Simone Fontana and Ricardo Salomao repaired a broken refrigerator doors with 3d printed hinges. Another success story for owning your own universal home fabricator :-) The replacement part was printed on Ultimaker 2.
It would be interesting to see how many openings can the plastic hinge survive. Probably not so many (I might be wrong since it is only turning the door on the axial pivot).
Like someone pointed out in the comments, the full metal replacement hinge can be bought for some 10 USD, but it can be argued that in the future 3d printing materials will improve and then the whole replacement parts industry and economics will drastically change.
A hobbyist also gains knowledge and independance by repairing his own stuff.
Also do keep in mind that there are many plastic parts that cost a lot and are not under heavy stress.
Like:
Car buttons and attachment points:
http://diy3dprinting.blogspot.com/2014/08/repairing-ford-focus-cargo-cover.html
or washing machine gasket:
http://diy3dprinting.blogspot.com/2014/08/repairing-ford-focus-cargo-cover.html
or even expensive camera parts:
http://diy3dprinting.blogspot.com/2014/04/diy-3d-printed-replacement-lcd-arm-on.html
It would be interesting to see how many openings can the plastic hinge survive. Probably not so many (I might be wrong since it is only turning the door on the axial pivot).
Like someone pointed out in the comments, the full metal replacement hinge can be bought for some 10 USD, but it can be argued that in the future 3d printing materials will improve and then the whole replacement parts industry and economics will drastically change.
A hobbyist also gains knowledge and independance by repairing his own stuff.
Also do keep in mind that there are many plastic parts that cost a lot and are not under heavy stress.
Like:
Car buttons and attachment points:
http://diy3dprinting.blogspot.com/2014/08/repairing-ford-focus-cargo-cover.html
or washing machine gasket:
http://diy3dprinting.blogspot.com/2014/08/repairing-ford-focus-cargo-cover.html
or even expensive camera parts:
http://diy3dprinting.blogspot.com/2014/04/diy-3d-printed-replacement-lcd-arm-on.html
