Cost-Effective igus® Gears: Lightweight and Corrosion Resistant Solutions

igus® gears: The ultimate choice for high-quality, maintenance-free gear systems

igus® plastic gears are high-performance polymer gears designed to meet the demanding needs of various industrial applications. igus® gears provide a reliable, efficient, and economical solution for a variety of industrial applications, making them a preferred choice for engineers and manufacturers worldwide. Known for their durability, precision, and efficiency, igus® gears offer several key benefits:

gears | plastic gears | spur gears | warm gears | bevel gears

igus® Gears Online Shop

Cost-Effective: igus® gears are often more affordable than metal gears, providing a cost-effective solution without compromising on performance.

Customizable: igus® offers a wide range of gear designs and sizes, and they can be customized to meet specific application requirements, ensuring optimal performance for any project.

Quiet Operation: The plastic material helps to dampen noise, resulting in quieter operation compared to metal gears, which is beneficial in noise-sensitive environments.

Maintenance-Free: These gears are self-lubricating, which means they do not require regular maintenance or lubrication, reducing downtime and maintenance costs.

Corrosion-Resistant: Unlike metal gears, igus® gears are resistant to corrosion, making them ideal for use in environments where moisture or chemicals are present.

Lightweight: The plastic construction of igus® gears makes them significantly lighter than their metal counterparts, which can help reduce the overall weight of machinery and improve energy efficiency.

Types of wear-resistant plastic gears

Bevel gears

Transmission: 1:1 - 1:5
Module: 1 - 3.5

Go to bevel gear shop

Spur gears

Number of teeth: 12 - 150
Module: 0,5 - 3

Go to spur gear shop

Racks

Module: 0.5 - 4
Length: 250 - 1,000mm

Go to gear rack shop

Angular gearbox

Transmission: 1:1 - 1:5
Module: 1

Go to gear wheel shop

Individual gear of your choice

I cannot find the dimensions I want in the shop or I need individual gears for my application.

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CAD data download

I would like to view the gear/rack CAD data in the CAD database or download it directly free of charge.

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Diagram of gear brochure and gear samples

Free leaflet and samples

Order your free gear samples now or download the gears brochure.

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Our manufacturing procedure

From a single part to high-volume quantities of up to several millions

Injection moulding gears

From our largest possible variety of iglidur materials
Standard dimensions available
Different shaft-hub combinations available
Individual high-volume production of special parts
Economic high-volume production

Learn more about Injection moulding gears

3D printed gears

3D printing laser-sintering material with gear

Delivery time from one to three days
No minimum order quantity
CAD configurator for gears and racks online
For prototypes

Learn more about 3D printed gears

Mechanically manufactured gears

From the iglidur bar stock
Economically efficient in the case of small to medium-sized quantities
For high-volume gears

Learn more about mechanically manufactured gears

Application examples with plastic gears

Gears in the automotive industry

The proportion of electronic and electromechanical components in vehicles has been growing continuously for years. The increased comfort and the growing safety requirements promote this development. The cable harness, which is responsible for supplying all these components, is the second-heaviest component in many motor vehicles, right after the engine. Actuators make up a large share of the elements to be supplied with power and signals.

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Plastic gears in rail technology

To reduce interruptions of rail journeys, track switches are used. They ensure the seamless transition of the rail vehicles from one track to another. Reliable track switches are fundamental for a smooth operation of passenger and freight transport.

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Plastic gears in e-bikes

E-bikes are becoming increasingly lighter and in addition very quiet. During operation, there are hardly any motor noises to be heard. However, resourceful inventors, such as Lars Hartmann from Reichshof, are not content with that. The bicycle chain's background noise was too loud and a thorn in his side. A metallic chain sprocket served as a guide roller for the chain to prevent it from colliding with the frame, but caused tremendous operating noise. In search of a remedy, he remembered the offer by
igus, which he had seen at a trade show: the 3D printing service , which manufactured individual components cost-effectively with a 3D printer.

Polymer gears for the charging system of electric cars

Easelink, a company from Graz, has developed "Matrix Charging", a charging system consisting of two components. A charging pad connected to the mains is installed in the car park. A connector on the bottom of the e-car drops down when the car is parked over the pad. The charging process starts automatically, without the driver having to connect a cable - similar to inductive charging, but with up to ten times the charging power and with 99 per cent efficiency.

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Fire engine with servomotor and roof-mounted water cannon

Plastic gears in the fire brigade

The on-site fire brigade of Fraport AG provides for fire safety at the airport in Frankfurt am Main. Its airport fire engines have roof-mounted water cannons which use a servomotor to change the angle of the spray nozzle. As this angle is also changed while water is being sprayed, the load on the servomotor is considerable. After being in use for ten years, the gears in the cannon have become worn and therefore the roof-mounted cannons must be repaired.

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Speech bubble with oil can that is crossed out

Sustainability of our gears

For our plastic gears, you do not need a single drop of lubricating oil. Not only our users but also the environment benefit from this. In addition, our tribologically optimised materials generate less abrasion, which means less energy is needed.

Speech bubble with two green arrows pointing in opposite directions

This is why we developed our gears:

iglidur® gears have proven their worth in different gearboxes and have also been tested under realistic conditions of use in the igus test laboratory. For example, torque fluctuations, efficiency and backlash of the gearboxes with plastic gears are electrically measured and evaluated. The gathered empirical values allow for continuous optimisation of our gears and use in wear-intensive continuous application.

iglidur® gears are characterised by their special wear resistance in use. Due to their special material composition of base polymers, fibres, fillers and solid lubricants, they have very low wear properties and do not require additional lubricants. This extends maintenance intervals and reduces expensive downtime minutes.

Plastic gear instead of metal gear

Tech up and cost down - now

Plastic gears are cost-effective, do not require external lubrication and are maintenance-free.
In contrast to metal gears, our polymer ones contain solid lubricants, which reduce friction.
Furthermore, certain fillers ensure an additional
improvement of the mechanical properties.

Overview of benefits

Lubrication-free
Maintenance-free
Lightweight
Noise-reducing
Corrosion-free

Worn-out metal gear next to plastic gear

Further information on our materials

Test tubes with different plastic granules

Materials with special properties

Learn everything about our tribologically optimised materials and their properties.

Help for material selection

Largest test lab in the industry

We carry out tests so that you do not have to experiment. Find out how our iglidur® polymer plain bearings are tested in the largest test laboratory in the industry. We also carry out individual customer tests here.

What is iglidur®?

What are iglidur materials made of? What is behind the self-lubrication effect? Find out more about the functionality of iglidur®.

iglidur specifications

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Cost-Effective igus® Gears: Lightweight and Corrosion Resistant Solutions

igus® gears: The ultimate choice for high-quality, maintenance-free gear systems