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Durable 3D printed worm gears

Up to 80% more wear-resistant than machined or injection-moulded gears

Worm gears can have an extremely long service life if the correct material to 3D print them in is selected. With the optimised properties of the iglidur® materials, the wear rate is low and can be manufactured quickly!
Polymer gears are ideally suited to dry running without lubricating oil - this allows worm gears printed from iglidur® materials to run without lubrication. The customer therefore sees advantages in lower maintenance costs and downtime when designing in worm gears made of high-quality polymer materials.

Should you replace your metal worm gear to an igus® 3D printed one?

Fast online ordering from the 3D printing service: upload spur gear CAD now and find out about prices

► Upload doesn't work? Click here to start the upload directly in the 3D printing service tool.

Load sample model and test the online 3D printing service

Key advantages of using igus materials in 3D printed gears

3d printed worm gears

► Predictable service life
► Any geometry possible: special shapes and replacement parts
► Optimised tooth root geometry for longer service life
► Self-lubricating: dry operation thanks to solid lubricants

Lasts up to 5 times longer than regular plastic gears
Tested and proven: gears made of iglidur have a considerably longer service life than machined or injection-moulded gears made of regular plastics.

What material is better for what type of gear?

  • iglidur I3  is characterised by higher strength, is especially well-suited for spur gears and helical-bevel gears, and can be used  for all other kinds of wear-resistant gears.
  • iglidur I6  has optimised sliding properties and is therefore ideal for worm gears or other gears where conformity with food standards is required.
  • iglidur I8-ESD is suitable for gears where ESD properties are necessary, e.g. for ATEX
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Customer applications with 3D printed gears

3d printing in electric cars

3D printed polymer gears for prototype construction

Gear made of iglidur® I6 for an electric car charging system
Easelink, a company from Graz, has developed "Matrix Charging", a charging system that automatically connects the bottoms of electric cars with the power supply when they are parked. To design the system to be both economical and high-quality, the designers have chosen gear prototypes made of iglidur polymers with additive manufacturing. The igus® 3D printing service allowed sample components to be quickly ordered, tested and adjusted until the ideal solution was reached. iglidur I6, an especially wear-resistant, self-lubricating laser sintering powder, is ideally suited to the design of gears, pinions and other heavily stressed components that usually must be regularly lubricated and maintained, and which frequently require replacement.

3d print sprockets

Polymer sprockets made with additive manufacturing for quiet e-bikes

Tough, wear-resistant, lubrication-free: polymer beats metal
For constructing e-bikes it is especially important that the components used are light and quiet.  Lars Hartmann from the VMA Getzmann GmbH, which produces stirring, dispersing and fine-grinding systems, tested sprockets printed in 3D made of iglidur I3 as replacement for metal sprockets and was enthusiastic: 
 
"The standard metal pinion generates a lot of noise when in use. We drew it and had it printed by igus® from iglidur I3. The way to the part was simple and fast. We used the 3D printing service to upload the corresponding data, chose the material and ordered the quantity."

pinions for racing

Plastic pinion for engine tuning

The Formula Student Team from Weingarten near Ravensburg needed, amongst other things, customised polymer pinions to construct their racing cars. The pinions were used as chain tensioners in the chain drive, so they had to be especially robust. Unfortunately, pinions in special sizes have long delivery times, and classic production by means of milling is time-consuming. The igus® 3D printing service allowed polymer pinions to be delivered and tested in less than 72 hours. The material used was iglidur I6, which is especially wear-resistant – it was still fully functional after one million cycles in laboratory tests – and was ideal for use in racing cars. In this case, the special parts from additive manufacturing were not only available much faster, but were more robust and economical.

Frequent asked questions about 3D printed worm gears

A worm wheel is the counter-component to the worm in a worm gear. As sliding capacity is especially important for worm wheels, they are often manufactured from bronze. Printing lower quantities of worm wheels in 3D from high-performance polymer is significantly more cost-effective and, most importantly, faster - whilst delivering comparable properties.

Worm gears are used wherever reliable, precise, quiet gearbox function is necessary. Quiet, robust operation is especially important. Worm gears can be used to implement axle offsets between drive and output. Large outputs can be transferred in very small spaces. Hence, the worm wheel's primary areas of use are conveyor systems, robot technology, profile processing machines, separating systems, extrusion devices, mining machines and rowing machines. Worm gears are also used in presses and rolling mills, stage and theatre equipment, actuators, in machinery construction and lift technology.

A worm gear is a special kind of gear in the shape of a worm. The tooth winds around the gear's shaft, much like that of a screw. The mating gear is the worm wheel. The worm can be thought of as a spur gear with diagonal threads. Its special feature is that the worm only has one tooth. However, there are worms with two or more teeth. This design makes the gear ratio relatively high. A popular property of the worm gear is its self-locking feature. The worm can drive the worm wheel. If the roles are reversed, this is prevented by the self-locking feature. Moving large masses can also be problematic, since abrupt gearbox stoppage is not recommended in such applications.

Not always. Some materials like iglidur® polymers are self-lubricating and designed for dry operation, reducing maintenance.

Where are 3D printed worm gears commonly used?

Important factors include:

  • Tooth profile (typically involute)
  • Backlash (to prevent jamming)
  • Clearance (0.1–0.2 mm recommended)
  • Pitch circle diameter (PCD) for proper meshing

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Seán Ryan
Seán Ryan086 0329555Submit form

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