The Print Tests: Cheap 3D Printer Nozzles. Can *YOU* tell?

Video sponsored by PCBWay - www.pcbway.com - PCB Manufacturing, 3d Printing, CNC parts, and more...l
Also get $5 of credit if you sign up to PCBWay using this link www.pcbway.com/setinvite.aspx...
Today we test out those cheap 3D Printer nozzles we were looking at in Episode 1. How did they perform?
Some aff links to the products mentioned:
microscope objectives: (go with red or yellow) s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_DD0...
Amazon: amzn.to/4bvdGuU
or amzn.to/3QJ860l
I bought both those two off amazon. I think theyre literally all the same though across the internet. The red one is the best for starting.
The Astrhori lens (for various mounts) amzn.to/3ww3WC2
Macro slider, absolutely essential for this stuff: amzn.to/3UHEyRR (cheaper ones exist)
These v6 nozzles at time of publishing were fine: amzn.to/4dAqsdD
Pin gauge if you're into that: amzn.to/3QJ0LgW
Support Me: / lostintech
Join us on Discord!: / discord -- we have 600+ members
second channel - @foundintech
Music: share.epidemicsound.com/e8ahnq/
Nozzles Chapter 1 - • Expensive Vs Cheap 3d ...
arachne vid : • Ultimaker Cura 5.0 is ...
nextruder plaque www.printables.com/model/7345...
Chapters
0:00 Intro
0:29 Nozzle sequence
2:03 Initial Conditions
2:51 The Question?
3:27 Quality Tests
4:00 Oddly Placed Music Sequence
4:46 The Quiz
7:21 Quality Results
7:48 Other Sizes?
7:59 How do you measure a nozzle?
8:51 You need gear.
10:23 Nozzle Orifice Variance
11:59 Faulty Nozzles Tho?
12:36 Wear, tear and bedding in
13:35 Slow Mo, Oh no!
15:08 Play Dohn't
16:17 Damage Tests
16:44 PCBWay made this possible
18:58 Damage Results
22:14 Worn not Worn?
22:57 Sum up.

[@eraldylli]

For what it's worth, you always come to mind wherever I see "line width" in slicers. You've done a great job throughout these years.

[@LostInTech3D]

Appreciated 👍

[@justinchamberlin4195]

This tracks with what I've observed over the years: -Cheap nozzles generally work fine unless the aperture diameter is drastically off. -Cheap nozzles are inherently more disposable compared to quality nozzles because they don't resist wear over time, in addition to not feeling bad about junking inexpensive nozzles. -All dimensions on cheap nozzles are suspect, including internals. Avoiding either high or low extremes on flow rate and line width covers up some of the deficiencies, but print quality can suffer when diameters are well out of tolerance. -The overall cost of using cheap nozzles can be fairly balanced with using nicer (E3D, genuine Prusa, Micro-Swiss) brands - they get replaced more often but the lower unit cost offsets the replacement rate. There's something to be said for hanging onto older nozzles for prints using larger line widths, but I don't know how that would work well, short of measuring the nozzle diameter over time (requiring measurement tools, calibrations for those measurement tools, and a healthy dose of giving a crap) and adjusting line widths in the slicer to account for those changes. The time invested in keeping records on the diameters of your nozzles - especially if you have more than one printer or jump around from size to size or from hardened nozzles back to brass - starts to be worth more than the nozzles are anyway. It's no surprise that 0.2 mm nozzles suffer from the greatest variation...it's hard to drill small holes, thousands of times a day, and do so precisely and consistently. I would think that the high-end nozzle manufacturers, who have better Swiss machines, better machinists, and more robust QA, would be better at this - and again, that's been my experience. 0.2 mm nozzles from no-name Chinese Amazon listings are hit-or miss, the handful I've needed to buy from Micro-Swiss have been generally good. Also, I am a "metalologist" (metallurgical engineer), and you are mostly right about brass. Lead as an element doesn't actually have a ton of solubility in copper alloys at room temperature, and when that material solidifies the lead stays liquid for a fairly long time (C36000 free-machining brass as a whole solidifies at 1,630˚ in freedom units but the 2.5-3.0% lead by weight in the alloy will stay liquid down to 621˚) and tends to end up as little nodules; these nodules help break up the chips during machining and lubricate the cutting tools, which is why leaded brasses have been so popular for machining applications for so many decades. I wouldn't use the word "amalgam," however, as that is a term specific to alloys of mercury and any metal elements not named iron, platinum, tungsten, or I believe tantalum. To me, the concern about tiny chips of brass nozzle material in the plastic leaching heavy metals into food is frankly pretty minor, especially if you live anywhere near a coal power plant or other source of heavy metal air/water pollution...however, people considering using 3D prints for food/medical/[redacted] applications should be far more concerned about microbes collecting in the layer lines. Most hobbyist-level 3D printing filaments cannot withstand thermal sterilization processes like using an autoclave, and nobody in their right mind would print a [water glass and totally not a personal pleasure device] out of PEEK or PPSU. Most filaments popular with hobbyists will even struggle with a thermal/chemical sanitization process like using a dishwasher or purely chemical sanitization by way of a bleach solution (PETG being a possible exception due to its robust chemical resistance), and do you really want to soak your 3D printed dishes in bleach before later scrubbing them with soap and hot water? Pontificating aside, I very much look forward to part 3. The concept of the Diamondback nozzle, with the thermal benefits as well as stupendous wear resistance, is very attractive to me and one of those will be the next nozzle I get for my SV06+...I have too many cheap nozzles for my Ender 3 to justify getting a Diamondback for that any time soon.

