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. AprintaPro reached out to me for this sponsored
videos series to be featured on their PrintaGuide platform. Launching in January, it’ll be home to 3D
printing tips, tricks and guides. Check out AprintaPro and the PrintaGuide site
at the links in the video description below! 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. If you liked it, give it a thumbs up, consider
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and I’ll see you in the next one.
