[stanjohn123]

This could be my mom's favourite food processor , like how we have favourite car's for ourselves. So she was really upset when one day, it stopped working. On further inspection, I found out that the coupler inside the bowl was cracked. Bad news is, since this is an imported Braun FX 3030 Food Processor, spare part is not available anywhere in India.



I still went searching for the spare in all major stores and service centers around my locality hoping that I may get lucky by finding an Indian model with the same coupler design. But alas, one thing I learned is that luck is never on my side, but that obviously will not deter me from finding a solution.

I suddenly thought one day, why don't I try printing a 3D model of the coupler and try using that. So I started searching for shops with 3D printers and 2 shops came up. FABLABS and X-ON Computers , both situated in Trivandrum.

Now to do 3D print of the coupler, they will need an STL file, which I did download from the Internet and gave it to them. You can check out the file here https://www.stlfinder.com/model/atta...AokbZ/3196122/

He printed the Coupler and this is how the new one looks compared to the old one.





The new coupler is made from a Nylon material which is hard but slightly flexible as well.

One difference between the 3D printed coupler and old coupler was that, the new coupler was missing grooves inside the portion which meets with the shaft. The shaft has matching grooves.



So to create the grooves, I heated the shaft for 40-60 seconds under a candle and just forced it inside the coupler and the grooves were created.



Next I attached the coupler kit back into the bowl. There are totally 3 washers. 2 big washer come on top, first you will have to insert the big metal washer on the shaft followed by a big paper washer and then insert the shaft in the bowl.



Tilt the bowl upside down holding the coupler shaft and drop the small metal washer on the shaft and then push the new coupler onto the shaft till it fits snugly.



So after installing the shaft kit in the bowl, it's time to fit it on the food processor and check if it's working. No surprises here, just another successful DIY job, it worked perfectly well and my mom is extremely happy.

Those of you who want to watch the DIY vlog, can watch it here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZX_DXrvQJNM

The cost of the 3D printing was 300 Rs but you could surely negotiate the price down to 150-200 Rs as well. I'm just bad at negotiating. Hope you guy's enjoyed this DIY.

If DIY is not your thing , you could also order the part online from UK but it will arrive only after a month and it will cost 1,500 Rs including shipping , the link for that is here https://ziperone.com/products/00000023133

[Everlearner]

Wow, that's awesome. Hat's off for thinking out of box. Even if this 3D printed part lasts half or quarter of the original part's life, your effort has paid off. 3D printing tech has a lot of potential to change the world. I hope this tech will become more mainstream.

[fluidicjoy]

Lovely post and great engineering effort. 3D printing indeed has a lot of potential and not just in design and fabrication of parts, but it is also seriously being consider for manufacturing of biological parts like tissues, muscles and other biomaterials. Thanks for sharing this heartwarming tale.

[sridhu]

Originally Posted by stanjohn123

.


The cost of the 3D printing was 300 Rs but you could surely negotiate the price down to 150-200 Rs as well. I'm just bad at negotiating. Hope you guy's enjoyed this DIY.

...

Great job. Keep us posted on the life - I get the feeling it might shear off due to that torque involved.

Where did you get it 3D printed?

[OPMaurya]

Loved your tenacity to get this done! From searching for an online 3D part to getting it 3D printed.
I believe this is made by FDM. If you had the option, better would have been MJF...

[stanjohn123]

Originally Posted by Everlearner

Wow, that's awesome. Hat's off for thinking out of box. Even if this 3D printed part lasts half or quarter of the original part's life, your effort has paid off. 3D printing tech has a lot of potential to change the world. I hope this tech will become more mainstream.

Thanks and true that. Has huge potential but many do not know about it yet.

Originally Posted by fluidicjoy

Lovely post and great engineering effort. 3D printing indeed has a lot of potential and not just in design and fabrication of parts, but it is also seriously being consider for manufacturing of biological parts like tissues, muscles and other biomaterials. Thanks for sharing this heartwarming tale.

Thanks.

Originally Posted by sridhu

Great job. Keep us posted on the life - I get the feeling it might shear off due to that torque involved.

Where did you get it 3D printed?

It seems pretty strong and so far it's held up well even in applications like dough making. I purchased from X-on Computers Trivandrum.

Originally Posted by OPMaurya

Loved your tenacity to get this done! From searching for an online 3D part to getting it 3D printed.
I believe this is made by FDM. If you had the option, better would have been MJF...

Thanks bro. If this part fails, I'll try with MJF next and see. But so far holding up good.

[mithun]

Just curious..

What if the STL file is not available on the net? How can a layman create it?

[reignofchaos]

Have the exact same food processor. This will be useful in the future.