Wear-resistant polymers: 3D-printed
components in the tribology test lab

The standard ABS material quickly failed the rotary test on a stainless-steel shaft. Additionally, our 3D-printed plain bearings made of iglide® special filament had similar wear rates to standard injection-molded parts on all test rigs. All igus® 3D-printed components are low-friction, wear-resistant and maintenance-free. We produce printed parts for prototypes and small batches, no minimum order quantity required!

View our various wear tests below:

» Wear test: linear long stroke
» Wear test: linear short stroke
» Wear test: pivoting
» Wear test: pivoting heavy load
» Wear test: pivoting under water
» Wear test: drive nut
» Friction test: rotating
» Wear test: rotating
» Wear test: rotating under water
» Gear test: cycles until gear breakage
» Worm gears with optimized sliding properties
» Low abrasive friction

Test parameters:

• Surface pressure: 0.11 MPa
• Surface speed: 0.34 m/s
• Stroke: 370 mm
• Shaft materials: alu hc
• Duration: 3 weeks

     Y = wear rate [μm/km]
 
     1. ABS (FDM)
     2. iglide® I180 (FDM)
     3. iglide® I3 (SLS)
     4. iglide® J injection-molded

Test result:
The long stroke test shows a lower coefficient of wear by factor 15 for iglide® I180 (FDM) and by factor 33 for iglide® I3 (SLS). These materials are ideal for long-stroke applications, such as XY gantries for pick-and-place applications, plain bearings, and guide bars in a 3D printer.

Test parameters:

• Surface pressure: 1 MPa
• Surface speed: 0.3 m/s
• Stroke: 5mm
• Shaft materials: CF53 (left bar) and 304 SS (right bar)
• Duration: 1 week

Y = wear rate [μm/km]
 
1. ABS (FDM)
2. iglide® J260 (FDM)
3. iglide® J260 (injection molding)

Test result:
Injection-molded plain bearings and 3D-printed plain bearings made of iglide® J260 were tested with the same load and surface speed. The bearings have similar wear rates, regardless of manufacturing method. The test also shows that our material’s coefficient of friction and wear rates are much lower than standard ABS materials.

Test parameters:

• Surface pressure: 1 MPa
• Surface speed: 0.1 m/s

X-axis: material testing
 
1. iglide® I3  (SLS 3D printing)
2. iglide® I150 (FDM 3D printing)
3. iglide® I190 (FDM 3D printing)
4. PA12 (SLS 3D printing)
5. ABS (FDM 3D printing)
6. PA66 (injection molding)
7. POM (lathed)
8. PA66 (lathed)

Test parameters:

• Surface pressure: 20 MPa
• Surface speed: 0.01 m/s
• Pivoting angle: 60°
• Shaft materials: 304 SS
• Duration: 4 weeks

Y= wear rate [µm/km] 

Test result:

The swivel test shows that iglide® filaments are 50 times more abrasion resistant and offer a much longer service life than standard 3D-printing materials (e.g. ABS).

Test parameters:

• Surface pressure: 2 MPa
• Surface speed: 0.01 m/s
• Pivoting angle 60°

X-axis: material testing
 
1. iglide® I3 (SLS 3D printing)
2. iglide® I150 (FDM 3D printing)
3. iglide® I190 (FDM 3D printing)
4. PA12 (SLS 3D printing)
5. ABS (FDM 3D printing)
6. PA66 (injection molding)
7. POM (lathed)
8. PA66 (lathed)

Test parameters:

• Surface pressure: 10, 20 and 45MPa
• Surface speed: 0.01m/s
• Pivoting angle: 60°
• Duration: 1 week

Y= wear rate [µm/km] 

1. iglide® I3 (SLS)
2. iglide® I180 (FDM)
3. iglide® G injection-molded
4. iglide® W300 injection-molded

Test result:
We tested plain bearings with a diameter and length of 20mm (i.e., the 3D-printed plain bearing was loaded with 1,800kg). The results show SLS 3D-printed plain bearings can withstand loads of up to 45MPa surface pressure and that their tribological properties are just as good as injection-molded bearings, making them suitable for heavy-duty applications. 

Test parameters:

• Surface pressure: 1 and 2MPa
• Surface speed: 0.01m/s
• Temperature: 23°C
• Shaft material: 304 stainless steel

     Y-axis: wear rate [µm/km]

Test result:
This underwater pivot test showed that plain bearings 3D printed from electrostatically dissipative iglide® I8-ESD SLS material have an especially long service life, meaning this material is just as well suited to applications such as the iglide® UW and UW160 injection molding materials, which were specifically developed for underwater applications.
iglide® J is an igus material that is frequently used in dry environments, but is not as well suited to underwater use because its wear rate tends to be high.

