How to reproduce a plastic part you cannot find in Morocco

First, decide whether the part can be reproduced

Before measuring anything, three questions decide. What does the part do: hold, guide, cover, flex? What does it endure: load, heat, sun, water? And what is it made of: a hard matte plastic, a slightly flexible one, a rubber?

• Reproduces well: clips, clamps, tabs, knobs, dials, handles, covers, brackets, angles, feet, spacers, wheels, lids, grilles, simple gears.
• Reproduces with care: a part that gets hot (engine bay away from the exhaust, a power-supply housing), a body part in the sun, a flexible part. The polymer makes the difference.
• Does not reproduce in FDM: transparent parts, those touching a flame or exceeding about a hundred degrees, a vehicle's safety parts, details finer than half a millimetre.

For a car part, the Automotive page gives examples of what works and what does not.

Measure and photograph the part

Everything the photo does not show has to be measured. A 50 MAD calliper is enough; failing that, a ruler graduated in millimetres and a little method.

1. Keep every piece, even the chips: assembled, they give the complete shape.
2. Measure the dimensions that matter for the use: overall length, width and height; hole diameters and spacing; wall and tab thickness; the dimensions of whatever the part fits into.
3. Photograph from the front, the side, above and below, on a plain background, with the ruler or calliper in the frame every time.
4. Photograph the place where the part mounts too: the seat, the opposing clips, the neighbouring part. The decisive dimensions are often there.
5. Note the appliance or vehicle reference, and if possible the number moulded on the part.

A part you can send us is worth every photo: we measure it ourselves. Ask on the Custom project page.

File, library or modelling

• You have a STL, OBJ, 3MF file: drop it on the online quote, choose the polymer, and the delivered price shows.
• Someone may have modelled it already: for a common appliance part, search the reference on Printables, Thingiverse or MakerWorld. The guide 3D printing without a printer explains what to download and what to check.
• Otherwise we model it: photos and measurements on the Custom project page, a price for modelling and printing before anything is made, and the file stays in your account for the following copies.

The Reproducing a broken part page describes the service end to end.

Choose the polymer by the use, not by the original

The original plastic is rarely printable as such, and it does not matter: we choose the one that holds up to the same use.

The PETG, ASA and TPU pages detail how each holds up to heat, UV and water; the Materials page compares the whole catalog.

What redrawing lets you improve

• Thicken the tab that broke, where there is room: it was often the under-sized one.
• Add a fillet at the corner where the crack started: a sharp corner concentrates stress.
• Keep walls of at least 0.8 mm, and 2 mm for a part that gets handled.
• Split a part over 256 mm into two pieces that assemble.
• Allow a little clearance on a tight fit: the first part is adjusted, the following ones are identical.

What it costs and how long it takes

Printing is priced on machine time and material deposited, with a minimum of 105.00 MAD per order, delivery included. A common spare part of a few tens of grams most often sits at the minimum or just above; several parts in one order share the service fee. For a sense of scale, a solid 30 mm cube costs 105.00 MAD delivered in PLA.

Modelling is priced separately, by complexity, and stated with the printing price before you agree. Allow a few days for the drawing, then 2 to 3 days from payment to delivery, delivery included. The guide How much does 3D printing cost in Morocco details the calculation on real parts.