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igus® Ltd.

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01604 677240
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Wear-resistant 3D printed gears

Switch to plastic gears now:

up to 80% more wear-resistant than conventional plastics

Plastic gears are becoming more common with developments in technology. People are accepting that plastic can be as good, if not better than metal so gears are now a growing area. 
If you want to ensure no downtime, you can calculate the gear service life using our calculator
3D printed gears means a faster manufacturing time, parts can be ready to ship from just 3 days time. 
And with no minimum order quantity, you can order 1 or 1000! 

Would you like more information about 3D printed gears at igus® or do you need an individual consultation? Our experts will be happy to get in touch with you.
 
Contact the expert

Gear CAD configurator

Configure gear CAD online No CAD model at hand? With our gear configurator, you can create a gear model with individual dimensions in less than 60 seconds.
Configure gear CAD

Free plastic gear sample

Order gear sample Still not convinced? See for yourself: we will gladly send you a free gear sample.
 
Request sample part now

Gear service life calculator

Calculate gear service life How long does a 3D printed gear last? Enter the parameters of the application and calculate the predicted service life with just a few clicks.
To the service life calculator


Types of gears

With the igus® 3D printing service, every type of wear-resistant and self-lubricating gear drive can be produced quickly and independently of mechanical tools. In addition to conventional models such as spur gears, worm wheels and bevel gears, the laser sintering procedure with iglidur® materials works very well for elliptical gears, crown gears, racks, worm gears and much more.  

Spur gear

3D printed spur gear Recommended material: iglidur I3
Find out more about polymer spur gears

Worm wheel

3D printed worm wheel Recommended material: iglidur I6
Find out more about 3D printed worm wheels

Bevel gear

3D printed bevel gear Recommended material: iglidur I3
Find out more about I3 material

Free gear sample

Select a sample part and test tribologically optimised 3D printing materials

Still not convinced? See for yourself: we will be happy to send you a free sample gear

See for yourself the quality and benefits of our 3D printing materials: Are you interested in 3D printed components, but would like to hold them in your hand before making a final decision? You are welcome to order a free sample from us.

Gear

3D-printed helical gear Helical gear
Material: iglidur i3 (laser sintering material)
Order a free sample now

Bevel gear

3D printed bevel gear Bevel gear
material: iglidur i3 (laser sintering material)
Order a free sample now

Worm gear

3D printed worm gear Worm gear
material: iglidur i6 (laser sintering material)
Order a free sample now

Very high efficiency for 3D printed gears made of high-performance polymer

Planetary gearbox efficiency testing showed that gears laser sintered from iglidur I3 had efficiency in dry operation comparable to that of oil-lubricated metallic planetary gearboxes. How can that be? The solid lubricants contained in iglidur polymers greatly reduce the coefficient of friction so that dry-operating 3D printed iglidur gears achieve an efficiency that is only slightly lower than that of lubricated metal gears. Integrated lubrication greatly reduces maintenance effort.
 
Test procedure: the gearboxes are tested on a dynamometer. The gearbox is driven by a stepper motor and an electromagnetic brake. Measuring systems in the power train continuously measure the angular position at the gearbox input and output. This allows us to gather efficiency, torque fluctuation, and backlash performance data in practical torque and speed ranges.
Planetary gearbox efficiency of a 3D printed gear made of iglidur® I3 laser sintering polymer X-axis: torque in Nm, Y-axis: efficiency in %. Installation size 17, suitable for NEMA17 stepper motors Planetary gearbox transmission 4:1 with iglidur I3 gears in dry operation

Customer application examples

Plastic 3D printed gears in use

3D printing service design guide

Design guide for components manufactured via the 3D printing service, including practical tips that help extend service life.

Guidelines for 3D printed gears

In these guidelines, you can find out everything about the three most common mistakes made when printing gears in 3D, and how to avoid them.

Frequently asked questions

Does the gear service life calculator work with small gears (with 12 teeth, for example)?

Our calculation tool works only for gears with at least 17 teeth. Less than 17 teeth would require undercut information for the calculation, and our calculator has no option for adding or using it. If you need a gear with fewer than 17 teeth, contact your igus representative.

Can teeth be adjusted (profile adjustment)?

We can print parts for which the teeth have been adjusted. This is not currently reflected in our configurator. If you need such gears and have no capability for designing them, don't hesitate to contact us.

Can small worms and worm wheels be 3D printed?

Our minimum wall thickness is about 0.7mm. If necessary, we can go as low as 0.5mm. We can manufacture small worms and worm gears. If you have high loads, you will need metallic worm shafts.

More FAQ's here

Consulting

I would be happy to answer your questions

Shipping and consultation

In person:

Monday to Friday from 8am - 8pm.

Online:

24h


The terms "igus", "Apiro", "chainflex", "CFRIP", "conprotect", "CTD", "drylin", "dry-tech", "dryspin", "easy chain", "e-chain", "e-chain systems", "e-ketten", "e-kettensysteme", "e-skin", "e-spool", "flizz", "ibow", "igear", "iglidur", "igubal", "igutex", "kineKIT", "manus", "motion plastics", "pikchain", "readychain", "readycable", "ReBeL", "speedigus", "triflex", "robolink", "xirodur", and "xiros" are legally protected trademarks of the igus® GmbH/ Cologne in the Federal Republic of Germany and where applicable in some foreign countries.

igus® GmbH points out that it does not sell any products of the companies Allen Bradley, B&R, Baumüller, Beckhoff, Lahr, Control Techniques, Danaher Motion, ELAU, FAGOR, FANUC, Festo, Heidenhain, Jetter, Lenze, LinMot, LTi DRiVES, Mitsubishi, NUM,Parker, Bosch Rexroth, SEW, Siemens, Stöber and all other drive manufacturers mention on this website. The products offered by igus® are those of igus® GmbH