Influence of Counterpart Material on Fretting Wear of FDM Printed Polylactic Acid Plates

This article investigates the influence of counterpart material on fretting wear of Polylactic Acid (PLA) plates printed by Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM). Fretting tests with three different spherical counterparts (high carbon chromium alloy steel, zirconium oxide, and silicon nitride) were conducted within a gross slip regime. PLA plates were printed with an infill density of 100% and then the surface of the plate was polished for obtaining an arithmetic average surface roughness of 0.1 µm. During a fretting wear test, the evolution of the kinetic friction coefficient was determined. It was identified that the evolutions for high carbon chromium alloy steel (AISI 52100) and zirconium oxide (ZrO 2 ) counterparts increased and then became steady. Meanwhile, the evolution for silicon nitride (Si 3 N 4 ) remained stable by 2000 fretting cycles. The kinetic friction coefficient for Si 3 N 4 was lower than those found for ZrO 2 and AISI52100 counterparts. After 2000 cycles, worn surface profiles were measured and then wear volumes were calculated. The wear volume of PLA against Si 3 N 4 was found to be lower than those against other two counterparts. It was identified that the wear rate of PLA increased with increased the hardness of the counterpart. Obtained results provide useful information on the design of tribo-components subjected to fretting wear.