The use of plastic gears is becoming increasingly important. Due to their low density, good damping properties, and the possibility of cost-efficient mass production by injection molding, plastic gears are represented in numerous technical applications ranging from medical technology to the automotive industry.

At FZG, thermoplastic materials are systematically researched about their operating and service life behavior. In addition to developing methods for the simulative or experimental determination of load-bearing capacity, the focus is also on dynamic and thermal behavior and the further development of standardized calculation methods for designing plastic gears. Analogous to steel gears, test methods for running and pulsator test rigs are being developed to standardize. Using modern plastics and operating with oil lubrication increases the power density many times compared to dry running. This makes it conceivable to extend the range of applications to power-transmitting gear stages, such as in industrial gear units or drivelines of small electric vehicles. In the case of steel gears, the tribological properties and flank stress ability can be optimized by extremely hard coatings, e.g., amorphous carbon coatings. At FZG, the effects of such coatings on efficiency and service life are being intensively investigated.