- From June 2022, 3D printing licenses can be obtained in addition to spare parts
- New Omniplus 3D printing license shop: A pioneer in the automotive industry
- Digital spare parts warehouse for Mercedes-Benz and Setra buses/touring coaches
Stuttgart – Owners of Mercedes-Benz and Setra buses/touring 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”. Thanks to the new license management for spare parts, the Omniplus service brand from Daimler Buses is charting the course for the entire automotive industry.
New Omniplus 3D printing license shop: A pioneer in the automotive industry
Buses and touring coaches need to keep rolling, and the rapid availability of spare parts will keep fleets on the road. That’s why Daimler Buses is revolutionizing its parts service with its Omniplus service brand: No convoluted ordering process, no need for shipping, no waiting times, but instead a flexible, 24/7 supply of spare parts from within the company. This is all made possible by 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.
The service is similar to streaming services or media libraries, where record collections and fixed airtimes are now things of the past, and anyone can enjoy their show or favorite music at any time and from anywhere.
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”. 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.
Digital spare parts warehouse for Mercedes-Benz and Setra buses/touring coaches
Daimler Buses is a pioneer in the entire automotive industry for industrial 3D printing. The company 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/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 digitized 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. The virtual warehouse forms the basis for 3D printing license management, which shall further optimize the rapid availability of spare parts.