[@madmatrac]

thats why stainless steel non hardened 416 nozzles are for - they are foodgrade. also cheapest foodgrade material is abs - it can be autoclaved (110c is pretty low for autocleving i know), and pp with its 150c resistance is most suitable and still very cheap. as for wearest nozzle - tungsten carbide tipped nozzle are second to diamond in cost and much much more versatile in terms of heat transfer, nozzle effective size etc.

[@justinchamberlin4195]

@@madmatrac "Much more versatile in terms of heat transfer"...that's not based in science. WC has a thermal conductivity of 110 W/M-k and diamond is over 2,000, so even though WC's heat capacity is higher (just under 40 vs around 6.5) the thermal diffusivity of WC is still poorer than diamond. Also, I definitely would harden 416 stainless steel (after machining) for use in nozzle applications. It'd be a vacuum HT to preserve the surface finish, but a 13 bar nitrogen quench followed by a temper at 750˚F strikes a nice balance between hardness (and therefore wear resistance) and toughness.

[@madmatrac]

@@justinchamberlin4195 if your numbers are right, than diamond tip nozzles are pure trash. they cant withstand nozzle air cooling

[@justinchamberlin4195]

@@madmatrac If your part cooling fan is blowing on the nozzle, your machine is set up wrong.

[@lawrencenenninger1607]

I absolutely love my diamondback nozzles!

[@martythestines]

Ugh, I can never trust that subtitle guy. Also I'm glad I'm half deaf and always use subtitles. It's fun when you, Technology Connections and many more, put in little easter eggs.

[@baremetaltechtv]

i was able to guess the e3d nozzle sample correctly each time, for some reason the edges of the cubes looked cleaner to me with the e3d nozzle, so take that with a grain of salt, but at least it means some people are able to notice a difference.

[@LostInTech3D]

Interesting!

[@basementdwellR]

It's not guessing then is it? :) I was also able to pick it out. First example in the 9 grid was easy - last one was tougher. If it was guessing that would be very very improbable. The difference was very slight, but there. It was definitely not as huge a deal as I imagined though.

[@SheaStevenson]

I was also able to pick it correctly both times. I couldn't spot the difference though, I just just guessed where the "most random" place to put it would be.

[@flo47able]

For me it was the middle of the X. The little peak that gets formed there was cleaner

[@JacobScherer]

+1 to being able to spot the difference. The other prints aren't bad by any means though.

[@AlAmantea]

One thing that I absolutely love about your videos... OK, two things... 1- Your sense of humor is spot on, and 2- the deep dives into things cause me to think outside of the box when diagnosing printing problems. These seem quite evident when looked at through your lens, but in reality, are overlooked all the time. Thank you, and please keep doing what you are doing. I enjoy it immensely!

[@eslmatt811]

If you want a nozzle to wear, use some glass fiber filament. Took my brass nozzle down to a nub before i calibrated the filament. I had some cheap stainless steel nozzles, i got through the calibration then one part... I picked up a hybrid microswiss nozzle, seems to be holding up much better.

[@Peter-898]

Love the deep dive into nozzles (and the subtitle easter eggs). Once again, great cinematography!

