Are EXPENSIVE 3D Printer Nozzles OVERRATED?!

[@maxximumb]

Thanks for confirming what I suspected. From my experience, any new nozzle is an improvement over an old worn one. I'll stick with the regular nozzles and save my money for parts that make a significant difference.

[@PrintingPerspective]

If it is worn and it looks like the one after I drilled into it, then you must be printing a lot. The Trianglelab one that I tested in this video has at least 250+ hours and it still prints exactly the same as the tested new ones. My biggest issue with the cheap ones is the thermal conductivity. Because longevity is not that relevant when you can just buy 10 nozzles for the price of one and don't mind changing it once in a while. :)

[@memsu06]

The biggest benefit of more expensive nozzles is their z offset consistency. I can swap between 0.4mm and 0.6mm nozzles and not have to change my z offset, but with cheap nozzles that's not always the case.

[@FevonTV]

Also cheap nozzles holes are little off the size. One time my 0.4 nozzle turned out that is 0.5 nozzle. Now I only buy phaetus brass nozzles. They are little expensive but one stays for around 6 months.

[@annekedebruyn7797]

@@FevonTV This is the biggest thing. I bought 10 nozzles for 10 bucks and only 2 of them were printing equal to the 4 dollar one. Especially if you are making money of your printer, why waste time checking many nozzles when you can get a nozzle that works out of the box?

[@justfred6863]

​@@FevonTVPretty sure they just sent you the wrong one lol. The biggest difference I've seen before was 0.38 instead of 0.4 which for a cheap nozzle isn't that big of a deal.

[@ScarfmonsterWR]

I have had extrusion problems with very cheap nozzles. The worst part was that it looked like under extrusion due to too low temperature or other extruder issue when it was just the nozzle. Recently I was talking with a friend who had a similar issue and checked everything he could, even replaced the nozzle several times. Turns out the $3 nozzles were the fault. I convinced them to buy an $8 one and their printer works without issues now.

[@sierraecho884]

Also always use volcano style nozzles, just the nozzle. It will increase your volumetric max flow and in my case I could mount the part cooling fan much easier.

[@SianaGearz]

That seems a little counter intuitive. After all half the nozzle is then not getting any heat and is cooled a little by ambient air. You certain you getting better volumetric flow? But it does give me an idea. I wanted to try an e3d v5 heartbreak in my printer but can't because it's much shorter than my stock one. So before the nozzle can touch down on the print bed, the carriage would collide with the bed. Volcano would help me clear again.

[@sierraecho884]

@@SianaGearz No it does not. You increase the length of the melt zone ..that´s it. You don´t even need a bigger heat block, why would you ? The longer nozzle could be cooled more rapidly because the heater block is missing however this is the case only in theory, I also just used 2 nuts to insulate the nozzle further. You can also use capton tape or a silicone sock or something. But even without further insulation this is not a problem since copper has great heat transfer.

[@Sh8ly]

I know I'm late here, but by god!! The way you layed the info so clearily is perfect, I just can't think of any better way to do so. Thank you so so so much sir ✌️

[@flat_stickproductions209]

On something like a Prusa it doesn't matter but on fast precision printers flow dynamics play a larger role, and this is where more expensive nozzles work better.

[@PrintingPerspective]

Most likely, this is an old video when the fast printing speeds were not that common.

[@MRM.98]

You are spot on with this analysis. It looked like his tests were all performed at low speeds and low volumetric flow rate. Small parts at slow speeds with one of the easiest filaments to print doesn’t prove much.

[@justfred6863]

Honestly kinda confirms my thoughts. I knew it would affect things but it's kinda minor. I imagine you can see the difference with more complicated prints but if you need a specific nozzle for a certain material or size it seems like cheaping out is valid.

[@lcortese]

I fix my old nozzles sanding the point to recovery the plain to make smooth top surfaces. I just change the nozzle when the hole was increased.

[@SianaGearz]

I buy $0.20 nozzles. These seem pretty well made but they have the hole quite off centre. For transparent PETG it's not ideal since I'm getting baked curls in the print. I have tried nickel plating the nozzle. It helped a little but not much. Now i seasoned the outside surface of the nozzle with linseed oil that got baked on the nozzle. I'm not sure whether it's great but it's not terrible, I'll take that. Any experiment as a result of which i still have a working printer is good in my book.

[@fidonol]

Excellent comparison, just what I was looking for! I'm a subscriber now 👍

[@PrintingPerspective]

Awesome, thank you! :)

[@chuck2501]

You touched on an issue I've seen. Nozzles that are larger .6 and .8 for example. The cheap nozzles use the same size ironing zone around the hole as a .4, whereas expensive nozzles use a larger ironing zone. I think this test should be performed with a .6 .8 nozzle.

