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Fast and wear-resistant

Custom-made component with assistance from the igus 3D printing service

Application Overview

  • What was needed: Plastic pinion for engine tuning
  • Manufacturing process: igus® 3D printing service
  • Requirements: Short delivery time, robustness, wear resistance.
  • Material: iglide® i6
  • Industry: Automotive
  • Success through cooperation: Fast special part printing in less than 72 hours with a small quantity, low design effort, turning and milling of the component no longer necessary. The component is also reliable due to its robustness.


The Formula Student Germany competition challenges students to race open-wheel cars. A team from Weingarten needed custom plastic pinions for their chain drive but faced long lead times. Using the igus 3D printing service, they received the parts in under 72 hours.

Fast delivery thanks to online configurator and laser sintering procedure

The online configurator simplifies 3D modeling, and SLS printing creates parts layer by layer with a laser melting plastic powder. This eliminates traditional machining, saving time and costs, especially for small batches.

Robust components made of tribopolymers

Formula Student racing cars with customised plastic pinions made of iglidur® high-performance polymers

Used as a chain tensioner in the motor's chain drive, the pinion must be very robust. Here, too, the iglide® tribo-polymers demonstrate their superiority to ordinary polymers. igus® developed the high-performance plastics specifically for dynamic industrial applications.

In this case, iglidur i6, which is more resistant to wear than common plastics for laser sintering printing, was used. The material's wear resistance was tested in the in-house test laboratory. The experts tested a worm wheel at 5Nm and 12rpm. The gear made of Polyamide 12, a classic material for laser sintering printing, failed after just 521 cycles due to its high coefficient of friction. iglidur i6, on the other hand, exhibited only minor wear after one million cycles and was fully functional.

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These tests show us that we can count on the material. The previously used ball bearings in the chain drive hardly lasted 20 kilometers, which is not great because our longest race is 22 kilometers. We expect much more robustness from the 3D-printed igus® pinions in the upcoming season.

Richy Göser

Formula Student Team, Weingarten

Further application reports

Matrix Charger with gears printed in 3D made of iglidur® material

Polymer gears printed in 3D for charging system of electric cars

Easelink, based in Graz, Austria, has developed the "matrix charging" system, which consists of two components. A charging pad is connected to the mains is installed in the parking spot. A connector on the bottom of the e-car drops down when the car is parked over the pad. The charging process starts automatically, without the driver having to connect a cable. Use the igus® 3D printing service to make sure the development of prototypes remains cost-effective whilst ensuring high quality.

3D-printed grippers for the cosmetics industry

3D-printed, maintenance-free gripper for the packaging industry

Fast availability at a low price and use under hygienic conditions were important prerequisites for this 3D printed gripper. It is used to package cosmetic products and has the special advantage of working without additional lubrication, hence fulfilling hygienic requirements.

3D printed component for camera motion systems

3D-printed customized plain bearing ready for collection within hours

What do you do when an important replacement part for an exhibit suddenly goes missing on the way to a trade show? The response of the Berlin-based company Blackcam, a manufacturer of camera motion systems, is to turn to the igus 3D printing service.

iglidur plain bearing in device for eye examinations

Made of bar stock: special bearings for highest precision in ophthalmology

iglide® bar stock is used to manufacture a microscope arm for eye examinations. The reason: it can be machined to produce customised plain bearings down to sizes measured in μm to ensure the necessary precision for examinations.

Intensive cultivator from Lemke with iglidur® plain bearings

Made with injection molding: Big savings in time and cost with iglide® plain bearings

Up to one hour of daily maintenance and lubrication of the bearings was necessary for this intensive cultivator when Lemken GmbH und Co. KG still used DU bushes. Since plain bearings made of iglide® high-performance materials from igus® have been in use, lubrication after using the intensive cultivator can be completely dispensed with, as the bearings contain self-lubricating solid lubricants. At the same time, the iglide® bearings easily withstand the high forces in the overload element of the trade show cultivator.

Contact Us

Questions or product information? Please contact:

Nate Guadagni
Nate Guadagni

Custom Parts Services Product Manager

1 401 438-2200Contact an Expert

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