[@SianaGearz]

So i have a toy microscope... for kids... little handheld pocket one... purchased it in the 80s for the price of 7.90 Soviet Roubles, which i know because the price is moulded into the carry case, my memory isn't that good. It has an integrated scale etched into a piece of glass embedded in the cover, so you can measure small things. So i did measure my nozzles. They do come out correctly sized, the ones i do have. The microscope also has an integrated incandescent side light, and is specified to have 30x magnification. I hear you can get a piece of glass, i don't know if it's maybe a microscope slide or something, with a scale like that etched into it. If you hold it with the etched side onto your subject, you shouldn't have much trouble reading the size. Also i bought a cheap and spectacularly nastily made microscope attachment for a phone. It was one dollar shipped. It's just a single plastic lens, an LED, and a coin cell holder, with an automatic switch that turns the LED on when you put it on, but i have had success making nozzle photos with it, which i had done when i nickel plated the nozzle. The nozzle opening has reduced slightly but visibly from plating, but i don't remember whether i concluded it from looking at the nozzle purely from microscope photos, or from looking at it with the scale of the toy microscope. The photos are sort of ugly but you can see the nozzle surface and opening clearly. I should take the nozzle off now and see what it looks like. I do have extra nozzles, i mean they're so cheap. But i haven't plated them yet. I don't know if i want to, i can't make up my mind whether it actually helps anything. Maybe i should paint a thin layer of HT silicone on the nozzle to try to make PETG stick to it less. I tried to season a nozzle with oil, like one may season a skillet, but it wasn't very successful.

[@aldabest]

When you showed the prints where one of them had more stringing, I immediately thought cheap nozzle (which as you said correlates with inaccurate nozzle size). In the past, when one of my nozzles got worn down, it always increased stringing. After switching over to Obxidian nozzles, I haven’t experienced stringing in 6 months. The new generation of wear resistant and thermally conductive nozzles has been an incredible boon.

[@LostInTech3D]

I do in fact have an obxidian nozzle!

[@perrinsilveira6759]

Seasonal changes in temp/humidity play a much larger factor than you would think. I am not saying that your results are invalid, but I have had nozzles that worked for everything but either summer, or winter usually. Tungsten in a hot or humid environment doesn't work well at all, and cht clones can get weird/extra bubbly during winter or in high humidity. I think obxidian are usually worse in summer, and diamond is worse in high humidity given their material properties.

[@Founders4]

@@LostInTech3D I've got nothing but respect for E3D but real talk here. Do you feel their Obxidian nozzles are worth the premium?

[@aldabest]

@@perrinsilveira6759 The only change between stringing and non-stringing was a nozzle change so temp and humidity may affect stringing but not likely in my case.

[@aldabest]

@@LostInTech3D I want to try my gammamaster nozzles but I don’t have a good reason to change because the Obxidian nozzles have not worn down. But I have that itch nonetheless :)

[@SolaAesir]

You can quickly wear a nozzle using glow in the dark filament. It's at least as abrasive as the GF or CF filaments but it doesn't have the bigger pieces in it that will cause clogs in smaller diameter nozzles.

[@mrrooter601]

5:10 correct (stringing and slightly circular holes) 5:43 correct (gaps on the E and M) 6:05 wrong 6:30 couldnt tell (the lines did not showup clearly on my monitor so it was hard to distingush) 7:21 got it correct (surface finish and less gaps on the infill), which was interesting because IMO its clearly better than the others (better enough for the insane markup is still HEAVILY debatable, and potentially tuneable on cheaper nozzles?) and it wasnt just a 5050.

[@davidswinnard7565]

As a (old, retired) photographer I can appreciate the pains you took to deal with the DOF issues. The bespoke ring-light is brilliant (no pun intended). I came to the world of 3D printing when my son lent me his old printer to make some things I need for my other hobbies. Like any endeavour, so much to learn. Thanks for taking the time to make an in-depth study on something I, and perhaps others, take as a given. Nozzle, of course I've got a nozzle...

[@JiajuChen]

I honestly love PCBways sponsorships. So far, every one of those sponsored videos across different KZbinrs are really creative, and they mostly really benefitted from the Sponsor.

[@LostInTech3D]

they are honestly great to work with

[@jamisonlm3]

I think any light damage to the end of a brass nozzle could be fixed with a drill press. A while back, I got a variety pack of cheap nozzles off amazon. When they arrived, I noticed the very tip of them didn't have much of a flat on them. In order to fix that, I picked some of the best looking ones and chucked them up in my drill press, turned it on and pressed them into some sandpaper repeatedly. When I was finished, the sandpaper looked like it had a bunch of little dots on it, but all the nozzles had nice flat on them.

[@dontwanttousemyrealnametol6765]

thanks for the amount of work you put into this

[@TamasJantyik]

My experince is the following: - well used nozzles cause stringing - really cheap nozzles cause stringing, even when they are new - "the second cheapest" brass nozzles can print a lot of normal filament, but only 0.5-1kg wood filament (usually I can see a bigger hole after 0.5kg) - airbrush nozzles are weird, I do not use - coated cht nozzles usually last more than a year before I completely round the nut part of the nozzle (so they last potentially a lot more?) - cht clones are a bit better than the cheapest and the second cheapest brass nozzles

[@pfabiszewski]

I think some tests made using abrasive filaments would be cool. Like using them with normal nozzles as well as testing those with stainless and hardened nozzles. Great video! Thanks!