[@PrintingPerspective]

Well, if the ironing zone is smaller then you just can't print wider lines, it is as simple as that. And considering that good quality V6 0.4mm nozzle can print great even at 0.8mm widths, this makes cheap bigger nozzles almost pointless.

[@Gromic2k]

Really really cool that you pushed that idea to the absolute limit

[@przemekkobel4874]

My gut feeling is that most of the difference comes from the shape of the nozzle that impacts part cooling. Notice that the expensive nozzle is more pointy, allowing more air near the melt zone, and quality degrades with the thickness of that end point. I remember experimenting with nozzles that have replaceable steel airbrush tips (long "mini-nozzles"). Quality improvement was instant, except there were temperature issues, because at slower speeds plastic can cool down and clog that tip (steel isn't a great at conducting heat). Maybe it's time to revisit that idea.

[@NicksStuff]

I would have liked to see footage of an extrusion in mid air (do the cheaper nozzle make the filament curl more?)

[@GamingKing545]

i got a diamondback and i would highly recommend it especially with abrasive filaments

[@olobiksnagol2178]

Thanks greatly! I do appreciate this comparison.

[@PrintingPerspective]

Thanks for watching!

[@NicksStuff]

Please test the max volumetric flow rate next!

[@dsp4392]

Absolutely love these tests.

[@eaman11]

I mean... The other day I had bad extrusion, terrible curves with my cheap CHT clone nozzle. I thought that the slicer was ficked after the last upgrade. So I put the same gcode in an other printer and it was fine, so I took the Trianglelab nozzle of the other printer in place of the CHT and it was back to normale. Then I put one of the cheap new nozzle that came with the printer in that and it was better than both. So what do you get for your money? Consistency most, you hardly get a bad nozzle from a quality vendor, but you can get lucky with a cheap one, yet I guess it won't last as long as a good one...

[@ZoeyR86]

I have .6 and .8 diamond nozzles and drop a ton of glow/gf abs they look new but they cost 100$ ea I have over 90kg of glass fiber nylon on one still looks new

[@dtibor5903]

I'm used to round the edges of volcano nozzles and it prints great.

[@hogstoothairsoft1967]

i had an very visible improvement as i changed from china brass nozzle to brozzl nozzle brass, then after i changed from regular aluminum hotend to copper plated hotend and copper plated Nozzle i got a huuuuge improvement, also i can print 10-15° lower in Temp with every Filament! Big big voucher for Phaetus Dragonfly Hotend!

[@hogstoothairsoft1967]

even your "expensive" nozzle looks horrible under the Microscope compared to Brozzl and Phaetus

[@manvsbando]

Thanks for this fantastic video

[@VeneerSlinger]

Did you pid tune in between nozzle changes? I don't think it would make much of a difference. Just curious

[@PrintingPerspective]

Nah, I didn't. In general, PID tune is required if you have temperature fluctuations. In my case I didn't have any. But for example if I would change from V5 heatblock to V6 heatblock I would always do the PID tune.

[@VeneerSlinger]

@@PrintingPerspective yeah, anytime I've pid after .4 to .6 and back I've had different values for my kpi

[@PrintingPerspective]

You won't get the exact values everytime you run even with the same setup and 10+ cycles. Try running again with the same nozzle and you will see. I don't get it why you are so hooked up on the PID? Are you getting temperature fluctuations with different nozzle installed?

[@Konradius001]

I actually followed the advice before ever seeing this video. I bought 10 nozzles of .2, .3, .4, .6 and .8 sizes (so 50 in all) for about €10 (set of 10 was €2) Changing the nozzle on my Anycubic Kobra Neo is pretty easy, and so I can now switch to the detail/speed tradeoff that I want on the fly. I have found the .3 nozzle to suit my tastes the best. It's slower than stock .4, but the detail is better. The .2 is too slow with too little detail improvement. And should I go for bigger functional prints again, then I have .6 and .8 nozzles ready to use. Btw, even if the expensive ones last longer, so you get one for €2 and does that one last 10 times as long? I think not. So the win is clearly for cheap nozzles.

[@Glasrandkante]

@DIY Perspective I run the KP3S, too - what FanDuct and Hotend-cooler do you use for yours?

[@PrintingPerspective]

Today I released the KP3S print head mod, you can check it out here - www.printables.com/model/382202-kingroon-kp3s-30-mod-for-e3d-v6-hotend-4010-fan

[@marcus3d]

I had lots of small defects in my prints, even when swapping between different brass nozzles. I figured the problem was somewhere else, but before doing any modifications I tried a little bit more expensive nickel-plated copper nozzle, and the difference was HUGE. Suddenly all those defects were gone. So maybe you could test different types of nozzles in the future?

