Why Brass?

Why are nozzles made out of brass? Wouldn't steel do? I'm only askin' as i've got loads of steel lyin round not really serving any purpose.

Brass machines easier? Steel will rust? Brass's high copper content may give it better thermal conductivity too.

Cheers! I'm pretty much covering the whole nozzle so rusting shouldn't rly be a problem, hopefully...

Steel is a poor conductor of heat (and electricity) compared to brass 43 vs 109.

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[www.hydraraptor.blogspot.com]

I think most people use it because it is easy to machine. God knows I've broken enough 80gauge drill bits off making SS nozzles.

The steel will eventually rust. The high temp and a dissimilar material of the heater block will exacerbate the issue.

I haven't had a problem with the conductivity of (stainless)steel, though I have a blunt nozzle and an aluminum heater block with good contact area.

One advantage to SS over brass is durability. I've crashed the head into my aluminum build plate quite a few times and the nozzle survives. Maybe brass does well in this area too, but I suspect not. Someone correct me?

Dunno, but next time i'm playing round on the lathes ill make a couple from different metals 'n' see what happens.

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Andrew Diehl
One advantage to SS over brass is durability. I've crashed the head into my aluminum build plate quite a few times and the nozzle survives. Maybe brass does well in this area too, but I suspect not. Someone correct me?

I've also crashed brass nozzles into an aluminum and glass bed and they have survived. I've put scratches on the aluminum bed and I've broken a glass bed without damage to the nozzle. I don't think SS has a significant advantage over brass in this respect to make it worth the extra work.

SS has really low thermal conductivity, ~ 17 IIRC. Not suitable for a nozzle, I use it as an insulator in fact.

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[www.hydraraptor.blogspot.com]

Hello there,

I am from holland(netherlands) sorry if i write not so good englich.
I kent find hir in my country nowann ho also is intrest in this stuff on this forum,so i read al lot(very slowly) in the german forum en hir.
Mabye i have a solution for your nozzle problem.
Is it not possible to get a nozzle of a co2 welding machine(i hoop i write it good)becorse they have also kopper or brass nozzlle's.

Regards werner.

Using Google translate ;-)
Hallo Werner. Probeer vragen Camiel op Mendel-parts.com. Hij is gevestigd in Nederland, en is een vriendelijke kerel. Hij is vaak erg druk, maar kan waarschijnlijk u naar anderen in Nederland.

(and in english)
Hi Werner. Try asking Camiel at Mendel-parts.com. He's based in the Netherlands, and is a friendly guy. He's often very busy, but can probably point you to others in the Netherlands.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/13/2011 04:58PM by Buback.

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Is it not possible to get a nozzle of a co2 welding machine(i hoop i write it good)becorse they have also kopper or brass nozzlle's.

Are there welding nozzles smaller than 0.7 mm? I couldn't find such a thing so far.

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Jcabrer used a Mig welder tip for a nozzle. Just search for his posts in this forum.

They are marked 0.6mm but are atualy are 0.75 as 0.6mm welding wire needs some clearance not seen smaller other than some one sqished the end amd re drilled or solder with high temp solder like nophead did and drill..

The 0.6mm welding tip is good enough to make Draft parts test the system the extrusion is around 0.85mm to 1mm extrudate.

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If you're looking for an easy item to rework into a nozzle, brass gas jet nozzles of the sort used in backyard BBQs look to be fairly easy to rework on a standard drillpress.

I'm also considering aluminum as a nozzle material - it might be a bit too soft by itself, but by anodizing could solve that, and should help to keep the plastic flowing smoothly.