TRIBOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION OF ADDITIVELY MANUFACTURED PCTG AND PETG-PTFE MATERIAL PAIRS USING A PIN-ON-DISK METHOD
Published in GÉP 2026/3-4
https://doi.org/10.70750/GEP.2026.3-4.27
Zsibók Marcell
PhD hallgató, BME Gépészmérnöki Kar, Gép- és Terméktervezés Tanszék
Dr. Zwierczyk Péter Tamás
adjunktus, BME Gépészmérnöki Kar, Gép- és Terméktervezés Tanszék
ABSTRACT
The aim of this study was the tribological pre-screening of additively manufactured PCTG and PETG-PTFE polymer material pairs to support material selection for subsequent dry-running polymer gear investigations. Homogeneous PCTG–PCTG and PETG-PTFE–PETG-PTFE pairs and the heterogeneous PCTG–PETG-PTFE pair in both pin–disk role assignments were compared under identical loading and kinematic conditions. Specimens with layer heights of 0.16 and 0.20 mm were evaluated. The PCTG–PCTG pairs exhibited the least favourable behaviour, losing stable contact after approximately 1 minute at both layer heights. In contrast, both heterogeneous configurations at 0.20 mm completed the nominal 10 min test with a temperature rise of only about 14–15 °C. At 0.16 mm, a marked role asymmetry was observed, while the PETG-PTFE–PETG-PTFE pair showed layer-height-dependent behaviour. The results indicate that, in addition to the individual material properties, the tribological compatibility between the mating polymers is relevant to the screening of additively manufactured polymer machine elements. The heterogeneous PCTG–PETG-PTFE pair is therefore a candidate for repeated and gear-scale investigations.
