Another milestone has been passed in the adoption of 3D printing. Daihatsu, a daughter company of Toyota, announced that it would begin offering car buyers the opportunity to customize（订制）their vehicles with 3D-printed pars. This brings to drivers with more modest budgets the kind of individual tailoring of vehicles, which is restricted to the luxury cars and sports cars of the super-rich.
The service is available. only to buyers of the Daihatsu Copen, a tiny changeable two-seater. Customers ordering this car from their local dealer can choose one of 15 "effect skins". The buyers can then use a website to improve the designs further to create exactly the look they want.
Copen buyers will like selecting unique add-ons rather than choosing from a list of standard accessories（配件）, says Osamu Fujishita of Daihatsu. The company is testing the service in a few markets. "I think the Copen project is just the start," adds Mr Fujishita.
Other carmakers are watching closely. Generally. personal customization is available only wheremoney is no object–on cars such as Rolls-Royces and Ferraris. But 3D printers change the economics of production. Since software is behind the process, changes can be made easily and cheaply. Besides 3D printing saves on retooling（更换）costs to make small runs of parts and spares if they suffer damage later.
The aerospace industry is already well advanced in using 3D printers for custom parts. Airlines often clearly customized fittings for the inside of their aircraft. Specialized parts are 3D-printed for acing cars too, but until Daihatsu's move, mainstream carmakers have mainly used 3D machines to make prototype（原型）vehicles rather than production pars.
