By James Chevrette
Orca Design & Manufacturing said 184 dealers have now joined its 3D printer program. Under the program, Orca ships speakers without flanges, and car audio specialists 3D print the flanges to fit cars as needed.
We first reported on the 3D Labs Program for Gladen and Focal a year ago. Since then it has expanded to include 3D files for 175 speakers. New files are added weekly, said Nalaka Adikari of Orca Design.
Adikari explained the program. The first step is for the dealer to contact Orca to determine if it already has the 3D printer files for the particular car. Using the example of a 2025 Audi RS8, he said, “We ask the dealer to remove the speakers from the vehicle. In this case we provided a prepaid ground waybill to have them shipped to us at no charge. Once Orca received it, within 72 hours, we had the files created and ready to share within the network. Dealer location, vehicle application and turn around time might vary depending on geography.”
Orca sees the program as helping to differentiate dealers from the competition. It suggests placing the 3D printer where it is visible to customers–either in the showroom or waiting room– so they can see the speaker adapter bring created. “By showing the customers that the adapters use factory mounting points and materials that are exceeding OEM specifications, this separates you from your competition and contributes to the customer experience in your store,” Adikari said.
A dealer can commit to a program for either Focal or Gladen speakers and receive a free 3D printer and access to the speaker adapter files. If dealers already have a 3D printer, they may still access the 3D Labs adapter files.
If only a Canadian Firm could get on board with this……