So arguably your 3D printer’s nozzle is one of the most important bits that make your
3D printer a 3D printer.
But there’s more than one type to choose from and actually swapping your hotend’s
nozzle has a few pitfalls on its own.
So today, we’ll take a what options you have and how to swap one properly.
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Let’s start with options: First off, if you’re getting a new nozzle, make sure it’s
actually made for your specific hotend.
While most of them look the same, there are a few subtle differences, especially in the
area where it seals to the rest of the hotend, and if you use the wrong one, it could lead
to a leaking hotend or, worst case, actually damage something.
Now, the core parameter of your nozzle is its bore size, i mean, that’s what it does
- it’s just a tiny hole in a piece of metal with a thread - typically, they are 0.4mm,
which is a good tradeoff between how small the detail on your prints can be and how fast
your machine will be able to produce them.
One size larger or smaller usually isn’t a problem if you want to tweak your machine
for faster or more detailed prints, but once you choose nozzles smaller than about 0.3mm,
just be aware that the resolution, which is how accurately your extruder can feed filament
into the hotend, might actually start becoming the bottleneck for how well your parts turn
out.
Also, as your are introducing an increasingly smaller constriction to the filament path,
you’re increasing the likeliness of any contaminants on the filament blocking up the
nozzle - and cleaning out a 0.15mm nozzle is quite a task.
But you do get the chance of creating absolutely stunning 3D prints that have completely invisible
layer lines and super-fine details as it also allows you to use lower layer heights more
effectively.
On the other hand, a larger nozzle will speed up your prints, as not only will it cover
a wider track with the same movement, but you also get the option of using taller layers.
While a 0.4mm nozzle realistically tops out at a 0.3mm layer height, a 0.6mm one will
take you up to around 0.45mm layers.
Of course, this means a coarser and less detailed print, and without also switching to something
like a volcano heater block, it’s easy to end up with extruded filament that didn’t
get heated up well enough before it leaves the hotend as you’re sending it through
the heater block much more quickly.
1.75mm filament actually does much better with this, as the heat from the block needs
to travel through a much thinner section of plastic to heat the entirety of the filament.
So, nozzle materials - we’ve seen a ton of new options recently.
The material for standard nozzles is brass, which is used because it conducts heat reasonably
well, is reasonably hard and tough and, most importantly, super easy to machine, which
matters for the comparatively tiny and long bore.
The other popular set of materials are steel-based, conducting heat not quite as well, but being
much harder wearing, which is great for abrasive filaments like fiber-filled ones or simply
for not having to worry about replacing a nozzle, ever, if you’re printing standard
filaments.
Some hotends come with a stainless steel nozzle, which are generally used for food-safe applications
or for printing with chemically aggressive materials, but a hardened or coated steel
nozzle provides much better durability and better heat transfer.
Because these nozzles add extra manufacturing steps and are harder to machine, they are
generally more expensive, but i’ve found that there’s little need to switch back
and forth between steel and brass nozzles, as the steel versions also print standard
materials well.
An option that is fairly new are copper nozzles, which offer great thermal properties, useful
for pumping as much heat as possible into materials that require high print temperatures,
like PEEK or Polycarbonate.
These are E3D’s nickel coated ones, and they also work well for standard materials,
but aren’t specified for extra wear resistance.
Bare copper will oxidize extremely quickly.
We’re now also seeing assembled nozzles, for example the Markforged ones, which are
copper with a hardened steel insert, or the Ollson Ruby Nozzle, which is brass with an
actual ruby gemstone insert.
But those are extremely specialized parts, which come with a steep price.
So how do you swap a nozzle without ruining your hotend?
While there are a ton of different hotend designs out there, this process should work
for most hotends that use this style of nozzle.
If in doubt, check with the manufacturer first.
You’ll need a wrench or socket the right size for your nozzle, which is commonly 7mm,
as well as a wrench or some pliers to hold your hotend in place.
I’d also recommend grabbing some high temperature anti-seize compound.
Start out by unloading the filament from your machine, and try to get out as much as possible.
Maybe even do a cold pull to get the nozzle in perfect condition for the next time you
want to use it.
Then heat up the hotend to a normal working temperature around 220°C, and if you’re
using an E3D-style hybrid or all-metal hotend, I’d recommend starting out by slightly unscrewing
the heater block from the heatsink to give the fragile stainless steel heatbreak a bit
of wiggle room.
Remember, righty tighty, lefty loosey and this shouldn’t take much torque at all.
Then hold on to the heater block and unscrew the nozzle itself.
Make sure to keep the block straight to avoid putting any forces on the heat break.
Once the nozzle is out, clear out any debris that might be left in the hotend, and if your
particular model uses a PTFE tube insert, this is a good opportunity to check that and
make sure it’s not deformed or worn down.
For reassembly, start out by applying a bit of anti-seize to the threading of your fresh
nozzle.
Screw in the nozzle without tightening it down, but instead make sure to leave a gap
of about half a millimeter to the block.
Then screw the heater block and heat break back in and you should be able to feel them
snugging up against the nozzle.
Again, no need to make everything tight yet.
Lastly, screw in the nozzle all the way and double-check that you’ve still got that
gap between the nozzle and the block.
To finally tighten everything up, heat up the hotend a bit further - around 250°C should
be plenty, but if your hotend can do 300°C, that’s even better.
Tightening when heated up makes sure that thermal expansion isn’t going to loosen
the parts over time.
The torque the nozzle needs isn’t huge - for comparison, just using two fingers on this
Tamiya tool is plenty, which is about one Newton Meter.
Hold on to the heater block initially, then give the entire assembly a bit of torque to
snug down the heat break.
Now again, depending on how your hotend is built, the process might be a bit different,
but what i just showed you should give you a good idea of where to be careful.
Alright, so let me know in the comments below what type of nozzle you’re using.
Still sticking with the classic brass or have you already upgraded to hardened or copper
for those advanced materials?
i hope this video is helpful to you.
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