Remake a broken part, keep the appliance

Why these parts disappear

Manufacturers are only required to supply spare parts for a limited period, and many stop as soon as the model leaves the catalogue. After that the part exists nowhere: not at the manufacturer, not at the retailer, and not second-hand if the appliance sold poorly.

They are almost always small plastic parts: a knob, a clip, an end cap, a mounting tab, a roller. Nothing mechanically complex, but nothing that a generic equivalent replaces either, because the shaft socket or the hole spacing is specific.

What we need to remake it

The original part, even broken. That is the ideal case. We take the dimensions with callipers, including shaft splines and radii, and we model it. A part in three pieces is rebuilt from the fracture faces.

Failing that, dimensioned photographs. Lay the object flat next to a ruler, photograph it front and side, and note the three main dimensions. That is enough for many simple parts.

Failing even that, the mounting. If the part has vanished, we work from its housing: shaft diameter, groove width, screw spacing. It takes longer, but it works.

What it costs, honestly

Measuring and modelling are included in the price for a part of ordinary complexity. A simple spare part starts at €12 to €24, material and manufacture included.

It is not always cheaper than the original when the original still exists. If you find it at the manufacturer for €4, buy it: we will tell you so. Our value is in the cases where it no longer exists, or where the quoted lead time runs past six weeks.

The other gain comes later: you leave with the file. Next time there is no design to pay for, only manufacture. That matters when a part breaks regularly — and it often does, because the original was under-dimensioned.

Remake, or improve

A part that broke usually broke for a reason: a wall too thin, a sharp corner concentrating stress, a material unsuited to its environment.

A roller shutter end cap that gave way after eight years gave way to UV. Remaking it in PLA guarantees it will break faster than the original; in ASA it will outlast the original part. A car trim clip that tires on the third removal is remade in PA6-CF, whose tab keeps its spring.

We flag these cases as a matter of course. Reinforcing a part usually costs nothing extra: it is drawing, not material.

What we do not remake

Parts covered by a patent in force. Safety parts, whose failure injures. Parts under pressure. Structural elements carrying a significant load.

An ordinary production part, out of production, with no safety function, raises no legal issue at all: remaking a spare part for your own use is entirely lawful.

Also worth reading

• Spare part copied from your broken one
• Blind and roller shutter end cap
• Reverse engineering and reproduction of obsolete parts