Experimental investigation of wear behavior of various polymer spur gears manufactured by 3D printer

Gears, as elements of any mechanism, are exposed to an accurate load while transmitting motion and they wear off. That is why it is crucial to designate a wear rate to determine their lifespan. In this study, firstly the wearing (off) of 3D printer produced plastic gears is evaluated theoretically. In this context, wear depths are calculated in Matlab programme based on Archard Equation. Then, spur gears made up of different types of polymer materials, such as PLA, PETG and ABS, are manufactured by using Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) technology. Then they were made available for experimental processes. FDM technology enables the changes to be made in the percentages of infill material and in the shell thickness of the gears. Wear experiments of plastic spur gears are conducted by means of Closed Circuit Power Circulation System (FZG) by merging steel spur gears. This test rig can modify angular velocity and magnitude of forces on spur gears. Thanks to the capability of arrangement of forces, wear behavior was observed under various forces. The test rig was stopped to measure the mass loss at specific periods. Finally, the results were compared with those of all types of plastics.