Industrial 3D printing service

for wear-resistant special parts in one to three days

• What does the online 3D printing service from igus offer? 🔽
• Special 3D printing services 🔽
• Service life calculation for individual components 🔽
• Service life calculator for plastic gears 🔽
• Which designs can I order from the 3D printing service? 🔽
• Options for post-processing and finishing 🔽
• More information about the CAD configurators 🔽
• The 3D printing service in practice 🔽

Just upload your 3D model and order online

• Upload up to ten files (STEP/STP/STL) by dragging and dropping them into the upload window or uploading them directly to the 3D printing service tool
• Order the component right away online or request a quotation

Immediate price calculation and manufacturability check

• Order from 1 to 10,000 units
• Prices and delivery time will be displayed immediately
• Component manufacturability is checked with regard to wall thickness and installation space size: possible limitations are displayed right away

Wide range of materials and options for post-processing

• Extremely wear-resistant plastics
• Can be filtered according to environmental parameters and specific requirements
• Materials for various application requirements
• Optional: colouring and smoothing the component surface or re-drilling a thread

Multi-material printing

Multi-material printing uses up to four different filaments to make one component in a single work step. This combines the advantages of two or more different materials in one component.

Possible applications:

• Service life and load-bearing capacity: the durable tribofilaments from igus can be combined with highly rigid materials. This allows for the construction of particularly strong components that also exhibit special sliding behaviour.
• Components with integrated sensors: multi-material printing allows speedy manufacture of wear-resistant plastics with an integrated conductive sensor layer. This is how extremely durable special parts are created which issue a warning before overloading occurs or when the wear limit is reached to enable predictive maintenance.

Large-format 3D printing

The igus large-format 3D printer can be used to manufacture components of up to one metre in a single printing process. The large-format components made of igus high-performance polymers can be used without problems in large-scale mechanical engineering.

The 3D-printed components fare well in direct comparison with machined parts because of their lightweight design, greatly reduced material requirements (up to 85%) and cost-effective manufacture. For good surfaces and precise components, sub-areas can be reworked.

Possible areas of application include construction of jigs and special machines, and packaging technology.

At igus, service life calculators have been successfully used for plain bearing applications for more than 25 years. The new service life calculation in the 3D printing service tool "iglidur Designer" allows you to determine the service life of individually shaped components for the first time. Simply select the sliding surface by clicking on it and enter your application parameters to immediately obtain a service life estimate. The data of the service life calculator are based on the results of 11,000 abrasion tests per year at 450 test points in the igus test laboratory. This means that users can now get all the information they need regarding price, manufacturability and delivery time, material specifications including expected service life and finishing of their individual 3D printing component easily in one tool.
 

Smoothing the surface

Smoothing components greatly reduces surface roughness, improving the feel. The methods available are chemical smoothing and vibratory finishing. In both cases, the wall must be at least 1mm thick to ensure your component's stability and correct manufacture.

In chemical smoothing, the component is treated with a chemical after 3D printing. This softens and smooths the rough surface characteristic of laser sintering components. This also seals the surface. In tumbling, the component is placed in a container with abrasives after 3D printing, and the contact between the abrasives and the component smooths the latter's surface.

Colouring and rework

Our online 3D printing service allows black to be booked immediately. Other colours are available upon request. In colouring, dye penetrates about 0.4mm deep into the component, changing the measurements negligibly. Dyeing can reduce wear resistance by up to a factor of three, depending on the application. The mechanical specifications remain almost unchanged. A minimum wall thickness of 1mm is required for colouring.

Mechanical rework is offered when a component requires threads or threaded inserts, for instance. Mechanical rework is also necessary if components are to be manufactured with specific dimensions and tight tolerances.

Miracle roller

Roller with an inner rotating roller from a printing process
Material: iglidur® i3 (laser sintering material)
 

Drive nuts with lead screw

Printed drive nut on a printed threaded lead screw
Material: iglidur i3 (laser sintering material)

 

Elastic gripper

Printed elastic gripper
Material: iglidur i3 (laser sintering material) and elastic material (blue)
 

Worm gear

Worm gear
Material: iglidur i6 (laser sintering material)
 

Bevel gear

Bevel gear
Material: iglidur i3 (laser sintering material)
 

Coloured gears

Gears, helically toothed and coloured
Material: iglidur i3 (laser sintering material)
 

Two-component sample

Multi-material component made from a filament optimised for friction and a highly rigid filament for maximum strength.
Materials: iglidur i150 and igumid P150 filament
 

ESD sample part

Electrostatically discharging roller. The surface was then chemically smoothed in post-processing.
Material: iglidur i8-ESD (laser sintering material)