[@xXKisskerXx]

I honestly bought a cheap pack of 20 brass nozzles (0.4mm) and... really haven't had issues. I mean I had other print issues, but I never thought "it was the nozzle" causing it. looking for wear, or probing with a 0.4mm needle or anything can quickly tell if it is time to change nozzles, and i've always kept old ones. The reasons why are .. I always figured I'd get equipment to drill them out to larger sizes to use. It may no longer be 0.4, but 0.56 or something, so drilling it out to 0.6 - makes a new 0.6 nozzle to use. And drill bits/drill aren't actually that expensive - even if you buy the better quality ones, for this 'light work' (brass isn't a particularly hard metal to work) - best part is.. you can even 3d print brackets, holder and a 'drill press' device to do it.. sure it's not 'as cheap' as just buying some 0.6mm nozzles, but... your also re-using (the second most important of the R's) the old brass... without having it sent out to be re-melted into something else.

[@jeffsmith7740]

Thanks for the hard work.

[@hotfix7387]

Dude you are really funny. You had me cracking up at multiple points for various reason. Funny comments, funny noises, lack of music (with the comment), cheesy music, etc... I appreciate you.

[@oliverkalitowski1032]

Thanks for this huge amount of work mate. Really appreciate it!

[@LostInTech3D]

Thanks - much appreciated, glad you enjoyed it too!

[@Enjoymentboy]

The pattern left by the grooved nozzle could actually be useful if it could be shaped properly. I expect that it could act like a "tongue and groove" fitting and help layer adhesion. Then again I could be completely wrong. It's like Schrodinger's Nozzle I guess.

[@riba2233]

Nah I think there is some potential :)

[@hellothere6627]

Would the nozzle need to spin to always face the grove in the correct direction? At that point would it be easier to rotate the nozzle head, which could also be used for non planer printing?

[@iboysven]

Incredible Video / Cinematic Quality. With some of the shots it felt a bit like an intro to a James Bond movie. And all that additionally to the quality of the information

[@NechaevDmitry]

I have got constatnly messy prints with a high flow steel nozzle - one having copper insert that splits the filament, and using it witb TPU filament. Switching back to copper nozzle put everything back to normal. I would suggest testing this option

[@carpenecopinum1665]

I was kinda shocked at 7:22 tbh, because I almost immediately had the impression that the top layer gaps on the cube in the bottom right were the least severe, and then it turns out that that's actually the E3D nozzle

[@solleder]

I‘d love to see a video about non standard nozzle geometry. Like having a uniform square or crescent moon shape, instead of the regular circle. Great work on the macro photography, i am really digging your videos! Thanks!

[@imthedentist]

The romantic music paired with the nozzle ejaculati- i mean extruding white filament is pure comedy

[@JumpeFurby]

I have been looking forward to this and u did not disappoint ❤

[@JH-zo5gk]

about the brass in the plastic with food. since it isnt elemental lead youll just extrude it in about 12hrs after eating it. i be more worried about the plastics it self in the food.

[@LostInTech3D]

I'm inclined to agree

[@JenSalik_]

Once again: Congratulations on your excellent photography. I think I will try out my Laowa 2-5x macro lens on nozzles, too.

[@LostInTech3D]

The astrhori is basically the same design I think as the laowa, I would recommend grabbing some microscope objectives to complement it, maybe a 10x. They have different strengths and weaknesses.

[@JenSalik_]

@@LostInTech3D Good idea. The best magnification I get through a combination of 68mm extension tubes, a 1.4x and a 2x extender with the macro lens is 10x magnification. However, this monster becomes rather unwieldy to handle. And yes - the design of the AstrHori looks very similar to the Laowa.

[@karellen00]

Cheap nozzles are fine, but better ones are nicer. Plated copper ones flow a bit more and probably allows to better melt the plastic, but I fell in love with tungsten carbide. It will always be the same size as nothing can realli wear it out (not even filled filaments) and you can clean it quickly and effectively just torching it until it glows red hot

[@SianaGearz]

Wait what tungsten carbide can it even be made to a nozzle shape? OK i look on Ali and i can see FYSETC sells affordable nozzles which are hardened steel with "tungsten carbide coating". I mean this brand releases generally OK products but i really don't trust their marketing. I can see tungsten carbide insert nozzles but they're half the price of my printer, so uhhhh, is that what you're talking about? I feel if i am to spend that much on my printer, there's any number of things i am to improve first before even considering a nozzle for 70 odd currency-units. A ruby insert nozzle is cheaper as well. But with inserts well you never know how well it's held in and whether it may decide to fall out or something.

