Engineers across the UK will be able to join an online workshop this month to discuss and learn more about the 3D printing of plastic gears

igus, which has its UK headquarters in Northampton, has organised the event on Wednesday 28th October – for engineers across the globe to learn more about the 3D printing process – from prototype to production.
 
The workshop – with two timeslots to choose from – will also explore in detail the use and application of the igus online service life calculator.
 
Tom Krause, the global head of 3D printing at igus , will lead the one-hour workshops – with engineers across the UK invited to log in and join engineers from around the world for the presentation, which will be followed by a question and answer session.
 
Matthew Aldridge, UK managing director of igus, the global manufacturer of energy chain systems and polymer plain bearings, said: “Our igus engineers as well as our customers will be joining us for this global event, but we are keen to stress that this is also open to others in the UK interested in finding out more.”
 
The iglidur plastics specially developed for 3D printing have a much higher wear resistance compared to regular 3D printing materials. As a result, wear resistance and friction are comparable to iglidur plain bearings manufactured in the injection moulding process. By 3D printing, production for special parts is considerably faster and the elimination of tooling gives a considerable cost saving. The igus 3D printing materials are therefore ideally suited for industrial use as a durable functional part.
 
Matthew added: “As with all igus products, the parts produced using 3D printing methods are extensively tested for wear and friction in our state of our state-of-the-art in-house test laboratory. Here it possible to determine the expected service life of many products such as plain bearings, xiros ball bearings and plastic gears.”
 
The 3D Printing workshops – at both 8am and 4pm – will include expert advice as well as access to free and practical online tools and configurators. Complementary samples of both materials and required parts will also be made available to delegates.
 
To find out more about the two workshops and to register for your place, free of charge please click here.
 
More about wear-resistant polymers for 3D printing
 
The igus team of design engineers have been developing innovative materials and solutions for 3D printing since 2014. With more than 120,000 printed parts in 2019, 11 iglidur wear-resistant materials, eight SLS machines distributed across Europe, Asia and America and a worldwide customer base, additive manufacturing is now firmly established as one of the igus production processes.
 
Learn how to calculate the service life of 3D printed plastic gears in 60 seconds! This workshop will help you gain the necessary tools to be able to design your custom gears quickly and easily, significantly reducing valuable trial and test time.