Wear-resistant rollers in 3D printing

Individual geometries ready to ship in 1 to 3 days

Rollers made of low-wear polymers are used in many areas. If your required roller deviates from a standard dimensions or is a special type, then the production of the roller with 3D printing is the solution. At igus®, we are also able to process our friction-optimised and wear-resistant iglidur® high-performance polymers with 3D printing.

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Fast online ordering from the 3D printing service: upload roller CAD now and find out about prices

► Upload doesn't work? Click here to start the upload directly in the 3D printing service tool.
► How does the 3D printing service work?

Load sample model and test the online 3D printing service

Calculate the service life of your roller

With the service life calculator for plain bearings, the foreseeable service life of your 3D printed rollers made of iglidur can also be calculated on the basis of the internal coefficient of wear. To do this, choose Type S and enter the necessary ambient parameters. Then, choose the "Rotating" type of movement. In the list of suggested materials, you will see the foreseeable service life of your printed roller.

To the iglidur service life calculator

Online CAD configurator for rollers

In the roller configurator, you can create the CAD data for different types of roller online. It can be used to create 3D models of the following rollers: cylindrical, spherical, rope pulley, profile rollers Use of the configurator is free of charge and does not require registration.
To order 3D printing of your configured roller, download the model as a STEP file and upload the latter in the upload window on this page in order to select the desired material and compare prices.

To the roller configurator

3D printed components in a rotation test

How long does a 3D printed roller made of iglidur last? The comparative rotation tests of printed plain bearings show the especially long service life of iglidur 3D printing plastics when used for rollers as well.

Test parameters and results

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

■ CF53/1.1213: hardened steel
■ 304 SS / AISI 304: stainless steel

In the rotation test, printed bushings made of iglidur I3 and iglidur I190, which have optimised sliding properties, are considerably more wear-resistant than equivalent bearings made of the frequently used plastics PA12 and ABS. Moreover, sometimes, they even have a longer service life than injection-moulded and lathed plain bearings with the same dimensions. Conclusion: for individual dimensions and special shapes, the long-lasting 3D printed rollers made of iglidur are the best solution as they last at least as long as parts made with other methods - but, at the same time, can be manufactured more quickly and cost-effectively.

Y axis: wear rate [mg/km] (a lower wear rate means a longer service life) 1. iglidur I3 (SLS 3D printing)
2. iglidur I190 (FDM 3D printing)
3. PA12 (SLS 3D printing)
4. ABS (FDM 3D printing)
5. PA66 (injection moulding)
6. POM (lathed)
7. PA66 (lathed)

The especially wear-resistant filaments iglidur I190 and iglidur J260 in a rotation test

Test parameters and results

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

■ CF53: hardened steel
■ 1.1213 SS / AISI 304: stainless steel

1. iglidur J260
2. iglidur I190
3. Nylon (PA6)
4. Nylon (PA6/ 66)
5. PC

Rotation wear test iglidur I190 and iglidur J260

Y axis: wear rate [mg/km] (a lower wear rate means a longer service life)

Service life rotation test of iglidur I190 and iglidur J260 in hours

X axis: service life of the components in hours, based on the coefficient of wear

Components made of iglidur I180 can be used universally for all kinds of wearing parts and show outstanding values in the rotation test.

Test parameters and results

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

■ CF53: hardened steel
■ 1.1213 SS / AISI 304: stainless steel

1. iglidur I180
2. ABS
3. Nylon (PA6)
4. Nylon (PA6/ 66)

Y axis: wear rate [mg/km] (a lower wear rate means a longer service life)

X axis: service life of the components in hours, based on the coefficient of wear

Filaments for contact with food in a rotation test

Test parameters and results

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

■ CF53: hardened steel
■ 1.1213 SS / AISI 304: stainless steel

1. iglidur I150
2. iglidur A350
3. PI
4. PPSU

Y axis: wear rate [mg/km] (a lower wear rate means a longer service life)

X axis: service life of the components in hours, based on the coefficient of wear

The fire-retardant filament with the greatest mechanical strength out of all tribofilaments

iglidur RW370 can cope with a lot as it was specially developed for use in railway vehicles. Its advantages include temperature resistance up to 170°C and it is fire-retardant in accordance with UL94-V0 and EN45545.