Easily print stable and wear-resistant components yourself with new igus tribo filament

With iglidur I190, igus has developed a new all-rounder filament for 3D printing. This allows for the production of wear-resistant special parts such as sliding bearings with a high mechanical bending strength of 80 MPa. (Source: igus GmbH)

In the test, a printed iglidur I190 bearing was compared against additively manufactured bearings made of ABS and polyamide, as well as turned and injection-molded bearings made of POM and nylon. The result: The printed igus bearing was up to 50 times more wear-resistant than the bearings made of standard plastics. (Source: igus GmbH)

To produce wear parts in special dimensions quickly and cost-effectively, igus has now developed a new, easy-to-process all-rounder filament called iglidur I190. It is characterized by a high mechanical bending strength of 80 MPa. The tribologically optimized material is lubrication- and maintenance-free and can be processed on all common 3D printers with a heated print bed.

Whether in fixture construction or assembly aids, users are always looking for sliding and wear-resistant special parts that optimize production operations. Often, these parts are quickly designed, but a custom-made part in injection molding or mechanical machining is labor-intensive and costly, especially for small quantities. Therefore, more and more companies are turning to 3D printing for manufacturing their custom parts. To enable the printing of highly load-bearing components, the plastics specialist igus has now developed a new all-rounder material. "iglidur I190 is particularly distinguished by its high strength, ensuring that even delicate structures in the printed component remain stable," explains Tom Krause, Head of the Additive Manufacturing Business Unit at igus GmbH. iglidur I190 is also suitable for designing sliding components for multi-material parts, as it bonds very well with high-stiffness materials. This new, lubricant-free filament is very easy to process on all common enclosed 3D printers with a heated print bed. The printed parts can also be used at temperatures up to 90 degrees Celsius.

iglidur I190 Outperforms Standard Plastics in Tests

In an in-house test conducted in the 3,800-square-meter igus laboratory, the new material proved its durability. Here, a 3D-printed iglidur I190 sliding bearing competed against additively manufactured bearings made from ABS and polyamide, as well as turned and injection-molded bearings made from POM and nylon. The result: the printed igus bearing was up to 50 times more wear-resistant than bearings made from standard plastics. In addition, in an internal competition, iglidur I190 scored with a bending strength of 80 MPa, surpassing the food-compliant iglidur I150 filament, which has a bending strength of 46 MPa. Currently, igus offers a total of eight filaments for the FDM process and three high-performance polymers for the SLS process. Users can either order the material and process it themselves on their 3D printer or use igus's 3D printing service. For this, they can simply upload the STEP file of their component directly in the shop, select the material, specify the desired quantity, and place an order. They will receive their wear-resistant custom part within three to five days.