Investigation on wear of biopolymer parts produced by 3D printing in lubricated sliding conditions

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of the printing temperature on several tribological parameters.

Design/methodology/approach

Polylactic acid (PLA) samples are produced at different printing temperatures. Results for the influence of the printing temperature on linear wear, wear intensity, wear resistance, roughness and microhardness in condition of reverse sliding friction of tribosystems with two different types of counterbodies were obtained.

Findings

In view of the experiments performed and a thorough analysis of the data obtained, it can be concluded that the printing temperature of PLA parts is directly related to their wear resistance – the higher the printing temperature, the greater the wear resistance, i.e. when making PLA machinery elements (which are working under conditions of friction and wear, e.g. gears, plain bearings and so on), it is appropriate to print them at a higher temperature.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the topic of this study is original and essential for future developments.

Citation

Zagorski, M., Todorov, G., Nikolov, N., Sofronov, Y. and Kandeva, M. (2022), "Investigation on wear of biopolymer parts produced by 3D printing in lubricated sliding conditions", Industrial Lubrication and Tribology, Vol. 74 No. 3, pp. 360-366. https://doi.org/10.1108/ILT-06-2021-0214