Print strong, abrasion-resistant parts easily yourself with the new igus tribo-filament
March 4, 2021
Easy-to-machine iglidur I190 FDM filament ensures fast manufacture of extremely wear-resistant parts
To manufacture wear-resistant parts in special dimensions quickly and cost-effectively, igus has now developed a new, easy-to-machine all-rounder filament: iglidur I190. It is remarkable for its great mechanical flexural strength (80 MPa). The tribologically optimised material requires no lubrication or maintenance and can be used with all commercially available 3D printers with heated printing plates.
In jig construction or assembly aids, users are always looking for sliding, wear-resistant special parts that optimise production operation. The parts are often quick to design, but custom manufacture with injection moulding or mechanical processing involves a great deal of cost and effort and is very expensive for small batches. More and more companies are therefore manufacturing their special parts on 3D printers. To print highly resilient parts the plastics specialist igus has now developed a new all-rounder material. “iglidur I190 is remarkable primarily for its great strength, making even delicate structures in the printed component strong”, says Tom Krause, Head of the Additive Manufacturing department at igus GmbH. iglidur I190 is also suited to the design of multi-material sliding components because it combines very well with very rigid materials. The new lubrication-free filament can be machined very easily on all commercially available closed 3D printers with heated printing plates. The printed parts can even be used at temperatures of up to 90°C.
iglidur I190 easily outperforms standard plastics in tests
The new material proved its durability in a test in igus’s 3,800 square metre in-house laboratory. A 3D printed iglidur I190 plain bearing was tested against bearings made of ABS and polyamide from additive manufacture and against turned and injection-moulded bearings made of POM and nylon. The results showed that the printed igus bearing had up to 50 times the abrasion resistance of the bearings made of standard plastics. iglidur I190 did well in internal competition as well – 80 to 46 MPa of flexural strength over food-compatible iglidur I150 filament. igus currently has a total of eight filaments for the FDM process and three high-performance polymers for the SLS process. The user can either order the material and use it with their own 3D printer or use the igus 3D printing service. For the latter, they can simply upload the STEP file directly to the shop, select the material, enter the desired quantity and submit the order. Within just three to five days, the wear-resistant special part will be delivered.