Authentic E3DLite6 or Knock off E3DV6? After my last hotend literally fell apart during a print I am in the market for a new hotend. Right now I am looking at a authentic E3DLite6 or a knockoff V6 with a PTFE tube instead of all metal. I am only printing in PLA and may move to ABS when I need to. The knock offs are half the price of the lite 6 but does that mean twice the trouble? Should I go with the real deal from the start or give the knockoff a try and return it if it doesn't work out? Also here is a good example of what happens when your Folger Tech hotend decides to seperate while printing.The smell of the melting fan shroud and the hissing of plastic burning could be smelt and heard from down the hall. Also a good reason not to print unattended. PICTURES! https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,576308,576308#msg-576308 Sat, 18 Jul 2026 17:05:57 -0400 Phorum 5.2.23 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,576308,585095#msg-585095 Re: Authentic E3DLite6 or Knock off E3DV6? https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,576308,585095#msg-585095 rhmorrison General Mon, 16 Nov 2015 11:23:33 -0500 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,576308,585092#msg-585092 Re: Authentic E3DLite6 or Knock off E3DV6? https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,576308,585092#msg-585092 I googled it and found
[e3d-online.com]
is this the correct website to the real one?]]> fireflynj General Mon, 16 Nov 2015 11:13:41 -0500 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,576308,577688#msg-577688 Re: Authentic E3DLite6 or Knock off E3DV6? https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,576308,577688#msg-577688 zerodameaon General Fri, 30 Oct 2015 17:50:52 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,576308,577426#msg-577426 Re: Authentic E3DLite6 or Knock off E3DV6? https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,576308,577426#msg-577426 gmckee General Fri, 30 Oct 2015 07:18:28 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,576308,577357#msg-577357 Re: Authentic E3DLite6 or Knock off E3DV6? https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,576308,577357#msg-577357
They also sell other useful bits and pieces for 3D printing...

(another satisfied customer)]]> David J General Fri, 30 Oct 2015 04:23:58 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,576308,577329#msg-577329 Re: Authentic E3DLite6 or Knock off E3DV6? https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,576308,577329#msg-577329
Quote
reifsnyderb
Hello!

The folgertech hotend is a chinese J-Head knock-off and has not been properly machined. If those PEEK threads are not right, the hot-end will fall apart.

If you are going to buy an e3d, support e3d and buy from them. They did the research and development, they took the risks, they will use some of the money to do research and development for new hot-ends. If you would rather buy cheap chinese garbage, don't expect the innovators to keep innovating.

I also have real, genuine, guaranteed to work J-Head hot-ends at [www.hotends.com] I guarantee they will work as I care about my product. Thus far, J-heads (properly made J-Heads) are the best at printing PLA due to their design and the fact that they use an insulator to ensure that the hot-zone stays where it belongs.

Best Regards,

Brian

I totally agree with the above sentiments. Support the innovators and they will continue to innovate. We wouldn't have this cool hobby (becoming consumer) without them.

Also, if you actually put a price to your time (I do as I work long hours so don't get much hobby time, I cost my time at my effective salary rate) then you will often find that the time spent fiddling with an inferior product ends up costing you more than the genuine item would have in the first place.

To be clear, I have no direct interest in any of the products noted in this thread other than being a satisfied customer of E3D and an admirer over the years of Brian's work.

Craig]]> CraigRK General Fri, 30 Oct 2015 02:47:09 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,576308,577299#msg-577299 Re: Authentic E3DLite6 or Knock off E3DV6? https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,576308,577299#msg-577299
The folgertech hotend is a chinese J-Head knock-off and has not been properly machined. If those PEEK threads are not right, the hot-end will fall apart.

If you are going to buy an e3d, support e3d and buy from them. They did the research and development, they took the risks, they will use some of the money to do research and development for new hot-ends. If you would rather buy cheap chinese garbage, don't expect the innovators to keep innovating.

I also have real, genuine, guaranteed to work J-Head hot-ends at [www.hotends.com] I guarantee they will work as I care about my product. Thus far, J-heads (properly made J-Heads) are the best at printing PLA due to their design and the fact that they use an insulator to ensure that the hot-zone stays where it belongs.

Best Regards,

Brian]]> reifsnyderb General Thu, 29 Oct 2015 21:43:58 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,576308,577236#msg-577236 Re: Authentic E3DLite6 or Knock off E3DV6? https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,576308,577236#msg-577236
Quote
MichaelBrock
The Chinese products (not just on these hot-ends but on all of the parts I have bought for my printer) appear to have absolutely no quality control.

