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There is no single most wear-resistant 3D-printing filament. A material that holds up against a polished steel shaft may perform poorly against grit, a rough printed surface, or another polymer. To choose well, match the test to the real contact—load, speed, temperature, moisture, lubrication, print orientation and mating surface—and measure more than mass loss.
What wear testing measures
“Wear” covers several different ways a part can lose function. Separate the damage mechanism from other failures such as bending or cracking: a specimen can retain nearly all its mass and still bind, deform or break.
- Abrasive wear: A hard or rough counterface, or trapped grit, cuts or scratches material away.
- Adhesive wear: Sliding surfaces transfer material between one another; the transferred film can change friction and accelerate or slow further wear.
- Fretting wear: Small repeated movements damage a contact zone without long-distance sliding.
- Fatigue wear: Repeated loading causes cracks, flakes or layer separation.
- Deformation or creep: A part flattens or changes shape under load. This is not necessarily material loss, but can make a bushing or guide unusable.
Friction and wear are related but distinct. A low coefficient of friction does not guarantee low material loss, and a mass measurement alone will not reveal dimensional distortion or transfer to the mating surface.
Why filament rankings are difficult to transfer
Published comparisons use different grades, specimen geometries, print settings, loads, speeds, counterfaces and test machines. A 2022 pin-on-disc study compared PLA, ABS and PETG, while separate work examined abrasion across polymers including PLA, PET-G, ABS and PA12, and another study used ASTM G99-style testing for TPU, ASA and multimaterial specimens. Those results answer different questions; they do not establish a universal ranking. See the studies on PLA, ABS and PETG wear, polymer abrasion and TPU and ASA wear testing.
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Even names such as “nylon,” “TPU” and “carbon-fiber filament” hide meaningful differences in polymer grade, hardness, filler and moisture condition. Manufacturer-to-manufacturer differences and environmental degradation have been reported for nominally similar materials (Materials study). Printed parts also differ from bulk material: layer interfaces, voids, weld lines and surface texture depend on the print process.
- Counterface and finish: Steel, aluminum, another polymer and abrasive grit can produce different outcomes. Layer ridges may act like abrasive features.
- Contact conditions: Load, sliding speed, distance, temperature and lubrication affect heating and wear.
- Print construction: Orientation, infill, walls, layer bonding and surface skin can determine whether the specimen wears through, delaminates or deforms.
- Conditioning: Moisture matters especially for nylon and TPU; report drying and storage conditions.
Mechanical strength data are not wear data. Tensile strength, hardness, stiffness and impact resistance may help explain a failure, but they cannot substitute for a wear measurement.
How the common filament families compare
The table describes useful tendencies, not a test result or universal rank. Exact formulation and print quality can shift performance substantially.
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| Material | Where it may fit | Wear-test cautions |
|---|---|---|
| PLA / PLA+ | Easy-to-print, rigid prototypes and low-load indoor contact parts. | Can be brittle and softens at relatively low temperatures. Results vary by test: published friction and wear comparisons do not support a blanket claim that PLA is better or worse than PETG. One comparison illustrates the dependence on conditions. |
| PETG | A practical general-purpose choice where toughness and printability matter. | May deform under sustained load or smear against some surfaces. Wear can also vary with infill pattern; a study specifically examined PETG structure and wear (study). |
| ABS / ASA | Tougher functional parts and, for ASA, outdoor exposure where UV resistance is relevant. | Print control and layer adhesion matter. Environmental aging can alter results: a 2026 study reported higher environmental stability and abrasion resistance for its tested PETG specimens than for its tested 3D-printed ABS specimens under the study conditions, not as a general material law (study). |
| Nylon (identify grade, such as PA6 or PA12) | Gears, rollers, bushings and other parts needing toughness and fatigue resistance. | Moisture absorption, creep and dimensional change can dominate. State the grade and whether the sample was dried or humidity-conditioned; different nylon grades are not interchangeable. |
| TPU (state Shore hardness) | Compliant wheels, rollers, seals, feet and impact-absorbing contact surfaces. | May resist abrasion yet deform or creep under load, and can create more drag than a rigid guide. Hardness and print quality matter; tested TPU formulations have shown differing friction (comparison). |
| Carbon-fiber-filled polymer | Applications where stiffness and reduced deformation are more important than maximum toughness. | Carbon fiber is reinforcement, not a base polymer. The resin drives much of the behavior; exposed fibers may abrade the counterface, and abrasive filament wears ordinary nozzles. A strength-and-fatigue study of carbon-fiber-reinforced PA12 is not direct proof of sliding-wear superiority (study). |
| Purpose-made tribofilament | Printed bushings, guides and sliding components where wear is the design problem. | Application-specific products deserve consideration, but vendor claims apply to stated test conditions and are not guarantees for every counterface or print. igus positions iglidur i150 as an easier-to-print wear-resistant option and iglidur J260 as a high-performance tribofilament. igus claims up to 50 times the abrasion resistance of standard 3D-printing plastics in its own testing; treat that as a manufacturer claim, not an independent universal comparison. |
Carbon-fiber-filled PETG, nylon, PET or other base polymers should likewise be assessed by their specific formulation. For example, Bambu Lab recommends a hardened-steel nozzle and drying for its PETG-CF (product guidance); those preparation requirements do not establish a wear advantage.
