At a glance
| Best for | Interior clips, vent louvre tabs, trim fasteners and dash furniture |
|---|---|
| You send | The broken clip, or both halves if it snapped, plus a photo of where it sits |
| Material | PETG — tougher and more heat-tolerant than PLA, which is what most repair parts need |
| Typical price | From £45 to draw, then a few pounds per clip. Sets are much cheaper per piece than singles |
| Lead time | 2–4 working days to draw, then printing and post |
| Maximum part size | 256 × 256 × 256 mm in one piece; larger parts split and joined |
What we take on
- Air vent louvre tabs and the pivot pins they run on
- Interior trim fasteners and panel clips, including odd sizes no factor stocks
- Glovebox, armrest and centre-console catches and hinges
- Seat trim and rail covers, boot and parcel-shelf fittings
- Sets — if one clip has gone brittle the others usually follow, so most people order several
How it works when there is no file
Clips are small, repetitive and fiddly to measure, which is exactly the sort of thing worth drawing once properly.
- Send the broken one. Both pieces if it snapped — together they usually give the full shape.
- Tell us the vehicle and where it sits. Make, model and year, and a photo of the hole or the panel it clips into.
- We draw it and print a test clip. One clip, posted to you, to check the fit before the rest are made.
- We print the set. Once you confirm it fits, the rest follow at a few pounds each.
Where this works well
- Clips that locate in a hole or slot you can measure
- Parts that have gone brittle with age rather than been crushed
- Places where the factory only sells the whole assembly
- Runs of five, ten or twenty identical clips
Where it doesn’t
- Anything holding a structural or safety component — belts, airbags, seats
- Clips in direct sun on a dashboard top, which is harsher on plastic than people expect
- Very fine barbs on tiny fasteners — below roughly 1 mm a printed feature will not have the springiness of the moulded original
- Exterior clips exposed to weather and road salt over years
Why the original broke, and why the copy might not
Most interior clips are moulded in a fairly brittle plastic chosen for cost and for how it behaves in a mould. After a decade of heat cycling in a car they lose what flexibility they had, which is why they tend to fail in groups rather than one at a time.
PETG is tougher and more forgiving than the original in most of these applications. What it will not do is match a very fine spring barb designed in a different material — where a clip relies on a thin flexing lip under a millimetre, a printed version can be stiffer and more prone to splitting. We will tell you when that is the case rather than let you find out.
Order a set, not one
Almost all the drawing cost is in the first clip. Once the part is drawn, the tenth clip costs no more to design than the first, and the handling charge is per order rather than per part. If you have one broken vent tab, it is usually worth doing all four while the car is apart.
Questions people ask about this
I have looked on the model sites and nothing fits my car. Can you still help?
Yes, and that is the usual situation. Printables and Thingiverse cover popular models and common failures; if your vehicle is unusual or the clip is a facelift variant there will often be nothing. That is the gap this service fills.
Can you match the colour?
We print black as standard, which covers most interior fasteners since they are hidden once fitted. White and other colours are available. We do not colour-match a specific interior trim shade, and a visible mismatch on a facing panel is worth considering before ordering.
Do you need the car?
No. We work from the broken part and photographs. What helps most is a clear shot of the hole or slot it locates into, with a rule alongside.
Is it legal to have a copy made?
For a functional interior fitting made to repair your own vehicle, this is normal repair work. We do not reproduce badges, logos or brand marks, and we do not copy parts that are still readily available from the manufacturer. If you are unsure about a specific part, ask us first.
Post us the broken clip
Both halves if it snapped. Tell us the make, model and year, and we will tell you what it would cost.
Other repairs we take on
Already have a file? Price it instantly →