I suspect that there is in fact quality control... there is a range of prices, and I think that *probably* the more expensive Chinese items are QCed. They then sell the stuff that fails their QC to people who may fix it, or just sell it really cheap. So, if you buy really cheap stuff, you can pretty much guarantee that it has failed QC and won't work properly until you fix it yourself. (This was exactly what used to happen in the magnetized mylar (cassette tapes, floppy disks) industry back in the 1980s-90s).

The problem is that there's also rip-off merchants who sell the (possibly refurbished) QC-failed stuff at full price, so even if you buy at full price you don't know what you're getting until it's too late.]]> frankvdh General Thu, 29 Oct 2015 16:40:02 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,576308,577198#msg-577198 Re: Authentic E3DLite6 or Knock off E3DV6? https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,576308,577198#msg-577198 deaconfrost General Thu, 29 Oct 2015 15:32:07 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,576308,577182#msg-577182 Re: Authentic E3DLite6 or Knock off E3DV6? https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,576308,577182#msg-577182 gmckee General Thu, 29 Oct 2015 15:04:44 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,576308,577150#msg-577150 Re: Authentic E3DLite6 or Knock off E3DV6? https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,576308,577150#msg-577150 deaconfrost General Thu, 29 Oct 2015 14:13:00 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,576308,577053#msg-577053 Re: Authentic E3DLite6 or Knock off E3DV6? https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,576308,577053#msg-577053
Edited to add: the manufacturers of the original hot-ends have been bemoaning the cheap Chinese competition and some have apparently stopped releasing updates because of it. I agree that is it tough to compete against them on price. Complete hot-ends (heater cartridge, compressor fitting, etc. the whole thing) for $5 shipped is ridiculous and for me is so cheap that I can't in any way justify spending $35 for the real deal despite my guilt. But, they can certainly compete on quality. The Chinese products (not just on these hot-ends but on all of the parts I have bought for my printer) appear to have absolutely no quality control. One of the heat sinks of the hot-ends I bought was packed with metal filings to the point that I had to re-drill it. The connector for the cheap LCD package had all of the components soldered to the wrong side of the pcb. All of the components for my Ramps 1.4 clone are soldered to the board at an odd angle, all of them (but it does still work). So, as I said above, if you have the time and energy buy the knock-off and expect to put some work into it. If you want guaranteed quality buy the real-deal.]]> MichaelBrock General Thu, 29 Oct 2015 11:13:21 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,576308,577020#msg-577020 Re: Authentic E3DLite6 or Knock off E3DV6? https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,576308,577020#msg-577020
This is the heatbreak polish. [www.youtube.com]

This is the rework for the hot end. [www.youtube.com]

It has worked for me and a bunch of the viewers on youtube. Whatever route you go, disassemble the hot end and make sure its clean. I only print with abs.]]> jaguarking11 General Thu, 29 Oct 2015 10:08:00 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,576308,576425#msg-576425 Re: Authentic E3DLite6 or Knock off E3DV6? https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,576308,576425#msg-576425 sungod3k General Wed, 28 Oct 2015 05:40:09 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,576308,576330#msg-576330 Re: Authentic E3DLite6 or Knock off E3DV6? https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,576308,576330#msg-576330
EDIT: I should say I have a dual extruder setup with one V6 and a Lite6 and am happy with both.]]> zerodameaon General Tue, 27 Oct 2015 20:52:33 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,576308,576328#msg-576328 Re: Authentic E3DLite6 or Knock off E3DV6? https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,576308,576328#msg-576328 gmckee General Tue, 27 Oct 2015 20:42:38 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,576308,576327#msg-576327 Re: Authentic E3DLite6 or Knock off E3DV6? https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,576308,576327#msg-576327 zerodameaon General Tue, 27 Oct 2015 20:40:07 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,576308,576319#msg-576319 Re: Authentic E3DLite6 or Knock off E3DV6? https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,576308,576319#msg-576319
I don't think I actually saved any money by buying the cheapos, but I do at least have enough parts to fix it if it does break.]]> frankvdh General Tue, 27 Oct 2015 19:53:12 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,576308,576308#msg-576308 Authentic E3DLite6 or Knock off E3DV6? https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,576308,576308#msg-576308
Also here is a good example of what happens when your Folger Tech hotend decides to seperate while printing.The smell of the melting fan shroud and the hissing of plastic burning could be smelt and heard from down the hall. Also a good reason not to print unattended.
PICTURES!]]> gmckee General Tue, 27 Oct 2015 19:10:05 -0400