Design a comparison that answers your question
Choose a specimen for the contact
- Pin: Suitable for rubbing against a disc in a pin-on-disc test.
- Flat coupon: Useful for reciprocating sliding or a defined abrasive-pad screening test.
- Bushing or bearing: More representative of a rotating shaft and its clearances.
- Gear pair: Relevant for service-life questions, but alignment, tooth geometry, backlash and lubrication make it harder to isolate material effects.
For dry sliding, ASTM G99 is a recognized pin-on-disc reference. Call a home-built setup “ASTM G99-style” unless the apparatus and procedure actually satisfy the standard. A pin-on-disc test does not represent grit abrasion; design that as a separate test.
Control the print without forcing identical temperatures
Use the same printer, nozzle diameter, slicer version, geometry, layer height, line width, wall count, infill, orientation and cooling strategy where practical. Use a validated, manufacturer-recommended temperature profile for each material rather than forcing every filament to the same temperature. That avoids handicapping one material or overheating another.
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Use solid or near-solid specimens for an initial material screen, or hold infill percentage, pattern, perimeter count and skin thickness constant. Thin-shell coupons can fail by shell-through or collapse before the polymer’s surface-wear behavior is meaningfully compared. For an application test, use the intended part geometry and settings, but interpret that as a system test rather than an intrinsic polymer ranking.
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FDM parts are anisotropic. A sliding face printed in the XY plane can behave differently from a face that exposes layer interfaces. Define the face orientation and the print direction relative to sliding—parallel, perpendicular or transverse. Either test one selected orientation consistently or treat multiple orientations as separate conditions. A study found that relative PLA and PETG mechanical performance changed with layer orientation; although it measured strength rather than wear, it shows why rankings need print context (study).
Record as-received condition, drying temperature and duration, time from drying to printing, storage humidity and any conditioning before testing. Follow filament-maker drying guidance; do not assume ambient-conditioned nylon and dried PA12 are comparable.
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Record the test conditions before running it
- Brand, exact product and polymer grade; filament diameter.
- Printer, nozzle model/material and diameter; slicer and profile settings, including temperatures, speed and cooling.
- Specimen dimensions, print orientation, wall and infill structure, and surface finishing.
- Counterface material and surface roughness; cleaning or replacement schedule.
- Normal load, sliding speed, sliding distance or duration, temperature and humidity.
- Dry, lubricated, water-exposed or oil-exposed condition; do not combine these as one test.
- Replicate count, order of testing and measurement methods.
Run a maker-scale screening test
- Print identical solid pins or coupons using documented, validated profiles for each material.
- Photograph, label and measure each specimen; weigh it before testing with a balance suited to the expected loss.
- Rub each against the same defined counterface using a fixed load and cycle count or sliding distance. Keep the surface clean and document when it is replaced.
- Repeat each condition at least three times; five or more specimens per material is preferable when resources permit. Randomize test order and, if practical, run a control specimen periodically.
- Weigh and measure specimens afterward, inspect for damage and record friction force if available.
- Report averages and spread, as well as any specimen exclusions and why they were excluded.
A one-specimen demonstration can reveal an obvious issue, but it is not a reliable comparative study. A reciprocating rig may be accessible for screening; do not claim ASTM compliance unless the actual method meets the standard.
Use a laboratory-style test for stronger comparisons
For dry sliding, use an ASTM G99-style pin-on-disc configuration with a known counterface, fixed load, speed and distance, and logged temperature and humidity. Run at least three specimens per condition, normalize wear, and inspect surfaces under magnification. State the exact procedure and conditions so readers can judge whether it matches their application.
