Notes from the print bed.
Fitment guides, material breakdowns and reverse-engineering write-ups for discontinued and hard-to-find car parts.
[01]
Installing 3D-printed car parts: clips, fit and the mistakes to avoid
A part that fits perfectly on the bench can still fight you in the car. Here's what we've learned about clips, clearances...
[02]
OEM vs 3D-printed replacement parts: what you gain and what you give up
An OEM part is injection-moulded, tested to a specification and guaranteed to fit. A printed replacement isn't any of those things. So...
[03]
Heat, sun and the inside of a car: ASA, ABS and PETG compared
A car interior hits 70°C in summer and exterior trim sits in UV all year. Here's how ASA, ABS and PETG behave...
[04]
Designing a part for 3D printing: what to send us
The difference between a file that prints first time and one that costs three revisions is usually decided before we open the...
[05]
Sanding, priming and painting 3D-printed parts: a finishing guide
FDM parts come off the printer with layer lines. Here's how we go from a raw print to a part that looks...
[06]
From CAD file to finished part: our quality control checklist
Every part gets checked against the same list before it ships, whether it's a €24 ashtray insert or a forty-piece B2B production...
[07]
Why we print most exterior car parts in PETG
PETG isn't the flashiest filament, but it's what we reach for on most exterior trim. Here's the actual reasoning, and where we...
[08]
How much does a custom 3D-printed car part cost?
Material, process, size and quantity — the four things that actually move the price of a custom or reproduced part, with real...
[09]
Reverse engineering a part with no CAD file, no drawing, no vendor
For B2B clients the starting point is usually a failed part and a dead supplier, not a spec sheet. How we rebuild...
[10]
From broken part to CAD file: how we 3D scan for reprints
Most parts we reproduce start as a worn or broken sample, not a drawing. Here's what happens between the part landing on...
[11]
Hella-style headlight covers: fitment, materials and finish
Round Hella-style covers for Golf MK3 and BMW E30 quad-light setups — how they fit, what we print them in, and how...
[12]
3D printing tolerances: what to expect on automotive parts
Plus or minus what? A straight answer on FDM, SLA and SLS accuracy — what drives the variation, how to design around...
[13]
3D printing materials 101: what to print in, and why
PLA, PETG, ABS, ASA, nylon, polycarbonate, resin, TPU — a plain-English guide to the materials we print with every day, and the...
[14]
FDM vs SLA vs SLS: choosing the right 3D printing process
Three letters, three very different parts. A practical guide to picking the process that actually fits your project — with the trade-offs,...
Can't find the part in the article?
Send us a photo or an OEM number. If it exists, we can model it and print it — made to order, custom fit, shipped from Slovenia.