[@Mapl3Syrup]

That nozzle shot compilation felt like the opening of a Tim Burton movie

[@mrrooter601]

PLEASE DO CHT STYLE NOZZLES!!! DIY PERSPECTIVE has done some fantastic videos testing them and I would LOVE to see if the results are repeatable. especially with the coated brass nozzles and the hardened steel ones with copper inserts. especially with the comparison of cheap CHT clones and replacement hotends for bambu printers, as well as the new E3D High Flow ObXidian hotend for bambu as well. he also tested layer adhesion at higher flows which had some insane results! thank you for these videos, they are extremely enlightening. I am relatively new to 3d printing (followed them for ages, only bought one late last year when the p1s was 699) and there is so much to learn, even more when you consider how many innovations the space has gotten recently that isnt just "new printer cheaper and poopier!"

[@lucianoag999]

As a hobby photographer and 3D printer I really enjoyed your video. Thanks!

[@Lyoishi]

I don't disagree with your results at all, but it was bizzare that I nearly passed the quiz, got first two and then had it narrowed down to 2 options for the cubes when time was up, but statistically someone probably guessed perfectly for the whole thing i suppose.

[@LostInTech3D]

A few people have and Im not sure what to make of it!

[@crowguy506]

What happens with non white filament on new nozzles? Are we watching Titan dioxide at work?

[@HernoldKoch]

Thanks to your macro shots of the surface structure from damaged nozzles, I wonder if they result in a better layer adhesion since they theoretically now have a larger contact surface. 🤔 (Also, I'm wondering if a rough/larger nozzle surface may influence more technical materials in any way, but that's a total other can of worms…)

I ended up filing down a nozzle slightly after it was damaged. It completely ruined it, but I now wonder if I could have just used it as a bigger nozzle!

[@hedgehogmakes]

Not sure why, but looking inside of nozzles is crazy satisfying!

[@RegularOldDan]

That Diamondback is a thing of beauty. Among my (ever expanding) collection of nozzles, I have a 0.6mm. I like it. Once again, I love seeing these photographic videos from your channel. (Yes, I'm writing this midway through the video, but I know I'll enjoy the rest as well.) Keep up the good work.

[@erin.anderson]

I predicted it that your thoroughly roughed up nozzle was essentially you trying to print using 0.4mm settings on a significantly larger nozzle. Your results were exactly what I expected to see there. I look forward to the continuation of this series.

[@derickschmidt6957]

The nozzle with the groove that left a clean ridge on top of the the extruded line opens up an interesting opportunity for creating cross linking between layers that goes beyond the normal standard single planar surface. Having it shaped like a + or * would ensure ridges are created regardless of orientation of the line relative to the nozzle groove. It could act like chopped fibers do to create linkage between layers.

[@Hotwire_RCTrix]

The perfect measuring comparison for a micrometer set along side the nozzle, both under the microscope. These days you can get microscopes that plug into a computer for a very affordable price.

[@carterasef1465]

I've had a very intermittent problem with overhangs curling that always goes away with a new nozzle. I suspect it has something to do with nozzle wear or damage, but I don't have the tools to investigate further. Would love to see how your different nozzle work on an overhang test. It would also be interesting to simulate nozzle wear with abrasive filaments. A few hours of GITD or CF filament should ream out a brass nozzle a good bit.

[@SianaGearz]

I once bought a microscope attachment for a phone for one dollar shipped, it is spectacularly badly made but i have made pictures of the nozzle flat and opening with it successfully. You don't even care about the absolute size, you can just compare the worn nozzle with an identical fresh one from the same batch.

[@hansvdz5834]

This kind of explains why I encountered a small bit of brass that clogged my smaller nozzle on my home recycled filament. Seems like it just came off a new brass nozzle.

[@rondlh20]

The line width should always be bigger than the nozzle size, otherwise you cannot control the flow (you need back pressure), Cura also does this, and I assume all slicers do

[@LostInTech3D]

Cura/ender 3 actually doesn't IIRC 👀😬

[@rondlh20]

@@LostInTech3D I just checked it (again), you are right, Cura (5.7.1) does use the exact line width defined in the profile

[@measureonceprinttwice]

Great video, that looks like a lot of work. Thanks for sharing! When talking about nozzles, perhaps we should move away from the diameter as the only value and replace it by the area of the hole and another metric to represent the roundness of the hole (Fourier Descriptor perhaps)?

[@Plapleply]

Thanks!

[@LostInTech3D]

Thank you!

[@sierraecho884]

Increase your flowrate and don´t go crazy with the tolerances when calculation max. vol. flow. No wonder my prints are always great, I don´t care about the nozzle at all, it just provides an opening for the filament that´s it.

[@FranklyPeetoons]

Valuable research. Beautifully assembled.

