a clip, a roller or a lever isn't a protected work. On top of that, the European Union has made the repair clause permanent (2024 design reform): spare parts intended to restore a product's original appearance can be produced legally, as long as it's clear they aren't original.

The real limits are two, and a serious service always respects them:

• No logos or trademarks. Trademarks never expire: the part is reproduced without any lettering and declared "compatible, non-original".
• No copies of other people's files. Remodelling your physical part from scratch is a clean position; downloading and printing the STL of a protected design is not (the EU reform treats even sharing the file as an infringement).

Doubt only remains around recent parts, still in production or tied to a registered design: there it's worth checking before going ahead, and asking when in doubt. For a product the manufacturer abandoned years ago, repair is exactly the case the law chose to protect.

When 3D printing is not the right answer

There are, however, parts that aren't worth printing:

• Safety parts: brakes, steering, suspension, pressurised components or parts in contact with gas, live electrical components. Printed materials don't carry the certifications to gamble with someone's safety.
• Prolonged contact with flame or temperatures above 250 °C: beyond the ceiling of even technical polymers.
• Integrated flexible hinges (living hinges): injection-moulded polypropylene ones withstand thousands of cycles, an FDM copy in the wrong material lasts dozens. It's redesigned with a pin, or replaced with an off-the-shelf hinge.
• Transparent optical parts (lenses, clear light covers): FDM gets to translucent at best.
• Parts still on sale at a normal price: if the original costs 8 euros and arrives tomorrow, buying it is the sensible choice. Reprinting wins when the part no longer exists, sells at collector prices, or keeps an appliance that would cost 400 euros new out of action for weeks.

Where do you start?

Go to the instant quote and choose the design route: attach photos of the discontinued spare part (whole or broken), the main dimensions taken with a caliper and a couple of lines on what it does and where it works. We take care of the rest: we remodel it in CAD, send you the preview to approve and print it in materials suited to indoor or outdoor use; the full service is described on the services page. If the part is hard to photograph or measure, you can also ship it to us: we receive it, measure it and send it back together with the new spare part. Already have the 3D file? Upload it and you'll see the price in a few seconds. On timing: with the file ready, printing usually takes 24-72 hours plus shipping; if CAD remodelling is needed, add a few days for measuring, drawing and the preview. Technical reply within 24 hours, and the person answering is the person doing the printing.