Test parameters:

• Torque: 129Nm
• Stroke: 370mm
• Speed: 290 [rpm]
• Duration: two weeks

Y = wear rate [mg/km]
 
1. ABS (FDM)
2. iglide® I180 (FDM)
3. iglide® J260 (FDM)
4. iglide® I3 (SLS)
5. iglide® J injection-molded

Test result:
The test shows that iglide® offers higher wear resistance by factor 6 to factor 18 compared to conventional materials, depending on which 3D-printing material and method are used. Printing drive nuts in low quantities is a cost-effective alternative to injection molding since the thread can be produced directly in the 3D printer without expensive tooling.
 

Test parameters:

• Surface pressure: 1MPa
• Surface speed: 0.1m/s
• Shaft material: Cf53

Y = coefficient of friction [-]
X = duration [h]
 
1. PA12 (SLS)
2. iglide® I3 (SLS)
 

 

Test result:
The tribological properties of iglide® I3 are better than standard 3D-printing materials by factor 2. That’s because iglide® materials contain solid lubricants, which lower the coefficient of friction and significantly increase wear resistance. The tribological properties of iglide® polymers are beneficial for designing motors and drive forces, as half the friction only requires half the drive force.

Test parameter:

• Surface pressure: 20 MPa
• Surface speed: 0.01 m/s
• Shaft material: 304 stainless steel

     Y-axis: wear rate [mg/km]
 
     X-axis: material testing
 
     1. ABS (FDM 3D printing)
     2. PA12 (SLS 3D printing)
     3. iglide® I180 (FDM 3D printing)
     4. iglide® J260 (FDM 3D printing)
     5. iglide® I3 (SLS 3D printing)
     6. iglide® W300 (injection molding)

Test result:
Wear for plain bearings printed from iglide® I180 is 89.5% lower than that for bearings manufactured with the same process from ABS plastic, which is often used in 3D printing. The laser sintered bearing made of iglide® I3 exhibited 94.87% less wear than the laser sintered bearing made of PA12. Only bearings printed from the iglide® J260 special filament and injection molded from iglide® W300 had better values. 
 
How long will a 3D printed bearing made of iglide® last in your application? Use our online plain bearing service life calculator to precisely determine service life by entering the necessary requirements. 

Test parameters:

• Surface pressure: 1 MPa
• Surface speed: 0.3 m/s

X-axis: material testing
 
1. iglide® I3 (SLS 3D printing)
2. iglide® I190 (FDM 3D printing)
3. PA12 (SLS 3D printing)
4. ABS (FDM 3D printing)
5. PA66 (injection molding)
6. POM (lathed)
7. PA66 (lathed)

Test parameters:

• Surface pressure: 1 and 2MPa
• Surface speed: 0.3 m/s
• Temperature: 23°C
• Shaft material: 304 stainless steel

     Y-axis: wear rate [µm/km]
 
 

Test result:
This underwater pivot test showed that plain bearings 3D printed from electrostatically dissipative iglide® I8-ESD SLS material have an especially long service life, meaning this material is just as well suited to applications such as the iglide® UW and UW160 injection molding materials, which were specifically developed for underwater applications.
iglide® J is an igus material that is frequently used in dry environments, but is not as well suited to underwater use because its wear rate tends to be high.

Test parameters:
pivoting 1440°:
n = 64rpm
M = 2.25Nm
z= 30
m= 1
b = 6mm

In this test, a gear drives a rack, and the number of cycles completed before the gear breaks is recorded. Gears 3D printed or laser sintered from iglide® lasted twice as long as gears milled from POM.
 
X-axis: material testing
 
1. iglide® I3 (printed)
2. iglide® I8-ESD (printed)
3. POM (milled)
4. iglide® I6 (printed)
5. iglide® I190 (printed)
6. PLA (printed)
7. PETG (printed)
8. SLA 

Except for the gear made of POM, the CAD models for all tested gears come from the igus gear configurator.

Test parameters:

• Torque: 4.9Nm
• Speed: 12 [rpm]
• Counter partner: hard anodized aluminum
• Duration: 2 months

Wear is an important aspect of parts in moving applications. Wear-resistant polymers such as our iglide® materials are the solution for minimising wear and increasing the parts' service life. Due to the tribological properties, the iglide® materials are perfect for all application areas in which good coefficient of friction and very low wear are important.  
 
The igus® test laboratory covers 3,800m². In an extensive series of experiments, igus is researching and developing new 3D printing materials for moving applications in the industry's largest test laboratory. All materials are tested regarding their tribological properties in different test series so as to minimize wear and maintenance intervals. They are particularly low-friction and wear-resistant and ensure a self-lubricating and low-maintenance operation. iglide® polymers offer very good tribological properties and ensure a longer service life for polymer components.

In our test lab, we continuously test tribological properties of 3D printed parts based on DIN ISO 7148-2. The series of tests cover linear, pivoting and rotary movements on different shaft materials. With our filament iglide® J260-PF, friction values and wear were low in all tests, while the standard ABS material quickly failed the rotating test on the stainless steel shaft. The printed plain bearings made from the iglide® special filament had a similar wear resistance to the standard iglide® injection-molded parts on all test rigs. Thanks to the wear-resistant plastic iglide® I3 and an optimized tooth shape, our 3D-printed gears achieve a longer service life than standard materials.