Projects / 2023
Barlow Fabrication
3D-printed replacement "couch blocks" that repair broken electric recliners for a fraction of the cost of a new motor, plus the storefront that sells them.
- #3d-printing
- #go
- #angular
- #business
Save your electric recliner. Don’t replace the entire motor: a precision-engineered replacement block restores it for a fraction of the cost. That’s the pitch at BarlowFabrication.com, and the couch blocks are the heart of the business.
It started with my parents’ broken electric recliner. Replacing the motor assembly cost nearly as much as a new chair, all because of one plastic “moving block” that the manufacturer doesn’t sell separately. I designed and 3D-printed a replacement for their actuator, realised how many people had the same problem, and Barlow Fabrication grew from a family favour into a business.
What it does
- Replacement blocks for a growing list of recliner actuators. Search by model, brand or part number on the site to find yours, and replace just the broken block instead of the whole $95+ motor assembly.
- Free development for new models. If your actuator isn’t listed, ship it to me and I’ll design the fix at no charge; you only cover shipping.
- Free repair guides and installation manuals: identifying your model, basic troubleshooting, motor and electrical diagnostics, stuck or grinding actuators, power issues and preventive maintenance.
- Fast worldwide shipping through the Etsy storefront, with a warranty claim process if a part doesn’t work out.
- Also from the workshop: 3D-printed Galaxy Z Fold cases with a recess for the Quad Lock® universal adaptor.
Every block sold keeps a working motor out of the landfill; so far that’s over 1,000 recliner actuators repaired instead of replaced.
Ready to fix yours? Head to barlowfabrication.com, browse the products or the repair guides, or email [email protected].
Behind the storefront
The site is a Go and Angular platform I built for the business: product catalogue with model search, customer portal, order and inventory management, image storage on S3-compatible storage, and sync services that keep Etsy and Shopify orders and listings in step with the internal system. It runs on the same Docker Swarm as my other projects, with a failover stack for when the main host is down.