Owners of Mercedes-Benz and Setra buses and coaches will soon be able to produce numerous spare parts quickly and cheaply at their own premises. All they need is 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 launch was implemented together with industrial 3D printer manufacturer “Farsoon Technologies”.
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. To print those parts themselves bus and coach companies need to complete a one-off registration process at the 3D Printing License eShop. At the shop, customers are only shown the parts that are available for or compatible with their own printer. Next, customers 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. Or they can let their nearest Omniplus service partner know about their requirements. The Omniplus service partner can then acquire the corresponding license and take care of printing. “Wibu Systems” encryption technology is used to ensure that the data is protected throughout the process and that the ordered quantity is kept to.
Daimler Buses has been focusing on the potential of digital production technology since 2016. In the meantime, the Omniplus service brand has designated around 40,000 bus and coach spare parts from the Mercedes-Benz and Setra brands as suitable for 3D printing. Initially, Omniplus is concentrating on more than 7,000 parts that are to be digitized gradually.