{
  "opening": "These ranked rows list 240–290 °C (464–554 °F).",
  "question": "What filament is best for gears and moving parts?",
  "slug": "gears",
  "useCase": "strength",
  "useCaseLabel": "Strength",
  "updated": "2026-10-18",
  "shortAnswer": "The gear that wore out was PETG in a meat grinder. The top comment says print nylon, and it says most machines cannot reach the nozzle temperature. The other four threads are an extruder jam, resin gears, a TPU feed path, and a PLA/PVA model.",
  "recommendedMaterials": [
    "pa6",
    "pa-cf",
    "petg"
  ],
  "printerConsiderations": [
    "The score-226 comment on r/FixMyPrint 13dq7qm says most machines cannot print nylon because of the nozzle temperature, and it says there are serious fire risks. The comment does not give a temperature or a printer model. CoPA's listed nozzle starts at 250 °C (482 °F).",
    "r/ender3 118cl5l is a TPU jam between extruder gears and the PTFE tube. A score-15 comment says TPU wants a direct drive. A score-5 comment says a dedicated TPU setup stays under 40 mm/s. That is a feed path. It is not a printed gear.",
    "r/3Dprinting t78bsa is a resin gear. A score-6 comment says standard resin is brittle and that the pictured gears used an engineering resin. Resin is not a catalog filament."
  ],
  "pros": [
    "The only worn printed gear in this set was PETG, and the top comment names nylon.",
    "PA6-CF keeps a nozzle, a bed, and a hardened-nozzle flag on the row."
  ],
  "cons": [
    "CoPA and PA6-CF list no drying hours. The nylon guide is the page for water.",
    "Four of the five threads never pick a filament for a printed tooth."
  ],
  "community": "r/FixMyPrint 13dq7qm printed a meat-grinder gear in PETG. It fit, then the teeth wore. The score-226 comment says use nylon, says most printers cannot reach the nozzle temperature, and says nylon has serious fire risks. A score-105 comment says print a mold and cast it. r/3Dprinting skq3dn is underextrusion while the extruder gear still pushes filament. The score-88 comment says heat creep and a Bowden tube that is not seated on the nozzle. r/3Dprinting t78bsa is resin gears. The score-62 comment is a joke. A score-6 comment says standard resin is brittle. r/ender3 118cl5l is TPU jamming in the extruder gears. r/FixMyPrint vvclbq is a gear-shaped model in black PLA and PVA. The score-12 comment identifies the two materials. It does not rate them as gears.",
  "related": [
    "nylon",
    "cf",
    "strength",
    "petg_print"
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "q": "Did any comment name acetal or POM?",
      "a": "A score-3 comment on r/FixMyPrint 13dq7qm says the usual molded gear plastics are nylon, acetal, and PEEK, and it says an unlubricated printed gear wears faster because of layer lines. That score is far below the nylon comment. The POM row in the catalog is a separate product and was not the material in the photo."
    },
    {
      "q": "What nozzle does the nylon row list?",
      "a": "Polymaker Polymide CoPA lists 250–290 °C (482–554 °F) and a bed of 80–100 °C (176–212 °F). The meat-grinder comment does not state a number. It says most machines cannot reach the temperature and that there are fire risks."
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "Polymaker PolyMide CoPA technical data sheet",
      "url": "https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0548/7299/7945/files/PolyMide_CoPA_TDS_V5.4.pdf",
      "kind": "datasheet"
    },
    {
      "title": "Open Filament Database, Polymaker PA6-CF",
      "url": "https://api.openfilamentdatabase.org/api/v1/brands/polymaker/materials/PA6/filaments/cf_pa6/index.json",
      "kind": "other"
    },
    {
      "title": "Open Filament Database, Prusament PETG",
      "url": "https://api.openfilamentdatabase.org/api/v1/brands/prusament/materials/PETG/filaments/petg/index.json",
      "kind": "other"
    },
    {
      "title": "Prusament PETG technical data sheet",
      "url": "https://www.prusa3d.com/file/3464616/prusament-petg-technical-data-sheet.pdf",
      "kind": "datasheet"
    },
    {
      "title": "Community source, r/3Dprinting skq3dn",
      "url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/3Dprinting/comments/skq3dn/",
      "kind": "reddit"
    },
    {
      "title": "Community source, r/3Dprinting t78bsa",
      "url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/3Dprinting/comments/t78bsa/",
      "kind": "reddit"
    },
    {
      "title": "Community source, r/FixMyPrint 13dq7qm",
      "url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/FixMyPrint/comments/13dq7qm/",
      "kind": "reddit"
    },
    {
      "title": "Community source, r/ender3 118cl5l",
      "url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/ender3/comments/118cl5l/",
      "kind": "reddit"
    },
    {
      "title": "Community source, r/FixMyPrint vvclbq",
      "url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/FixMyPrint/comments/vvclbq/",
      "kind": "reddit"
    }
  ],
  "recommendations": [
    {
      "rank": 1,
      "note": "Polymide CoPA lists a nozzle of 250–290 °C (482–554 °F) and a bed of 80–100 °C (176–212 °F) in the Open Filament Database. The datasheet URL is on the row. Hardened nozzle is blank. Drying hours are blank. The meat-grinder comment names nylon and warns about nozzle temperature and fire risk.",
      "brand": "Polymaker",
      "product": "Polymide Copa PA6",
      "material": "PA6",
      "url": "/brand/polymaker/polymide-copa-pa6",
      "nozzle": "250–290 °C (482–554 °F)",
      "bed": "80–100 °C (176–212 °F)",
      "pricePerKg": null,
      "datasheetUrl": "https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0548/7299/7945/files/PolyMide_CoPA_TDS_V5.4.pdf",
      "affiliateUrl": null
    },
    {
      "rank": 2,
      "note": "PA6-CF lists the same nozzle, 250–290 °C (482–554 °F), and the same bed, 80–100 °C (176–212 °F). Hardened nozzle is recorded because the variants are tagged abrasive and fiber-filled. A lower-score comment on the same gear thread says nylon-CF and the print direction.",
      "brand": "Polymaker",
      "product": "PA6 CF",
      "material": "PA/CF",
      "url": "/brand/polymaker/pa6-cf",
      "nozzle": "250–290 °C (482–554 °F)",
      "bed": "80–100 °C (176–212 °F)",
      "pricePerKg": null,
      "datasheetUrl": null,
      "affiliateUrl": null
    },
    {
      "rank": 3,
      "note": "Prusament PETG lists a nozzle of 240–260 °C (464–500 °F) and a bed of 70–90 °C (158–194 °F) in the Open Filament Database. The meat-grinder gear was PETG. It fit, then the teeth wore. This row is the material that failed in that thread, not a replacement grade.",
      "brand": "Prusament",
      "product": "PETG",
      "material": "PETG",
      "url": "/brand/prusament/petg",
      "nozzle": "240–260 °C (464–500 °F)",
      "bed": "70–90 °C (158–194 °F)",
      "pricePerKg": null,
      "datasheetUrl": "https://www.prusa3d.com/file/3464616/prusament-petg-technical-data-sheet.pdf",
      "affiliateUrl": null
    }
  ]
}