[@PrintingPerspective]

Those small defects are probably from the plastic that sticks to the nozzle and drips when printing the outer wall. Meanwhile plastic sticks less on nickel plated ones. I personally don't have this problem with PLA but with PETG it makes more difference. It could be a video idea and valid testting with enough samples as it is random and you can't predict those defects.

[@danieldc8841]

@@PrintingPerspective I also have a nickel plated copper nozzle and the main difference for me is the lack of wear I’ve seen on the nozzle

[@johncrow5552]

How do you know expensive one will last longer? Did you test this hypothesis?

[@stefanguiton]

Great compairason video!

[@PrintingPerspective]

Glad you liked it!

[@TechieSewing]

Thank you, really educational :)

[@PrintingPerspective]

I am glad it was helpful :)

[@skaltura]

I was expecting something actually crazy, like Diamondback or Tungsten nozzle :D Oh well, at least someone now tested what i've felt like for 10 years or so -> nozzles have huge lifetime in reality. I've ran some nozzles for thousands of print hours, not sure if i did a cold pull or few during that time // did i have clogs but yeah ... Lately i've been testing printing 0.6mm lines with 0.4mm nozzles etc. shenanigans. there's a tiny visible difference but for what i print ... doesn't matter that much

[@skaltura]

Please do another test with those, and CHT + Clone CHT. hope you saved these to do apples to apples ;)

[@802Garage]

Why does the cheap nozzle look better? 😭 Fun test hahaha.

[@TheJacklwilliams]

Heres a question for everyone. For perspective, second printer, diff, cube vs bed slinger. After everything I’ve read/seen I’m curious, why use brass at all? Aka, why not just use hardened steel because they are WAY more durable, last longer, allow you to print, well, every type of filament. Laslty, has anyone used the ruby style tip or other more advanced nozzle type and? Did it result in what you expected quality/durability wise? Thanks ahead of time. I have two spare brass nozzles and when I run through them, I intend to go to hardened steel next.

[@jaro6985]

Just bit higher cost, and possibly the need to increase hotend temperature slightly.

[@WhiteWolfos]

Steel seems to clog up more often for me but def lasts longer than brass. nicle plated Copper is in between but dies after 1 abrasive print so it's a glass Canon. Diamond plated tip seems to last but I ended up with a severe clog and lost it with other tips. Black coated nozzles a bit better than basic brass but I def like the higher end designs to combat extruder motor wear and stringing. NozzleX lasted a good chunk but did suffer from clogging somehow after 2 months. Def will be testing out the cheap flow splitter soon (copper & brass).

[@daliasprints9798]

To see the effects of a worn nozzle, you need sharp overhangs. If the orifice diameter has increased significantly beyond the nominal, starting around 50° you'll get bad surface quality & dimensional inaccuracy. Otherwise, I've never seen any difference. The only expensive nozzles worth using are high flow geometries (CHT etc.) and abrasive safe (tungsten carbide, all the others with "coatings" and such are scams).

[@PrintingPerspective]

You know I kinda share a similar opinion about the expensive nozzles :D

[@SianaGearz]

You get 5 nozzles for a dollar, you can just swap them 10 times per that abrasive spool which cost you over $20 for sure without feeling the cost pain.

[@daliasprints9798]

@@SianaGearz Have fun pausing, swapping nozzles, re-priming and resuming several times on big prints. Intense abrasives will even destroy brass after a few hundred grams.

[@SianaGearz]

@@daliasprints9798 please allow me to not do that and partition the model into several separate prints instead.

[@daliasprints9798]

@@SianaGearz If you're using abrasives, you're probably printing structural/mechanical parts whose properties will change if you chop them up. It may be a whole plate of them you could divide up, but now you've made your process more labor intensive starting new jobs and changing nozzles. Absolutely never having to change or service a nozzle is wonderful. If you value your time, it's worth more than the price tag of the Bozzle.

[@8bits955]

great comparison, however from my own expereince having brough an pack of like 12 nozzles for 5 pound on amazon compare to buying E3D plated nozzles that are like 10-15 pound each, the quality of print doesnt get effect alot at the start but i do often found that the cheap kit of nozzles need to be cleaned/coldpull as they often cause alot more partial clogs after it been printing for like 20 hours or so, meanwhile on E3D nozzles i never had a partial clog or needed to be cleaned and do any of cold pull what so ever. That is the main reason why i only buy high quality nozzles and since i am now push for speed on my hihgly modified ender 3 v2 and voron 0.1 these cheap nozzles cant stand the high speed/flow rate they will clog up right away compare to E3D but for that now i used BondTech CHT Nozzles as E3D nozzles doesnt improve the flowrate.

