Select a sample part and test tribologically optimised 3D printing materials

See for yourself the quality and benefits of our 3D printing materials: Are you interested in 3D printed components, but would like to hold them in your hand before making a final decision? You are welcome to order a free sample from us.

FAQ: Your questions and our answers about the igus 3D printing service and the iglidur materials

Powder printing (laser sintering)

On which 3D printers can the iglidur laser sintering powders be processed?
igus uses the EOS Formiga P110. In principle, the tribo-materials iglidur I3-PL and iglidur I6-PL should be able to be processed on laser sintering 3D printers with CO2 lasers, if the printing parameters can be adjusted. Positive feedback has already been received from customers with EOS Formiga P100 as well as 3D systems equipment. Due to the different absorption of the laser energy, it is not suitable for low-cost systems such as Sinterit Lisa or Formlabs Fuse 1. The iglidur I8-ESD-PL is suitable for this due to its black colour; there has already been positive feedback from customers here.

So far, I have always purchased components made of PA12 or from the MJF process; which igus laser sintering powder is comparable?
All iglidur laser sintering materials are basically suitable, whereby the most suitable material can be selected depending on the requirement. iglidur I3-PL is the most frequently selected and most cost-effective laser sintering material in the igus 3D printing service.

Can threads be printed?
Fastening threads can be printed directly from M6 or comparable dimensions. For this, the geometrical shape must be integrated in the 3D model. Alternatively, threads can also be cut or, in the case of heavily stressed or frequently screwed threads, thread inserts can be introduced. Please request a separate quotation for this.

What about drive threads?
igus can provide components with threaded holes for trapezoidal or dryspin lead screws upon request. Lead screw nuts for trapezoidal threads can be generated with the igus CAD configurators. For dryspin threads, please contact your igus contact person, as this is a protected geometry.

Can the material be milled or otherwise mechanically processed?
Appropriate mechanical reworking is possible. For machining on the lathe, the usual measures for unfilled plastics (e.g. POM) apply; here, a fixture may have to be made to prevent deformation of the component during clamping. Due to the increased wear resistance of the iglidur materials, grinding is more demanding than with standard plastics.

Which iglidur laser sintering material is best suited for gears?
iglidur I3 has the longest service life of all igus 3D printing materials in tests with spur gears. For worm gears, iglidur I6 is better suited due to the sliding relative movement between the counter partners.

Can the surface of the components be smoothed?
For the smoothing of laser sintering components in the igus 3D printing service, vibratory grinding/rotofinishing and chemical smoothing are used. In vibratory grinding, the surface of the component is levelled with the aid of small wheels, thereby reducing the roughness. In chemical smoothing, the surface of the component is dissolved with the help of a chemical, thus smoothing the surface and closing it.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of surface finishing?
The vibratory finishing minimally removes particles from the surface and can, for example, anticipate the shrinkage of a plain bearing. It is a cost-effective and quick form of after-treatment, but is ineffective in places that the sliding bodies do not reach (e.g. inner edges, channels). The process is only suitable for smaller components with simple geometries.
The chemical smoothing process dissolves the plastic on the surface of the component. After the solvent has evaporated, a dense surface remains, while the untreated component always has a certain porosity, which plays a role in the use of lubricants, adhesives, compressed air as well as vacuum. This surface treatment produces even smoother surfaces than vibratory grinding, but also means a higher surcharge as well as a longer delivery time of the component of 9-12 working days.
Both surface treatments can be configured and ordered directly online in the iglidur Designer in the "Finishing" tab.

What should be considered when using with vacuum?
Due to the integrated solid lubrication, igus plain bearings also function in a vacuum. Depending on the application, the maximum permitted gas release on the plastic component must be reduced to a minimum. Due to the higher density, the laser sintering process is recommended here rather than the FDM process. The gas release of laser sintering plastic components can be reduced by first drying and then infiltrating the parts. Both can be offered by igus and carried out directly during production.

