Short answer
Plenty of it prints well in PETG: basket wheels and clips, detergent drawer parts, filter caps, door catches and trim. What we avoid is anything sealing against water pressure or carrying the weight of a loaded drum.
Why these parts are never sold separately
A dishwasher basket wheel is a few grams of nylon on a plastic stud. It costs the manufacturer almost nothing, and it is sold — if it is sold at all — as part of a complete upper basket at sixty to ninety pounds. The machine is fine. The basket is fine. One wheel has worn through and now the basket drops at one corner and fouls the spray arm.
That pattern repeats across the whole category. The detergent drawer siphon cap, the door catch tongue, the filter cover, the little clips that hold the kickplate on. All moulded in the millions, none available alone, and all of them outlast their parent range by years.
What the wash cycle actually does to plastic
This is a harsher environment than the inside of a fridge, and it is worth being specific about why.
| Heat | A normal cycle runs 30–60°C. A dishwasher intensive wash reaches about 70°C. PETG holds its shape to roughly 80°C, so there is margin, but not a huge amount. |
|---|---|
| Detergent | Strongly alkaline, and dishwasher tablets more so. PETG resists this well. PLA does not — it slowly hydrolyses in hot alkaline water and turns chalky. |
| Water | Constant immersion. PETG absorbs very little and does not swell, which matters for anything that has to keep a dimension. |
| Vibration | A spin cycle shakes everything. Printed parts fail at layer lines under repeated flexing, so orientation matters more here than almost anywhere. |
The combination is why we print these in PETG and why we will not print them in PLA at any price. A PLA basket wheel would survive a few weeks.
What prints well
- Dishwasher basket wheels, studs and clips — the single most requested item in this category
- Cutlery basket lids, dividers and feet — simple shapes, usually long discontinued
- Detergent drawer fronts, siphon caps and dividers — the cap in particular is a known failure
- Filter covers and pump access caps — as long as they are not sealing under pressure
- Door catch tongues and strike plates — the part that stops the door latching
- Kickplate clips, foot covers and trim — cosmetic, and never sold alone
- Spray arm end caps and bearings — print well, though check for wear on the mating part too
What we will not print
Being straight about this saves everyone time:
- Door seals and gaskets — these need a flexible material and a perfect sealing face. Buy the original.
- Anything holding back water under pressure — pump housings, hose connectors, sump parts. A leak behind a machine is an expensive way to save thirty pounds.
- Drum bearings and the drum spider — load-bearing metal parts spinning at 1,400 rpm.
- Anything touching the heating element — the temperatures there are far beyond PETG.
- Electrical housings carrying mains — not our area and not worth the risk.
Getting the part right first time
Send the broken piece if you can get it out. An original in hand beats any photograph, we measure it properly with callipers, and it comes back to you with the replacement.
If it is still in the machine or it has gone down the drain, photograph it from several angles with a ruler alongside, and find the model number sticker — usually on the door rim or the inner frame. Appliance makers share parts across a whole range, so the model number sometimes lets us identify a part from a drawing rather than from your broken one.
For wheels and anything else that comes in fours, order the set. Once the first one is drawn, the others cost very little, and the remaining three originals are the same age as the one that just failed.
Common questions
Can you 3D print a dishwasher basket wheel?
Yes, and it is one of the most common things we are asked for. The wheels and their clips are moulded for pennies, sold only as a full basket, and they all fail eventually.
Will a printed part survive hot water and detergent?
PETG handles a 60°C wash and dishwasher detergent without softening or crazing. A 90°C boil wash is at the edge of what it will take, so we print those parts thicker.
What washing machine parts should not be printed?
Anything sealing against water pressure, the door glass seal, drum bearings and the spider. Those are pressure or load parts where a printed copy is the wrong answer entirely.
My detergent drawer has snapped. Can you copy it?
Usually yes. The drawer front, the siphon cap and the small dividers all print well. A complete drawer housing is large but still within the bed on most machines.
How do I find my appliance model number?
Open the door and look on the rim or the inner edge of the frame for a sticker. Photograph the whole sticker; the model and the production code both matter.
Is a printed part safe around the heating element?
We do not print anything that sits against an element. PETG softens near 80°C and an element runs far hotter, so those parts need the original material.
What this means when you order
Send the broken piece or a photo with a ruler in shot, along with the appliance make and model number from the sticker inside the door. The model number is what tells us whether the part was shared across a range.
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Published 20 October 2026.