Igus and Slant 3D Partner to Manufacture 3D Printed Bearings and Bushings

Slant 3D has partnered with IGUS to manufacture 3D Printed bearings and bushings with their iglide series of 3D Printable Materials

Igus is a well known for their linear motion systems. The high quality and long term durability have been proven in the manufacturing industry for years. A very common part of this are the DryLin Polymer Series of products. These bearings and bushing are used in equipment all over the world.

Historically these components were manufactured using an extrusion process. This is very efficient for large scale production of a ubiquitous part. But it does not lend itself to optimization beyond a certain point. This is where Slant 3D comes in.

Igus has recently released the iGlide series of 3D printing materials for the manufacture of polymer bearings and other wear pieces. Combined with Slant 3D's high volume production capacity it is now possible to manufacture 100-10,000 bearings or bushing with geometries that were impossible in the past.

Slant 3D has verified the material by designing a new type of bushing that uses rings rather than the traditional slats of extruded bearings. This new design is able to keep out contaminants that could reduce the life of the bearing and shaft. It also can be varied to increase or decrease the contact area of the bearing.

It now also becomes possible to optimize bearings for the load that they are to be put in. Such as increasing material on the one side of the bearing that will support the most load.

Lastly the overall geometry can be changed. Since shrinkage is no longer a factor, bearings can be made with very thick walls to prevent compression on the shaft and allow press-fitting bearings into place. Or they can be made square or triangular to ensure properly assembled orientation.

​All of these are just a few of the options that are now available with these additively manufactured bearings.

The 3D Printed bearings will find first use in the Slant 3D factory as a component on our production 3D Printers. The material will also immediately be made available to all Slant 3D production clients as an option for custom motion systems that need bearing and bushings with very specific requirements.

If you would like to explore the design and production of custom 3D Printed bearings more. Please submit your project through our quoting form or simply contact us. We are happy to help you from design to production.