Latest news with #OneBlade
Engadget
12-05-2025
- Business
- Engadget
Philips Fixables will let you 3D print replacement parts for your electric razors and trimmers
To view this content, you'll need to update your privacy settings. Please click here and view the "Content and social-media partners" setting to do so. Philips is launching a new program called Fixables, where it will make plans available so that customers can 3D print replacement parts for the company's personal care products. The video introducing the initiative touts it as a simpler and easier way to extend the lifetimes of functional items rather than throwing them out because a single part or attachment is broken. Philips has partnered with Prusa Research and LePub on this endeavor, and Printables is hosting the plans. There are some caveats and limitations to this concept. The quality of the replacement part will depend on the materials used to create it, and not every customer has a 3D printer at home. (Although some public library systems, universities and local maker communities may have equipment that can be used or rented on site.) It's also still a project in its early stages. Fixables is initially launching in the Czech Republic. On the website for the Fixables program (which is in Czech), Philips explains that it's starting with the home country for Prusa Research and it is reaching out to the 3D printing company's existing maker community for this project. Another sign that the initiative is still in the early stages is that there's only one part plan available: a comb attachment for the OneBlade trimmer. But per Google Translate, two more plans are labeled as "We are working on it" and there are three different icons with no descriptions that point to additional plans. The Fixables website also has an option for customers to submit a request for parts they want to be able to 3D print. So while Fixables is a long way from making a real dent in waste from personal care products, it's exciting to see a major brand making a serious effort to explore the potential of 3D printing for better sustainability.
The Verge
12-05-2025
- Automotive
- The Verge
Philips will let you fix your trimmer with 3D printable parts and accessories
Philips has announced a new initiative that will let consumers 3D print their own replacements for small but essential parts included with many of its personal health products. Philips Fixables is launching in the Czech Republic, where Prusa Research, the company's partner for the initiative, is based. But the actual files that can be downloaded and 3D printed are being freely shared through the Printables platform, which is accessible globally. You still can't 3D print yourself a new beard trimmer if it breaks or the battery dies, but for accessories like a cutting guide, Philips Fixables will give some consumers an alternative to trying to find a replacement locally or have one shipped out. Being able to immediately fix your trimmer may also make it less appealing to throw away and replace a perfectly good device. Philips says it's working with Prusa Research to ensure the 3D printed replacement parts it designs and releases meet the company's standards for quality and safety. But it also points out that the durability and functionality of the replacements will depend on users sticking to the 3D printing material and guidelines the company recommends. There's currently just one replacement part available from Philips on Printables: a small adjustable comb designed to attach to its OneBlade trimmer. The company recommends the use of standard PLA filament and advises users to print the part using the same orientation it has in the original file, which doesn't require the use of any added supports. Modifying the file to reduce the amount of filament it needs or decrease print times could compromise its durability. It's a welcome initiative, but one that's only going to result in meaningful improvements to sustainability if the company follows through and releases more than just a single accessory. Philips is teasing additional 3D printable parts, including adjustable guides for beard trimmers and components for devices like electric toothbrushes and hair dryers, but doesn't specify when they'll be available. It also provides a form where consumers can specifically request a 3D printable alternative to a specific part, but it doesn't guarantee one will be created, or specify how long it will take for one to be released after undergoing quality control testing.
WIRED
14-03-2025
- WIRED
Panasonic's Arc 5 Shaver Is Made of Japanese Steel and Sea Minerals—and Might Make You Nostalgic
Its lid fits snugly tight, even before you tuck the thing into its travel case with the cord and cleaning brush, meaning it's well protected in any travel case. The device is, quite simply, handy, compact, and elegant, and it can go pretty much anywhere you do: showers, downpours, lakes, whatever. Not only is this thing waterproof externally (provided you keep its USB-C power cord bay safely closed), you can take the top off its foils and wash off the motor arms with a running tap. It's rated to be plunged into a bathtub for as long as 30 minutes. To drive home the fact that this device is comfortable in the wet, the Arc 5 also boasts an oddly useless 'foam mode' to play around with. Hold the power button down for two seconds for foam mode, and supposedly, vibrating the shaver foils against some shave lotion is easier than lathering shave soap by hand. It didn't play out this way for me, nor did I need shaving cream with a device this gentle. I really had no idea why I was buzzing my shaver against a palm full of shave lotion, other than that the instruction manual suggested I might enjoy it. But for the truly sensitive of skin, this is indeed a foil shaver that's happy to get foamy, and is easy to rinse off. Close but no Nagori Battery life is no great shakes, with a full charge netting less than an hour, and the shave is only moderately close. I can still feel a little stubble sandpaper after multiple passes. In a head-to-head shave-off against other devices, the Arc 5 performed fairly similarly to a Philips Norelco OneBlade ($38), a popular, T-shaped ultra-smooth shaver that likewise errs on the side of protecting the sensitive. Difference is, the OneBlade costs less than $40. The precision foil from the Philips Norelco 7000 ($69), one of the top picks in WIRED's guide to the best beard trimmers, mopped the floor with the Arc 5 for sheer close-shaving prowess. Blades, of course, like Leaf's Thorn and Twig models (8/10, WIRED Recommends), shave much closer than any of these. Photograph: Matthew Korfhage