[@kimmotoivanen]

14:40 - sounds familiar 😅 Good info and great video 👍

[@PrototypeMoxie]

I figured out which ones which by just looking at the stringing because you can tell when it retracts that it's having an issue

[@jarrenvanman2570]

Nice intro sequence, beautiful!

[@dustinroberson1865]

I assume the bubbles from the wedge are because the printer is extruding the amount needed for a specific thickness. If you have a wedge, in ever direction but one (tip moving with the high end in front, low end in back), the printer will be laying down more filament than it's supposed to, so you will get thick areas and then every so often it won't have enough filament to cover the area which will leave a gap. It will also blob up a lot, as it will be almost like you have the tip too far from the build plate.

[@suivzmoi]

thank you for the fart sound. i've been sick with diarrhea all weekend and am finally feeling better..you have no idea how happy it makes me feel to hear the sound of a dry fart again

[@LostInTech3D]

nice :D

[@ericlindell3777]

Fantastic vid!

[@saddle1940]

Thankyou for the videos. I do love the images you are producing. I was wondering if you could do a discussion about the other end of the nozzle as well. Leakage of the filament from poorly seated nozzles against metal or PTFE tubing is also a real issue. I am surprised they go for completely flat rear ends when a grooved circular cut (for metal) or having and internal shelf (for the plastic tube), would have sealed things better.

[@LostInTech3D]

tbh - this hasn't been something I've seen since the ender 3 (OG) days. Most (all?) printers sold now use metal heat breaks so there's no PTFE. I mostly use brass which is sort of predisposed to compress against the fitting (why it's used for plumbing I guess). Not seen any leaks though at all, in the hundreds of nozzle changes I seem to find myself doing, so if you see one, I'd be interested to know what might have caused it.

[@hellothere6627]

That intro was 🔥

[@marinamarinx7655]

We print PETG and theres a huge difference in print quality with cheap nozzle I use V6 Nickel plated nozzle since years and that are the best for petg on all prusas the steel nozzle on the bambus are inferior, especially in surface quality

[@lajoyalobos2009]

This episode reminded me of a Mosin Nagant I had that would consistently jam with steel cased ammunition. When diving into why this would be, I found that the cause was the chamber was narrower as the reamer that reamed it back in 1936 was likely worn down from use. I ended up having to abrade very small amounts of material and polish the chamber little by little to get it working flawlessly. Trying to drill or ream holes in metal, even precise holes, is never as exacting as we'd like it to be. Reamers and drill bits get worn down as they are used in a factory setting and the first hole you drill with a brand new bit will be larger by some degree than the very last one drilled before retiring that drill bit. I imagine in a factory producing thousands or millions of nozzles, this is something that will come up. A factory producing nozzles that is very interested in absolute precision will swap out drill bits much more frequently than one that is not (and there will likely be an added expense to compensate for that). On the other hand, what you've shown here is that variance may not matter as much as we think it might, to a degree obviously, but it's still fun to nerd out over it.

[@olafmarzocchi6194]

Cheap CHT are different though, since they have a very small tip surface

[@dekutree64]

20:20 Have you ever seen Bob Ross paint snow on mountains with a palette knife? That's what that holey extrusion from the tilted nozzle reminds me of.

[@Plapleply]

Any chance you can also test a TC nozzle? I've been using a 0.6 from spool3d for 2+ years, as I print glow in the dark tpu for business. It's doing as good as the day I got it (I think), but I always wondered if the orifice is the right shape/size, and if I'm better off with something less durable but from a reputable source like e3d. Awesome video btw. Thank you so much! And more sub jokes please :)

[@YouTubestopsharingmyrealname]

Sir, you have an interesting brand of story telling... I like it 👍

[@TheButchersbLock]

What a great word, extrudate. Great content ad always mate 👍🇦🇺😊

[@Optisystemizer]

Great video! I wonder how much the added friction of a rougher machined inside surface affects max flow rate. And compared to plated nozzles which supposedly has less friction. I have been using microswiss plated brass nozzles for years (some over 5000hours) without changing them. Even printed a limited amount of carbon fibre and glow in the dark through them. I always assumed they where so good that they didn't get worn out but maybe the wear simply doesn't matter. Perhaps we should print a couple of meters of carbon fiber filament to break in new nozzles!

[@KilianGosewisch]

had a bad day. now i can get some nice relaxation before going to bed :)

[@rmfberry261]

i got all exvept the x right. slighlty less strining and sharper corners. but that being said i had to look hard and price wise as far as print quality go i would say not really worth it. plus im sure what i saw could be fixed by some slicer setting and input shaping.

[@lindeleasley]

I've got Diamondback nozzles on all 3 of my printers. They work very well for me.

