Beolover Shapeways Store! - First Beogram 400x Parts Available

I recently ordered a couple of my Beogram 400x parts, the 'cabinet guiding washers' and the 'transport lock bushings' from Shapeways to check out the quality of their offerings. 

I just tested the parts in my Beogram 4002. They turned out to be spot on and they fit extremely well. Furthermore, the parts are absolutely conform with the 3D CAD model: Their laser sintering process does not need supports for printing the parts, i.e. there are no more ugly support attachment points that need to be broken off or sanded away.

The parts are now offered at the 'Beolover Shapeways Store'. They print them on demand and ship them directly to the customer. A pretty neat business model, but it is not cheap and may take about 1-2 weeks until they ship. So, it is not the 'replicator' from Star Trek (yet), but it is definitely going there..."Earl grey-hot", anyone...;-)

Some impressions of the parts. They were manufactured in "White Strong Plastic". The store offers them in other materials, too, but they were not tested by me. I expect that at least the 'Black Strong Plastic' will come out as the white material. They are essentially the same polymer.

Cabinet guiding washer:

Comparison with original metal 'master' from my Beogram 4004:

The white one is the one that I installed. It looks a bit blackened at the rims since I took this picture after trying it out...(wasn't able to restrain myself from immediately putting it in after I excitedly ripped open the package...;-). An earlier video showing the part printed via laser lithography and about installing them is on YouTube.

These pictures show the transport lock bushings. One needs two per lock:

It is really amazing how well they fit...Shapeways has an incredible resolution and precision with their laser based process. A glimpse of the future, for sure! Beolove in the new millennium...;-). A video showing the installation process (and the original laser lithography parts) is on YouTube.