Are 3D printed components gas-tight?
igus has so far been able to gain experience with components produced using the laser sintering process. It is known that untreated components do not have a high gas tightness. Gas tightness can be significantly improved by an infiltration process or by chemical smoothing, which has already been confirmed by customer feedback. However, the gas-tightness always depends on the wall thickness; the thicker the wall, the more gas-tight the component. For components produced by filament printing, a lower gas tightness can be assumed, therefore the laser sintering process is recommended here.

Is there a coloured powder / which colours are available?
igus does not offer coloured laser sintering powder. Due to the increased effort involved in changing materials, the production of laser sintering components generally involves the subsequent colouring of the components instead. It is also possible for components made of iglidur materials. Over 20 standard colours are available and special colours are also possible. The tribological properties of the material can be affected by colouring.
The iglidur tribo-materials are basically white (iglidur I6, I10), yellow/beige (iglidur I3) or anthracite/black (iglidur I8-ESD). For black components, iglidur I8-ESD is sometimes the better choice compared to coloured components, as the component is through-dyed and the delivery time and part costs are not affected. As a result, the black colour is also more weather-resistant.

Filament printing (FDM/FFF)

Which filament 3D printer does igus recommend?
Due to the large number of systems available on the market, no clear recommendation can be made. Basically, the printer should have a sufficiently large and closed installation space as well as a heated print bed. In addition, a print head with two nozzles, or two independent print heads that can heat up to 300°C, is recommended.
The device should also be freely configurable, i.e. the processing parameters should be adjustable and it should be possible to process filaments from third-party manufacturers. Other useful specifications include interchangeable magnetic plates, network connectivity, direct drive extruder and automatic print bed levelling.
You should be able to process our filaments on most common printers without any problems. We are also happy to send you material samples if you have purchased a printer - you are welcome to contact us.

Can I process igus filaments on my 3D printer?
In most cases, yes, as long as the 3D printer allows the processing of third-party materials. If the printing parameters (speeds, temperatures, etc.) can be set yourself, there is nothing to be said against it.

Can igus filaments be processed on Stratasys/Makerbot/Markforged printers?
No, because it, like some others, only allows the use of proprietary filaments.

What filament diameters does igus offer?
Filaments from igus are available in diameters of 1.75mm and 2.85mm. Some 3D printers require 3mm diameter filament. In practice, this refers to the diameter 2.85mm, so it should be used synonymously. Therefore, the igus "3mm filament" can be used on printers that require 2.85mm or 3mm filament.
Only the high-temperature filaments (iglidur RW370, A350 etc.) are so far only available in 1.75mm.

What are the dimensions of the spools of the tribofilaments?
The dimensions of the filament spools can be seen on the product pages in the shop.

The profiles for Cura do not work, what can I do?
The profiles for iglidur I150-PF, I180-PF and other tribofilaments can be installed in Cura via the Marketplace. The software must then be restarted. The profiles only work for Ultimaker 3D printers (3, S3, S5) and the materials can be selected only if such a device is set up in Cura. There are no profiles available for download in Cura for other 3D printers.

Is there a profile/parameter set for tribofilaments for the 3D printer x?
For most 3D printers, igus offers the general processing instructions for the respective tribofilament for download. It can be found in the download area on the product page of the respective material in the shop.

Is there a fibre-reinforced igus® filament?
igumid® P150-PF and igumid® P190-PF use carbon-fibre-reinforced material with much higher rigidity and strength than the tribofilaments.

What material is suitable as a support material for tribofilaments?
Depending on the tribofilament, various soluble filaments, including water-soluble ones, such as PVA, from various third-party suppliers can be used. Filaments such as iglidur® i180-PF, i190-PF, and J260-PF with a higher processing temperature may require a suitable support material for higher temperatures (Formfutura Helios, for example).
An alternative is "breakaway" support materials which can be easily removed by hand after 3D printing. For some tribofilaments®, such as iglidur® i150-PF, PLA is also a suitable support material. It can be removed manually without much effort after printing.
For the high-temperature tribofilaments® (iglidur® RW370, A350, etc.), we are unable to make a recommendation at the moment.

Which filament is best suited for gears?
The best results in the tribo-filament service life comparison and some standard 3D printing filaments are achieved by iglidur I190-PF and igumid P150-PF. No detailed report is currently available, but one is planned for the future.

