Daimler Buses is taking a leading role in the production of spare parts from the 3D printer and is offering high-quality, quickly available spare parts to customers from the 3D printer. At the end of 2020 these will be manufactured in top quality directly in BusWorld Home and customised in accordance with customer requirements.
Using 3D printing, Daimler’s bus division can quickly, flexibly, economically and environmentally responsibly react to urgent customer requirements, and in particular in the case of rarely ordered components or special customer requests. This includes covers and handles, and even extends as far as a diverse range of individual brackets. Today, complex, non-safety-relevant 3D printed components, which until now comprised several individual components such as plastic caps for metal fixtures and hinges, are already being used in the bus interior. Furthermore, at present the “Centre of Competence for 3D Printing” is examining over 300,000 different bus spare parts in detail as to their suitability as 3D printed parts – around 200 of them have already been approved for 3D printing.
In the next stage, Daimler Buses wants to continually expand on this, with the overall aim of being able to directly print 3D replacement parts in-house for customers. Furthermore, the Centre of Competence is working on optimising the raw materials used for printing so that the printed parts meet the future specification requirements anticipated in the next few years. 3D printing also allows for metal components to be produced for subsequent installation in vehicles. These spare parts are also more sturdy than the conventional components as the 3D printing process used here is a microscopic welding process.
From mid-2020, Omniplus will also be able to supply 3D-printed personalised interior decor components for retrofitting in accordance with specific customer requests. No matter whether the parts are handle inserts, side panelling for coach seats, top-quality decorative parts for folding tables or eye-catching customer logos for the entry area – all of these can be designed with their own decor and graphics and ordered with different surfaces (grained, smooth or other alternatives). Processing will soon be carried out via the Omniplus eShop in the On portal, where customised data can be uploaded directly. The parts can then be simply replaced by the customer. The advantages of the new 3D printing technology thus become tangible.