Measure loss, friction and functional change separately
- Mass loss: Weigh before and after on a suitable balance. It is simple, but may be below scale resolution or obscured by transferred material and does not capture deformation.
- Volume loss: Often more useful for comparing polymers of different densities. If deriving volume from mass, record the density used and explain how it was obtained.
- Normalized wear rate: A common comparison is volume loss divided by normal load multiplied by sliding distance: wear rate = volume loss / (normal load × sliding distance). Report units, such as mm3/(N·m), and the measurement method.
- Friction: Record initial running-in and stabilized values where possible. Do not treat the coefficient of friction as a substitute for wear rate.
- Dimensional change: Measure groove depth, clearance or other application-critical dimensions. For bushings and gears, clearance growth may matter more than mass loss.
- Surface and failure mode: Note grooving, pitting, smearing, transfer, delamination, fiber pull-out, cracking, edge chipping, polishing or local melting.
Do not collapse these measures into a single score unless the weighting is explicit and appropriate to the part’s function.
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Choose a material by application, not by a leaderboard
| Use case | Candidates to test first | Key issue to test |
|---|---|---|
| Low-load indoor slider | PETG, PLA or nylon | Actual mating surface and clearance retention. |
| Bushing or guide | Nylon or purpose-made tribofilament | Moisture, fit, load, shaft finish and lubrication. |
| Flexible wheel or roller | TPU | Hardness, rolling drag, deformation and creep. |
| Rigid gear | Nylon, reinforced nylon or PETG-CF | Tooth-root fatigue, layer direction, backlash, heat and counter-gear wear. |
| Outdoor mechanism | ASA, PETG, PET-CF or a suitable nylon grade | UV, moisture and operating temperature over time. |
| High-temperature sliding | High-temperature nylon or specialized high-temperature polymers | Actual operating temperature and printer/chamber capability; verify the exact grade. |
| Abrasive grit exposure | A suitable filled or specialized material, tested in the grit condition | Grit may dominate differences between polymers; use an abrasive-wear test, not dry pin-on-disc results. |
| Very long service life or high duty | Purpose-made tribofilament, machined or molded polymer, or a metal bearing | Service life, support equipment, tolerance and whether FDM is suitable. |
For a gear, coupon testing cannot predict every failure: tooth bending, fatigue, pitting, backlash growth, misalignment, thermal softening and lubricant compatibility all matter. Research on printed gears has used both pin-on-disc and gear-specific service-life methods (study).
Improve the printed part when the print is the weak link
A high-wear polymer cannot compensate for poor interlayer bonding, a thin shell, excessive contact pressure or a misaligned shaft. Diagnose the failure before changing filament.
- Splitting or flaking along layers: Validate bonding separately; dry filament, reduce excessive cooling or speed, and adjust temperature within the material’s safe range. Use an enclosure where appropriate.
- Wet nylon or TPU: Bubbles, rough extrusion, weak layers or inconsistent dimensions point to moisture or process problems. Dry to the maker’s guidance and store sealed with desiccant; consider printing from a dry box.
- Filled filament dimensions drift: Abrasive fibers can wear a nozzle and alter extrusion. Use a hardened nozzle when required, inspect it before comparative runs, and recalibrate after replacement.
- Glossy transfer, ridges or sudden acceleration in wear: Suspect smearing or thermal softening. Log part temperature and, if appropriate, reduce load or speed; report heat-related failure separately.
- Mass change is inconclusive: Improve balance resolution or use consistent cleaning and optical measurement, microscopy, calipers or 3D scanning. Measure dimensions as well as mass.
- Results drift between specimens: Counterface contamination may be changing the test. Clean or replace it on a documented schedule, randomize test order and include periodic controls.
Design changes can also reduce wear: increase bearing area, lower contact pressure, use a metal shaft instead of a printed shaft, add a replaceable liner or wear insert, orient layers to support the contact, lubricate where suitable, or replace a printed hinge with a mechanical fastener. Verify that any lubricant is compatible with the polymer and the application.
Know when a printed part is not the right wear component
FDM is useful for prototypes, custom low-volume parts and replaceable components, but it is not automatically the best choice for heavily loaded, safety-critical, high-speed or very long-life service. A machined bushing, molded polymer, metal bearing or replaceable wear insert may provide more predictable performance. Test the complete contact pair under representative conditions before relying on a printed component.
Any result applies only to the tested filament brand and grade, print settings, specimen orientation, environmental condition, counterface and test procedure. Report those details beside comparisons; without them, a statement such as “lasted twice as long” is not transferable to another part.
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