How do you get igus filaments to adhere to the printing plate?
For the tribo-filaments, igus offers adhesion promoter for tribo-filaments and adhesive film, which can be ordered in the shop. The adhesion promoter is applied as a liquid to a printing surface (such as glass) and serves as an adhesion medium and release aid when the plate has cooled down. The film is glued onto the printing plate and provides improved adhesion. The adhesion promoter is the only one suitable for Ultimaker 3D printers.

Is there a coloured filament/what colours are available?
As these are technical materials, the colour is secondary. Therefore the filaments are only available in white (iglidur I150-PF, I180-PF) or beige/yellow (iglidur J260-PF, I190-PF, RW370-PF). As a variant of iglidur I180-PF, for special applications iglidur I180-BL-PF is available in black, as well as iglidur I151-PF and A350-PF for the food industry in blue.

Can the surface of the components be smoothed?
For some tribofilaments this is possible and has already been tested experimentally. For an assessment of your individual application, please get in touch with your igus contact person.

Do filaments need to be dried?
Drying filaments is generally recommended from time to time to ensure high surface quality and optimum mechanical properties and material printability. Some filaments, such as iglidur I190-PF, iglidur A350-PF, and iglidur RW370-PF, should be dried more frequently. The filament spools can be dried in a standard household convection oven or in a dry air oven specially designed for this purpose.

What is the maximum drying temperature?
The rule of thumb is a drying temperature that does not exceed the maximum application temperature of the plastic, but also does not damage the plastic reel. For filaments on matt black plastic spools max. 70°C, on transparent spools max. 90°C and on glossy black spools (high temperature filaments) max. 125°C with at least 4-6 hours drying time.

Is post-processing as in the laser sintering process also available for FDM components?
Post-processing steps such as mechanical finishing (drilling, turning, milling) and the setting of thread inserts is also possible for components made using the FDM process. Feel free to contact us if you need support for your application in this regard.

Which materials does igus offer in the 2K or 4K printing service?
In addition to the tribofilaments, a range of other filaments, such as a flexible material (TPU) and other materials, are also available for the multi-material 3D printing service. Please contact us if you are interested.

Which materials can be combined?
Some filaments can form a material compound due to their molecular composition. Many others cannot be easily combined with each other, so that a form-fit connection should be constructed here. For more information, see our blog post on multi-material printing.

More questions about additive manufacturing

What types of 3D printing are there?
The best-known 3D printing processes are fused deposition modeling (FDM), selective laser sintering (SLS), selective laser melting (SLM), stereolithography (SLA), digital light processing (DLP), and multi-jet modeling/polyjet modeling.
In the igus® 3D printing service, materials are processed with the SLS, FDM, and DLP processes. The injection moulds for print2mold® components can also be produced with the SLM process.

When does 3D printing make sense?
3D printing is the manufacturing process of choice for complex-geometry parts, small series, and prototype development, since the fixed costs are much less than traditional manufacturing processes. Depending on component geometry, however, 3D printing can also be the cheapest process in large-series applications. Die casting or injection moulding requires a mould that can be used only to produce a specific part. Before the next part can be produced, the mould must be replaced and the machine refitted. These costs must first be calculated based on the number of parts produced.
3D printed objects can also be produced in a very short time. For example, a 3D printed spare part can significantly reduce or even eliminate the costs of machine failure due to a defective part, since it is available more quickly and is often cheaper to produce.

What are the benefits of a 3D printing service?

• Low production costs: A 3D printing service allows you to forego the costs of procuring your own industrial 3D printer, storing materials, and hiring an in-house expert; you also avoid spending the time production takes.
• Quality and speed: 3D printing service providers work quickly and deliver very good results thanks to their extensive experience. The production of prototypes and small series is very quick and easy, especially for online orders: All you need to do is upload the desired object as a CAD file to the browser and receive the finished part ready for use within a few days. You do not need to worry about the time and personnel required to produce and rework the parts.
• Printing process flexibility: A 3D printing service usually has several different 3D printers, so that the perfect printing process can be selected for the desired type and function of the part to be printed.
• Expertise in additive manufacturing: Producing high-quality, functional prototypes or small series generally requires more than just being able to operate a 3D printer. A professional 3D printing service will advise and support you during design, selection of process and material, and specification of the mechanical properties for the part to be printed.
• Clear cost structure: Ordered, delivered, paid for - that's all there is to it! The costs of 3D printing services can be determined easily and precisely ahead of time, greatly facilitating budget planning. Billing for externally printed objects is also quick and easy, saving time and money that can be invested in other projects.
• Low quantities and spare parts: If individual components or replacement parts need to be manufactured in an additive process only occasionally (or even only once), 3D printing services is the obvious answer. If the required part is manufactured in a laser sintering process, there may be additional costs if quantities are low. A professional printing service can manufacture large batches of parts for different customers in a single run, greatly reducing the price.

