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The encyclopedia · Product & Design · Product decision · 2025

Philips released free 3D-print files so customers can repair its own shavers.

Philips Fixables offers open 3D-printable files for its own accessories, turning consumers into repairers and shrinking e-waste.

Philips · Prusa Research

the move

Repair-economy and sustainability marketing often tells customers to fix things while the manufacturer keeps the spares locked away. That contradiction is the exact spot Philips Fixables addresses.

Philips partnered with 3D-print maker Prusa Research and agency LePub to publish free, open 3D-printable files for select Philips accessories. A customer prints the missing part instead of replacing the whole device.

At launch only a few parts, like a beard-trimmer comb, were available, but they were real and usable. Philips worked with Prusa so the designs meet its own quality and safety standards rather than being decorative.

The initiative was shortlisted at Cannes Lions and framed as a brand act that rewires the consumer story from throwaway culture to repair culture, backed by an open platform rather than a limited repair service.

why it works

  • A downloadable file costs millions less than a spare-parts warehouse does
  • Validating parts with Prusa means the fix is safe, not just symbolic
  • It makes the brand the ally of repair instead of the obstacle to it
  • It converts a returns-cost problem into a circulating, durable product story
the payoffPublish the repair part instead of locking the warrantyclever

what transfers

Protecting a closed aftermarket with warranty terms pushes users to landfill; publishing the part file makes repair the easy default and brands the company as the sturdier choice.

what came after

The program launched in May 2025 focused on 3D-printable spares for personal-care devices and has been framed as a proof point of a repair economy. It earned Cannes Lions attention and prompted calls for other gadget brands to publish print files too.

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