Ford Motor Company announced the availability of blueprints that will allow Ford Maverick pickup owners to 3D print car accessories. The Ford Maverick is a super-hit product that is described as a truck designed for people who never knew they needed a truck.
While this is an exciting initiative, a similar effort was made by the British automobile manufacturer MINI in 2018. It introduced the “MINI Yours Customised” customisation service, which allowed car owners to 3D print customised parts for their Mini. However, this service was discontinued without any explanation.
3D Print Car Accessories
FITS is at the heart of Ford’s customisation offering (Ford integrated Tether System). This small notch in the car allows owners to install a variety of Ford accessories. The company has made these accessories available for 3D printing. The Ford Maverick has the appropriate FITS notches, and depending on its position and the customer’s preferences, he or she can search for and 3D print relevant accessories. Ford does not provide 3D printing services, but customers can 3D print car accessories at home or through a service provider.
“FITS helps the company keep in tune with what customers are looking for. I think it shows a pretty big shift in the company’s thought processes about user-focused and human-centered design.”
– Scott Anderson, Design manager at Ford in charge of the Maverick’s interior design as reported by Newsweek
Download on Thingiverse
The blueprints are available for free download on Thingiverse. There are dozens of homebrew FITS accessories available, ranging from cup holders to grocery bag hooks to Apple MagSafe holders.
Interestingly, now that the dimensions of the slots are known, makers/designers are free to create a new range of products for these slots. This new craze is sure to catch on, and more and more designers may jump on board and create products that can fit into the slots.
So, if users search for FITS accessories, they will find both Ford-made products and those designed by enthusiastic designers.
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