What are the benefits of a 3D printer? When is buying one worth it?
Companies should buy their own 3D printer only if they have in-house experts with the necessary know-how. Procure a 3D printer with an eye to profitability - in addition to the purchase costs, there are also the costs for material, software, and defective parts. Before a company procures its own 3D printer, it should have several 3D models printed by different external providers using different processes in order to assess the suitability of the results to the application.

Is there resin for the igus® SLA/DLP process?
Yes, igus® has developed a tribologically optimised 3D printing resin for processing on DLP and LCD printers. It is particularly well suited to manufacturing very small components with fine details and smooth surfaces. Wear-resistant parts made from this resin can be ordered in the 3D printing service. The material is also available in the igus® online shop.

Which material is the best choice for housings?
Producing such parts with the igus® service may be more expensive than with other service providers, since igus® uses materials specially optimised for minimum friction and wear. iglidur® i8-ESD is a good choice because of its colour and antistatic properties, and igumid® P150-PF and P190-PF have fibre reinforcement.

Can igus produce spare parts?
If a 3D model exists and there are no legal claims from the original manufacturer, this is possible. For commercial customers, igus offers to rebuild defective components. Private customers have the opportunity to have the component redesigned and manufactured via local initiatives for 3D repair. For simple parts such as plain bearings and gears, the igus CAD configurators can also be used.

Are there transparent materials from igus?
No. igus exclusively processes and develops materials and compounds for moving applications.

Does igus also manufacture metal parts using the 3D printing service?
No.

Are there conductive 3D printing materials from igus??
Yes and no. Modified plastics have a very high resistance compared to metals. With a specific resistance of approx. 1x10⁷ ohm x cm, iglidur I8-ESD is in the range of "antistatic dissipative", but not really conductive.

Are there fire-retardant igus® 3D printing materials?
The tribofilaments® iglidur® RW370-PF and A350-PF are fire-retardant according to UL94 V-0. iglidur® RW370-PF also fulfils the EN45545 standard for railway vehicles. The iglidur® i3 laser sintering material meets the FMV SS 302 and DIN 75200 standard for vehicle interiors. The certificates can be downloaded under the "Downloads" tab on the product pages in the shop.

Are there FDA-compliant 3D printing materials from igus?
The laser sintering materials iglidur I6 and iglidur I10 as well as the tribofilaments iglidur I151-PF and A350-PF are approved for food contact according to FDA and EU 10/2011. The certificates can be downloaded from the "Downloads" tab on the product pages in the shop.

Which material is suitable for use under water?
Tests with iglidur® materials in rotating and pivoting applications under water have shown that the iglidur® i8-ESD laser sintering material is especially well suited to such environmental conditions because the wear rate in this environment is very low.

What material is UV-resistant?
In the weathering test (eight hours of irradiation with UV-A and four hours of condensation at 50°C for a total of 2,000h/ASTM G154 Cycle 4), the iglidur® i8-ESD laser sintering material proved resistant to weather and UV irradiation over the long term, with a change in flexural strength of only about -9%. The iglidur® i3 laser sintering material and iglidur® J injection moulding material exhibited a change in flexural strength of about -14% and can therefore also be classified as resistant to weathering.

What is the chemical resistance of the iglidur 3D printing materials?
The chemical resistance of the tribofilaments and laser sintering materials can be viewed in the searchable lists in the "Technical data" tab on the product pages in the shop or in the iglidur Designer in the materials under "More information".