[@KaliKavala]

For perfect nozzle dimensions medical needles could be used. They come with different diameters and for 0.4 it was G27 (if I remember correctly) with grey cap. As they are used in medicine they have (as far as I know) almost perfect dimensions, plus they are hard and cheap

[@Azeazezar]

I used to work in a plant producing filter material. They used star shaped nozzle holes to increase surface area of the extrudent material. Might such a nozzle effect later adhesion?

[@pyrhockz]

Great vid!

[@michaeleitel7186]

Hi What a super deep dive video. I'm looking forward to your upcoming Diamondback video. I own an original Revo Diamondback 0.6 and I'm not very happy with my decision to spend that much money. First is that the performance is only on the level of normal brass, despite of the talking of super thermal conductivity of diamond as material. Second my print results are somehow not looking very well. What astonishes me is that when I do free flow test ( f.x. to find optimal flow rate ) the outcoming string measures ca 1.2mm instead of expected ca 0.6. I have never seen such swelling on f.x. my Bontech nozzle. I wonder if there might be higher stress of the material because of inserted diamond shape. Do you see whether there is a very different "compressing" form that augments the material stress ? P.S. All in ASA with different temperatures tried. Again: One of the best "professional" videos about nozzles Big THX

[@freedomofmotion]

I would love to see the effect of a hexagon nozzle aperture on layer adhesion strength. Or square. Love heart shape, anyway shape change really as perhaps a round hole isn't the best option.

[@nlingrel]

I wonder if the grooved nozzle would actually improve layer adhesion because there would be more surface area contact between layers due to the peak shape on top.

[@LostInTech3D]

Good point....

[@SianaGearz]

On the video by one of the Bavarian guys, was it Tom or Stefan i forget, where he stacks layers to more closely imitate brickwork, there is a comment by a person who has produced and patented a grooved nozzle for the purpose of improving layer adhesion. So i'm sorry to say, a damaged nozzle is illegal. OK JK because they also have a toolhead rotation mechanism, because a grooved nozzle would only occasionally make the right kind of grooved bead, most of the time it will just iron itself out.

[@nlingrel]

@@SianaGearz Cool, I didn't know that. You could add grooves in multiple directions, potentially, to alleviate the ironing out thing. I know you were joking but it wouldn't be illegal unless you were trying to sell the nozzle or use it for commercial purpose somehow.

[@SianaGearz]

@@nlingrel To be even more pedantic, violating a patent is generally fundamentally illegal whether you do so commercially or not. However the patent-holder can only claim actual damages out of you, and they will usually be unable to prove damages in a non commercial context. There is also all manner of intricacies to that, like who ends up sitting on the legal costs etc, which should be a subject to consultation with an actual lawyer, specialised in intellectual property and the jurisdiction location in question. To be kept in mind that lawsuits are sometimes not filed in order to win, but in order to mess with the other party, occasionally bankrupting them in the process.

[@nlingrel]

@@SianaGearz Good point, it is technically illegal. In practicality, they would likely only know you were infringing if you were actually selling it. I guess active heat chambers were illegal to even mod on a 3d printer up until fairly recently when the patent expired. :)

[@Founders4]

This is a topic in 3D printing that comes up constantly. My position on the subject, it depends. I believe cheap nozzles have their place, for me it's usually on cheap printers. If I'm printing something and I really don't care how it looks, as long it's dimensionally accurate then cheap nozzles are adequate. If I'm using a more expensive printer and print quality is important then I'll spend a bit more on my nozzles, generally around $15-$30, E3D, Micro Swiss, Slice Engineering. I've never really spent much more than that on a single nozzle but I'd consider a Obxidian from E3D.

[@Thee_Gamefanatic]

Solder Paste and an oven works wonders for SMC's.

[@802Garage]

Is that a new camera lens, or are you just happy to see me? I love your videos hahaha. The cinematic intro is great. Subtitles are mandatory for viewing. The results are pretty much as I expected from what I knew about nozzles. They have to be pretty messed up to dramatically affect print quality, though actually meeting advertised specs can vary, hole size is key, and the internal design will obviously affect flow. Length, mass, and material will all have an impact too. BTW at 10:30 your image says 0.2975, your subtitles say 0.2075 (lol), and you say 0.28, so which is it? XD

[@Hilmi12]

Since you have a diamond back nozzle xan you please test it with PETG and with carbon fiber PETG filament to validate their claims it stops sticky filament boogers?

[@LostInTech3D]

Sure!

