Philips9 Moonsembracing the "right to repair" movement.
The Dutch tech company has started up a new program called "Philips Fixables," per Tom's Hardware. The idea behind Philips Fixables is that users will be able to 3D print their own replacement parts for Philips products, using exact Philips specifications, at home. The plan is for Philips to put the files up on Printables.com, a popular home for 3D printing information, for free.
SEE ALSO: A popular YouTuber tore open the Google Pixel 9a and found a big red flagThere are, of course, a few catches to this. One is that it's seemingly only available in the Czech Republic right now, though it will obviously expand to other regions over time. Another is that the only replacement part that's currently available for 3D printing is a 3mm comb for one of Philips' shavers, so Philips didn't launch with a particularly exhaustive list of parts for users to print.
The right to repair personal electronics has gained a ton of momentum over the past several years. Some manufacturers, like Framework, produce laptops that are meant to be opened up and messed around with by users. On the flip side, Google received some criticism this week for making it nearly impossible for users to perform their own battery replacements on the recently launched Pixel 9a phone.
With the spread of accessible 3D printing tech (as well as economic concerns about inflation and tariffs), don't be surprised to see this kind of thing become more popular over time.
Topics 3D Printing
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