I’m just starting a project requiring bearings, and I don’t really need anything as tough as metal, so I’m wondering about print-in-place bearings. There are many different kinds in MakerWorld, including ball bearings, rollers, shaped rollers, and plain ‘friction’ bearings. I’m very interested in opinions from those who’ve use printed bearings. What do you think?
It depends on your model, there is no such thing as an all purpose solution or technique.
You need to provide an example for people to provide relevant responses. Anything else is a guess.
For example; size of model, weight of part, is the rotating element holding everything above it or placed in the centre between the top and bottom halves?
Context is key.
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I’ve only printed two ball bearings, for a spool holder. My print-in-place models usually come out pretty clean. Half the balls still needed “massaging” before they rolled freely, but they did work. But then, the spool turned OK even when they were stuck.
When I needed more bearings for another project, I bought extras and replaced the plastic bearings with metal bearings. I feel that if the load is heavy enough to require a rolling type bearing, it is too heavy to use plastic. Light loads will probably be OK with plastic sliding on plastic, so no bearing is needed. YRMV
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This may be a good question for one of the YouTube 3D printing experts who do research and presentations. 3D Kitchen, Thomas Sandladerer (sp?), perhaps others.
I will add the thought of bearings in various dirty environments; e.g. bearings for a house-corner garden hose roller, in which garden hose is being pulled across a roller with bearings.
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You didn’t mention what kind of bearings you needed, roller bearings, thrust bearings etc. so I ma assuming axel roller bearings is likely the most common. This response is on that track.
I’ve actually done a number of designs that use standard bearings. One example was 608 skateboard bearings used in spool rollers. I used both printed versions and actual metal versions just to see if the printed versions can perform. Although they do work as PLA or better PETG or PC, they are just too rough to make for decent bearings. But the nice thing is, they are easy to try out.
Here is a link to the tag that will list roller, ball and thrust bearing models on printables:
https://www.printables.com/search/models?q=tag:bearing
Here is a tag for 608 bearings. I’ve actually printed a number of these print-in-lace and they work similar but not exactly as their metal counterparts I purchased on Amazon.
https://www.printables.com/search/models?q=tag:608bearing
Here are thrust bearings if that’s what you meant.
https://www.printables.com/search/models?q=thrust%20bearings&ctx=models
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There are various bushing materials available; a bushing being an element that the moving part slides on.
- Oilite bushings (porous sintered bronze, vacuum impregnated with a lubricant) are very common for small electric motors.
- Nylatron is a molybdenum disulphide filled nylon material; available in sheets, blocks, rods etc. A very good bushing material.
- UHMW Polyethylene is available in blocks, self-adhesive tapes, etc. and is again a very hard, slick material.
- IIRC one of the bushing manufacturers (Igus?) had 3D-printable bushing filament. Quite pricey when I saw it (they still want to sell their bushings).
Usually if you have bearings in a dirty environment you buy bearings with an integral seal to protect the bearing or you have a bearing and a separate seal that goes between the bearing and the dirty environment to seal the bearing against the dirty environment. In other cases you have a seal in conjunction with a bearing to keep a low viscosity fluid from leaking out. Such as an automotive transmission.
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I’m still waiting for the OP to provide context so those helping have an easier time than guessing the needs as yet unshared.
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Sorry about the lack of context, but I was looking for general responses. You know, for future projects also.
The gist of the discussion seems to be that, for low load situations, 3D printed bearings are fine.
I hadn’t considered the 'dirty environment scenario, but I’m guessing we could print a bearing with a loose seal (<0.3 mm?) that would suffice for most situations you’d put a 3D printed bearing in.
Yes, you could try it, but looser bearings might be noisier and less efficient. At some point, it may not be worth the effort. For example, 608 skateboard bearings cost about $0.50 each in bulk(in quantities of 10). For a spool roller using four, the cost adds up, but for something simpler, buying might be easier. The point is, you’re not forced to decide.
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Some of this stuff falls under the category of “Why am I doing this” and I’m not saying that sarcastically.
Myself, if I felt like something needed a bearing, I’d probably run down to an industrial supply house and buy a bearing. A fully functional load capable bearing is a complex device and I will never be able print a bearing that will get close to the level of quality I can get out of a $5.00 bearing bought at a local industrial supply house.
On the other hand, and as of today I do not know the answer, but if there is a material similar to PTFE that you can print, you can make a bushing that will probably work as well as the printed bearing at a fraction of the time.
Not a loose bearing, just the gap in the walls. On a ‘sealed’ metal bearing, that gap would be non-existent, because they press in a seal. If I want to go ‘print-in-place’, I could never get as good a seal.
I also see the self-designed ones as unnecessary. But there is also a Sirius topic in regards of 3D Printed bearings. And the highest lodet Barings are anyway not really Ball or Roller Barings - than you will dive into topic like white Metal Bearings.
The moste sirius topic I know: Replacing of Lignum Vitae bearings. Lignum Vitae bearings are incredible expensiv since the wood can not by cuted anymore. And what is still there is becoming rare and damn expensive.
Well, the caes were Lignum Vitae bearings are really needed are reare an the Youtube sample Video do not really fits into. But I’ll take CNC turned plastic versions until I finally get around to trying out a 3D printed Nylon plain bearing.
But if anyone has a reference to self-lubricating plastic plain bearings on steel shafts, go ahead - I have open ears for that…
I agree that printing a direct replacement for an inexpensive, metal bearing is a bit silly. But what about integral bearings. We need to design for additive manufacturing, not assemblies, if possible, since that’s what we’re doing.
Well @User_2343070242
I just don’t have the time for it - the company Igus is into low-cost automation and also sells a number of its own filaments. Maybe you’ll ask about the limits of the possibility. They for sure also want to see a profit, which is common practice 
Actual, I am only at spare parts for low speed integral joints, pin bush coupling which are no longer available - and only if the man-hour for a complete replacement is higher than the spare parts for overhauling the old one.
Or briefly astaged, the limits to getting something done lie in your abilities and the time available… so way not if you have time… integral bearings? Axial slide or thrust slide bearing or Radial slide way not? I estimate a maximum of 80 RPM (so out of feeling) - just try it out and have fun
Yup! Integral bearings. Most of the time, with 3D printing, you don’t really need to assemble the part, and use press-in bearings, if you just design the ‘bearings’ as part of the print. That is, include printed balls, and a raceway for them to run in as part of the design. The up-front man hour cost is in the design, and the extra print time is usually negligible. If you’re prototyping, there’s no point, but if the 3D print is the final product, why not design the bearings into the print.
This was done a long time ago and we come away from this. Funnily enough, I once asked my master that when I was at the tender age of 18 and I don’t really want to discuss why we don’t do that anymore or where it may non can make sense.
And anyway, what I want to say: Ball bearings are not really interesting because they are extremely cheap in small sizes, you can get the cheapest ball bearings for 0.1 cent, at least if you order 100 or more from the right sales channel - Of course they are junk, but 100 times better than a 3D printed one. Of course, a single bearing can also cost USD 50,000, at least the most expensive one I was involved in installing… If you want to play around with it, have fun.
Plain bearings, I’ll take a look at that, it could possibly be interesting… but at the moment I’m not looking for more challenges. You’re more likely to drown in the challenges than to have to look for them.
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