Nozzle material

Hi,

Thanks to the advances in filament manufacturing technology, we are able to use different filaments with our printers, however this has also brought some problems, especially with filaments containing abrasive materials. It has been suggested to use non-brass, more resistant nozzles with these materials (like the ones containing carbon fiber or metal particles) but I can't find any nozzle made from other metals. Stainless steel has been suggested but as it isn't a good conductor for heat it might not be the answer. I have also seen a forum article on this subject suggesting the use of chromium plated nozzles but I am still unable to find any vendor selling anything other than brass. Of course, it is possible to replace the nozzle every few months but it would be nice to have a more resilient nozzle. Do you know any alternatives for this purpose?

Thanks..

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/13/2015 08:08AM by drmaestro.

Diamond?! It is thermally conductive and hard enough to withstand any abrasive materials you can think of except maybe other diamonds...

E3D sells SS nozzles

I've been enjoying my stainless steel Pico hot end by B3 Innovations --- still sorting out some minor other difficulties and calibrating, but the hot end seems far more durable than the ones made of PEEK.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/13/2015 12:15PM by WillAdams.

WillAdams: Keep in mind that the nozzle doesn't have to be the same material as the hotend. PEEK hotends usually have brass or aluminium nozzles.

the_digital_dentist: That would be amazing, but it would also cost about as much as you would imagine. Have you read "The Diamond Age" by Neal Stephenson?

jinx: Yes, but they say right on their site, they're worse than brass unless you're printing with abrasive filament.

It might not be as expensive as you think. You wouldn't have to make the whole nozzle out of diamond. A coating would do. There are a lot of companies that do diamond coatings...

Actually diamond would likely be excellent. It is a non-conductor of electricity, but conducts heat better than copper! They make water jet nozzles with diamond. Looks like you could get one for about $450. Not too bad if it works better and literally lasts forever.

I’ve used stainless steel nozzles and they work fine, no problem with the heating… maybe you need to up the temperature a few degrees, that’s all.

Quote
jinx
E3D sells SS nozzles

Thanks for the link. I was starting to think that nobody manufactured SS nozzles...