Hotend and filament - What to get?
By chickenparmi
November 1, 2013
November 1, 2013
G'day all o/
Just a quick question. I at the buying of hotend stage of my Prusa i2 build and am confussed with all these filament and nozzle diameter options.
What do you think would be the best filament size? 3 or 1.75mm? What is the difference in application?
What nozzle size should I get? Something bigger or something smaller? Again, what can I expect out of either?
I know from my limited knowledge that smaller nozzles = greater quality and longer print times and larger nozzles are the opposite. Would something in between be better? I do a lot of 3D design work and my prints will likely be robot chassis and connectors etc.
Sorry for all the questions but I really want to be sure and understand the "why's"
Thanks.
Printing with 1.75 / .4mm J Head
Chick,
Starting out with 1.75 and a .4mm J Head seems to be working pretty good here. After two mis starts the 3rd and 4th prints are turning out good. Just have to do some final fine tuning.
I do have to say the 1.75 is easier to mess with like spackler said above. The 3mm is stiff stuff.
Just my opinion.
Stephen
1.75 FTW.Using 3mm with a
1.75 FTW.
Using 3mm with a bowden setup is a nightmare, always oozing. On the other end oozing and hysteresis are more manageable using 1.75mm filament.
Another benefit of using 1.75mm is a filament that is less stiff, especially handy since many filament distributors/sellers use the same spool for both diameter: 3mm filament tends to be damaged (very "curly") when you get to the end of the spool.
Also handy when it comes to homemade filament, supposedly with 3mm filament the homemade extruders should be around 6 feet over the ground so the filament can "spool" by itself, putting it below would mess up the process. With 1.75 it has to be around 4 feet high.
For nozzle sizes aim for 3 to 4mm (many view the latter as being very polyvalent). Nozzle size is not that important (combination of nozzle size & extrusion speed that determines layer height), so in theory it's possible to print at 100 micron (0.01mm) layer height with a .5mm nozzle; however the printer must be well calibrated.
If you intend to print "exotic" materials like laywood or laybrick go for .5mm nozzle, because there are small particules in the filament that will clog anything smaller than .5mm
Finally, IMHO you should go for an all-metal hotend (E3D has a good reputation). While you'll probably be able to print at the same speed using regular hot ends, a metal one will allow you to print lots of different materials, especially polycarbonate and a bunch of Nylons; the PTFE lining in most hot ends starts degrading around 230°c, IIRC it also starts degassing some pretty nasty stuff.
If not, I'd say go for a J-Head; and beware of cheap clones!
It's been said that 1.75mm
It's been said that 1.75mm gives better prints because less material going into hotend = more control. But I've seen some SWEET prints from 3mm machines so I don't really buy it. The bowden tube crowd is also really into 1.75mm.
Most of the cutting edge filaments like disolvable, flex, etc seems to come in 3mm at first so that's something to consider.
1.75 is also more prone to jams just because it's thinner. I think that's a little overplayed as well.
I believe
1.75 is gaining traction on price. I don't know the difference logically for 3mm vs 1.75mm. I would suggest something in the .35 to .5mm orifice for the hotend. Larger is better for beginners to dial in their machines.