The $35 part I print for $2
Sep 10, 2026 · replacement parts
The part in the photograph is not interesting to look at. That is rather the point.
It broke. The replacement was priced the way replacements usually are, which is to say as though the moulding tool had been cut yesterday. The material cost of printing it is about two dollars.
The part you buy is not the part you need
The original broke because of where the load went, not because the plastic was bad. Reproducing it exactly would have bought me the same failure in a year. So the wall thickness went up where the stress is and the fillet radius went up with it.
That is the difference between printing a copy and fixing a part, and it is most of what I do.