Car manufacturerFordhas officially released a set of CAD files enabling customers to 3D print their own accessories for their Maverick pickup truck.
The files are for the pickup’s Ford Integrated Tether System (FITS) which is a series of slots at the rear of the center console and the under-seat storage bins that can be customized with a wide variety of accessories, such as cup holders and phone mounts.
Ford had announced its intention to release the files since before the Maverick entered production, and now that the truck has started hitting driveways the car manufacturer has made good on its promise.
自定义您的皮卡
尽管福特为特立独行的客户提供了广泛的适合兼容的配件，但该公司鼓励业主打印自己的定制添加剂以适合其生活方式。该公司已为系统的中心控制台和座位底座存储空间提供了CAD文件，客户可以用作设计和打印自己的配件的基础，或者利用3D打印服务提供商为其打印其配件。
In the few months since the Maverick’s launch and the CAD files becoming available, the open-source 3D printing community has wasted no time in designing its own FITS-compatible accessories through other means.
数字3D模型存储库Thingiversehas seen numerous accessory designs uploaded that customers can download and print for themselves, includingcup holders,shopping bag hooks,电话持有人, andmore. Creators have also designed FITS slots for other areas of the Maverick, such as within the pickup’sdashboard cubby, alongside aninverted FITS tetherwhich can turn any vehicle into a FITS-compatible one, even if it’s not a Ford.
With the release of the official CAD files, customers will be more easily able to design and print their own accessories for their trucks, with Ford encouraging people to “put their imagination to work.” Maverick customers can从福特的网站下载CAD文件.
Ford and 3D printing
In addition to promoting 3D printing as a means for customers to customize their vehicles, Ford is also leveraging the technology in other areas, too. The manufacturer’s自己的高级制造中心features a number of 3D printer OEMHP’s多喷射融合（MJF）3D打印机已用于为福特的某些汽车型号制造零件，例如福特Shelby Mustang GT500。
In fact, the company regards itself asone of the earliest adopters of additive manufacturing, having purchased the “third stereolithography machine ever made” back in 1988, and producing hundreds of thousands of 3D printed parts every year. The company has also与3D打印机制造商碳等公司合作和Stratasys.
Most recently, Ford teamed up with HP torecycle 3D printing waste into end-use automotive partsin what is believed to be an industry first. Through the partnership, recycled 3D printing material will be converted into injection-molded fuel-line clips for use on Ford’s Super Duty F-250 trucks in order to improve the sustainability credentials of the firm’s manufacturing operations.
开源配件
Over the years, the open-source 3D printing community has made available countless designs and files for 3D printable accessories, attachments, and adaptors for the products of well-known brands and manufacturers.
Recent examples of such designs include YouTuberAkaki Kuumeri’s3D printed adapter for the Sony PS5 DualSense controllerwhich enables users to play games one-handed, and hobbyist toymakerRiskable’sinnovativelevitating key switch mechanism for PC keyboardswhich provides a more tactile response for users. Another notable example is YouTuberLucas VRTech’sopen-source3D printable virtual reality (VR) gloves只需22美元即可打印。
Leading firms are starting to recognize the value of open-source 3D printing too, with Global Japanese electronics firmPanasonicrecently makingmore than 75,000 CAD files for its electronic componentsfreely available to customers.
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特色图片显示the Ford Maverick Pickup. Photo via Ford.