[@hyperspeed1313]

The Prusa vs generic I guessed correctly on all of because of the minor defects which appeared more prevalent on one print than the other (I assumed the better results came from the Prusa nozzle). The E3D vs 8 generics I failed spectacularly on, but I think that print is a bit too simple to really weed out the bad nozzles from the good. I’m not saying there’s huge differences, but there appears to be some nuanced benefit to using the genuine nozzles as the print gets more complex. Okay. Haven’t seen the rest of the video yet. Will update at the end

[@TechieSewing]

Toothpaste with metal for extra cleaning effect ;)

[@freedomofmotion]

I got perfect score until it got to the cubes and guessed wrong every time 😂

[@3dexperiments]

Very interesting video, and BTW I loved the music.

[@cest7343]

Came back from the 1st video, not disappointed at all! looking forward! Not using KiCAD for PCBWay? Like the music (source: nozzle hub?)

[@caste1200]

I got all the e3d nozzles right. No idea how 😅

[@moodberry]

Dude! You have a very sharp British humor. I like it! So, maybe I missed it, but does a square orifice have any effect on corners? I notice that printing something like a cube creates roundish corners that bulge out just a little. It seems to me that a square nozzle hole could improve that. What do you think? Also, just wondering, but is "extrudate" a real word?

[@venko3211]

Any idea about CHT Nozzle sir

[@markus30000]

You deserve a big like just for the imagery!

[@xenotrixx]

Could you test a ruby nozzle too? I use them because they are not too expensive.

[@LostInTech3D]

I'll see what I can do!

[@xenotrixx]

Awesome.

[@xenotrixx]

My nozzle is from MOD3DP and was 30€. Its expensive but not as bad as some other nozzles.

[@Duraltia]

@19:06 Makes me kinda wonder if there'd be a layer line adhesion benefit to using nozzles producing such raised features like that 🤔

[@SianaGearz]

But that only does in one direction.

[@cthulpiss]

How viable is making nozzle adapter for new Creality Unicorn nozzle? I got nice looking unused ruby tipped V6 lying around, and K1C just arrived...

[@LostInTech3D]

I've not actually considered that. Err...hmm....I'm not sure.

[@eslmatt811]

If the printer used nozzle probing, a longer nozzle should be fine, other than cooling. CNC kitchen had a video on just using a volcano nozzle on a regular hotend. Shorter may work, look for clearance. Upgrade the whole hotend, I think microswiss makes a drop in replacement.

[@cthulpiss]

@@eslmatt811 I have no problem with stock hotend (well, kinda) I would just love a way to keep interchangeability with V6 nozzles.

[@jackykoning]

Wheres the link to the microscope objectives?

[@LostInTech3D]

oops! s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_DD05Lnl (don't go above the yellow or red one) I'll put amazon link in the desc too

[@zara8289]

Great video as always; I'd say quality has more to do with the slicer and how it translates the model into gcode; assuming the hardware is all made within the same reasonable tolerances all else being equal Of course if tolerances are out of wack, weak materials, damage, etc are at play as you show... Brass is insanely soft, much softer than most people realize. People think "metal" and think it's hard to damage or wear down... All that said I've printed with tons of cheap nozzles and expensive ones and generally it always seem six one half dozen to me. The only reason I use "expensive" nozzles is to avoid direct brass weardown and get better thermal transfer; i.e. Bondtech CHT which are nickle coated brass.

[@LostInTech3D]

Agreed, and also printer tolerance/accuracy is pretty much everything these days.

[@SianaGearz]

I have nickel plated a nozzle on my own, and it's on my printer. I should take it off and see whether that does anything to protect it. I don't suspect that it did.

[@zara8289]

@@SianaGearz Depending on how well you plated it. All in all nickel is harder than brass, so it will wear down but at a slower rate. A lot of variables at play though like the thickness of the coating and how well it adhered are two which likely have the biggest impact.

[@picudo]

A lot of the video was about wear, but rarely a person will come to such wear on a brass nozzle if they know that abrasive material should be used on a hardened steel one, other than that, pleasing to watch hehe.

[@louiel8711]

I use the shorter v6 nozzles in my ender 3 all the time make sure to reset the z lower limit first

[@LostInTech3D]

I think the thread is slightly different but I would argue that if it fits, then why not.

[@louiel8711]

I just wanted one of those knock off cht nozzles and it fit threaded in easy by hand

[@jounikaikkonen6911]

I am very much interested in CHT vs CHT clones results.

[@Founders4]

There are a number of very thorough videos on the subject. Stefan (CNC Kitchen) covered the subject some time ago, it's worth a watch.

[@the4thj]

Wow great topic... I am have a personal geek evaluation moment.

[@andrewmalaty8]

ok... most of you aren't gonna believe me but i honestly guessed every single one correctly on the quiz portion. but admittedly i was just looking for the best looking one.

[@sierraecho884]

Metal filled prints due to the high quality metal flaking Chinese nozzles, what a great feature.

[@John-lw7bz]

Bro out here deserving the views. GG fam