The German CV maker, Daimler Buses, announced that bus/touring coach companies and service partners will be able to manufacture spare parts themselves by 3D printing through its Omniplus service brand.
The company noted that this will benefit customers from the brands, including Mercedes-Benz and Setra buses.
The requirements for the process include a certified 3D printer, a one-off registration process and a license for the required part in the desired quantity to create the bus/touring coach company's own 'mini parts factory', the company said.
The company noted that from June of this year, more than 100 parts of the currently more than 1,500 different 3D-printable components will be available as the first licenses from the digital warehouse. Additional spare parts will follow as digital licenses.
Bus/touring coach companies need to complete a one-off registration process at the 3D Printing license eShop with their 3D printers. The launch was implemented together with industrial 3D printer manufacturer “Farsoon Technologies”, the CV maker added.
At the shop, customers are only shown the parts that are available for or compatible with their own printer. Additional 3D printer providers will be gradually added over time.
Additionally, the customer also needs to purchase an encrypted 3D printing license for the component they currently require in the desired quantity and can print it out within their own enterprise.
After successfully printing the part, the respective license expires without the data being saved.
Alternatively, customers can let their nearest Omniplus service partner know about their requirements. The service partner can then acquire the corresponding license and take care of the printing.
'Wibu Systems' encryption technology ensures that the data is protected throughout the process and kept to the ordered quantity.
Digital Warehouse For 3D Printed Parts
Daimler Bus claims that it has been working on digital production technology since 2016. Meanwhile, the Omniplus service brand has designated around 40,000 bus/touring coach spare parts from the Mercedes-Benz and Setra brands as suitable for 3D printing, the company said.
Initially, the service brand concentrates on more than 7,000 parts that are to be digitised gradually. To store all these components, the CV maker plans to create a digital warehouse that will be expanded continuously and includes both regularly required spare parts and rarely required parts for special customer requests.
This warehouse is said to form the basis for 3D printing license management, while the company aims to further optimise the rapid availability of spare parts.