What filament for gears on metal lathe

Bambu Lab P1 Series General Discussions
1

I have a South Bend lathe and would like to print an idle gear for it. What filament would be best, ABS or one of the nylons? Or another material?
Thanks.

2

My recommendation would probably be one of the glass filled nylons or the new glass filled ABS.

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3

MakersMuse on Youtube did some videos of printing gears and if i recall stress testing different materials

4

Nylons for sure. Good lubricity, very, very tough, and good heat resistance (light friction under load). But if I’m honest, I’d expect to have to replace them fairly often (in terms of hours of use). But I believe the gears on mini lathes are nylon as well, so… However, I wouldn’t be surprised to hear some lathe makers might be using ABS.

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5

Recommendation from my side Nylon PA6 or PA12, avoid using CF or GF type PA filaments as this will increase friction and may cause increased wear on the interlocking gears.
Note some of the bigger idler gears might be a little challenging due to warping.

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6

Thanks for the replys. I did not want to use any glass filled or carbon fiber filled as the glass and carbon fibers are abrasives. I will look for PA6 or PA12.