The service comes underneath the Omniplus service brand, and is thanks to the new 3D printing license shop from Omniplus. 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. At the shop, customers are only shown the parts that are available for or compatible with their own printer.
The launch was implemented together with industrial 3D printer manufacturer Farsoon Technologies, which has a European base in Germany and resellers in France, Spain, Italy and Poland. Mercedes-Benz adds that additional 3D printer providers will be gradually added over time.
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. After having successfully printed the component part, the respective license expires without the data being saved.
Alternatively, customers can let their nearest Omniplus service partner know about their requirements. The latter 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.
Because of the data and the individual building instructions, the digital twin at the digital warehouse and the provision of encrypted 3D printing licenses allow spare parts to be made available worldwide in the quickest possible way, and exactly where they are currently needed. The benefits are obvious: Faster availability of parts, shorter supply chains, and cost savings.
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. Initially, Omniplus is concentrating on more than 7,000 parts that are to be digitised gradually. A kind of digital warehouse will be created in this way which is being expanded continuously. It includes both regularly required spare parts as well as rarely required parts for special customer requests.