[@PrintingPerspective]

That's a great point. Personally I don't use cheap nozzles too as Mellow or Trianglelab ones has great quality at a reasonable price. But the CHT is a unique one because of extra flow rate and is definitely a great choice for high speed 3D printers.

[@zhaol2397]

I frequently have problems with cheap Aliexpress nozzles. Whenever I change back to my e3d nozzles the problems go away.

[@PrintingPerspective]

Well, you should try Mellow or Trianglelab nozzles. Those are great quality for a reasonable price. Been using them for years without any issues.

[@zhaol2397]

@@PrintingPerspective Thanks, will give those a go.

[@zhaol2397]

@@PrintingPerspective Do you use CHT nozzles? Where do you get them from?

[@PrintingPerspective]

I don't as there's no good quality option at a sensible price.

[@MudvinGudriy]

I bought a whole set of all sizes from Trianglelabs because these things are like candy to me. 😆

[@oliknow]

I don't care. standard nozzles come quite cheap anyway, even the expensive ones and they all go a long way. I now use a Nozzle X for quite a while for PLA, PET-G, PC, PA-CF and it is perfect. I will get a spare obxidian though. for special needs there is just no cheap alternative but still a standard brass nozzle from E3D also isn't that expensive really. And the most important thing is consistency. I know what I will be getting while cheap parts are a gamble more often than not and I, personally, don't take that gamble over one digit and a few cents

[@nurtekin429]

Expensive nozzle are for special filement. They have better flow so filement will not stick to it.

[@stevenhu202]

This video saved me buying a diamondback nozzle.

[@PrintingPerspective]

The biggest difference will be that the diamondback nozzle probably will never wear out.

[@fireheadpet2039]

Great video! What if you tested "extreme quality" nozzle from say Micro Swiss or E3D. There have tests done on YT before but I think we're not objective. My own experience is rather mixed (E3D Vs clones from at least 5 different mfgrs, or should I say, vendors BC maybe there are only a handful of real mfgrs)

[@PrintingPerspective]

Thanks. Do you have specific nozzles in mind? Personally, I doubt they would make a noticeable difference. The one that I would like to test is the Bondtech CHT nozzle, but CNC Kitchen already has a detailed video about it. The most optimal quality and price wise for me are the Mellow and Trianglelab nozzles that you can get from Aliexpress. As far as I know, they are made by the same manufacturer. Can you share more about why your experience is rather mixed? Would love to hear it. :)

[@fireheadpet2039]

@@PrintingPerspective I designed and I'm about to sell a small "gizmo" made from 3D printed parts with some that are moulded. Surface finish quality-consistency is the single most important criteria. Consistency is FDM's Achille's heel. Spent over 1-1/2years experimenting for the holy grail of consistent surface quality for part #1 to part #10,001 (there are NO videos on this, always one of's). I tried E3D since 99% videos "proved" they were better. I'm a mechanical engineering. i can smell "BS" a mile away. But always willing to give doubt a chance and test for myself. It is possible I never compared them fairly. The clones came from my local 3D print shop, of unknown origins. All of them, including printers' originals were never any worse than the E3D. Nor were the E3D any better, visually. To be precise, the clones nor the E3D did not contribute to a increase in consistent the surface quality. The 1-1/2 year of experiments showed that other factors changed the consistency and quality surface. Sorry for the long reply. Without context, I didn't want my comment to be taken incorrectly. Clearly you must have an engineering background with you approach on your videos. Somehow, you're hitting the "sweet spot" of stating the problem, gathering the science you believe will find a solution and then testing and iterating. All the while, somehow, keep an excellent pace with great editing, graphics, and throwing a few jokes for good measure. In less than 20 minutes, you proved that nozzle quality is suspect in part finish quality. In less than 20 minutes, you offer two simple fixes to fan noise AND disprove some assumptions on fan housings. Keep it up!

[@PrintingPerspective]

I always love in-depth comments as I can learn or see a different perspective of others. In 3D printing, there are so many variables and the most challenging thing is to control them. I didn't study anything engineering related, but all my engineering approach comes from practice and constant research. I made all kinds of project videos for years on this channel, before I ditched all that and fully committed to 3D printing. But with that said, I still have to spend A LOT of time writing scripts and editing the videos to flush out the presentation to my liking. And I think an important aspect of my content is that I want to know the exact answers for myself. There is so much of anecdotal data on the internet and it is so vague that I just have to test it myself, especially when I love doing it so much. Almost nobody else will do it, you know, haha! I really appreciate the detailed compliment!

[@paperfoldschannel607]

an expensive one is MUCH higher quality! I speak from experience.

[@BenderTheOffender]

Finally, the myth of expensive nozzles debunked.