Lightweight design of 3D-printed tribo components reduces material usage and production time by up to 80 percent.

December 2021 – As big as a full-grown tiger: igus can now print lubrication-and maintenance-free plastic components of up to three meters. The lightweight tribo components are manufactured in a single printing process and are up to 50 times as abrasion-resistant as standard plastics, so they are ideal for cost-saving use in large-scale machine construction.

 Customers can now task igus with manufacturing their individual wear parts of up to three meters. The lubrication and maintenance-free XXL components are used primarily in large-scale mechanical engineering, especially in jig construction, special machine construction and packaging technology. Direct comparison with machined components highlights their lightweight design, greatly reduced material requirements and cost efficiency in production. Material used and production time are 80% lower.

For production in the large-format 3D printer, igus relies primarily on iglidur I150 tribofilaments and the optically detectable blue iglidur I151 variant, which allow lubrication-free special moving parts to be produced quickly and cost-effectively. The plastics are certified according to EU Regulation 10/2011 for the food industry, and iglidur I151 is also FDA-compliant. Both filaments can be used in any 3D printer in which the nozzle temperature can be set to 250 degrees Celsius. Since the high-performance plastics have very low shrinkage, they can be processed on 3D printers without heatable printing plates. They have very high wear resistance at surface speeds of up to 0.2 m/s. iglidur I150 and I151 are available on large eight-kilogram filament rolls, so they are particularly suitable for producing large components in large-capacity printers. To make it quick and easy for customers to receive their large 3D-printed component, igus offers a 3D printing service. Here you can simply upload the data online, select the material, calculate prices, and order the individual XXL wear part directly.