first dive into different nozzles
Hi, new buyer of mk4.
obviously, I got the mk4 sorta-recently which comes with the 0.4 standard nozzle. I'm thinking of expanding my nozzle collection but unsure what "spread" to get.
watched a few videos on nozzle-size comparisons (such as prusa's own) and poked around to find my options....
If I don't want to pay for the full spread (hypothetically going for the ultra-expensive obsidian 0.4/0.6 nozzles and the brass 0.25, 0.3, 0.5)...basically all the ones I have seen on prusa and printedsolid.... (although I'm pretty comfortable ignoring the obsidian ones as I don't expect to really need impregnated filaments or other high-abrasion filaments, for now anyway.)
But besides that, what gets me a still reasonable 'spread' if I plan to both be building models (table top, toys, etc) and larger structural components? feels redundant to get one of each if I'm not so experienced to even be capable of micro-minmaxing the exact size for every print (although I'm sure most people at least occasionally go with sub-optimal for a print out of laziness)
IE: if I only buy 2 in addition to the 0.4, which should I buy? 0.3, 0.4, 0.6 seems reasonable...
also feel free to "frame-challange" if you think I'm potentially missing critical info about this.
RE: first dive into different nozzles
Going to 0.6 is mostly useful if you have prints that are taking too long at 0.4. I suggest loading a few sample models and slicing them with 0.4 and 0.6 settings and see if the faster time with the 0.6 is useful to you. Do this with the Input Shaper settings as this makes a big speed difference in itself. To see if you need a smaller size, try printing some samples or the table top models and see if you think the resolution looks good enough. Make sure to use the Arachne slicer setting as this can give you good detail larger nozzle size than you would need for Classic setting.
I have had a similar question to this, but have yet to try anything other than 0.4. On my MK3S I used to occasionally use 0.6 for speed, but Input Shaper helps a lot. Mostly I print mechanical parts, some of them quite small (clock gears).
RE: first dive into different nozzles
"Make sure to use the Arachne slicer setting as this can give you good detail larger nozzle size than you would need for Classic setting."
this sentence is not clear, can you rephrase this please?
thanks
RE: first dive into different nozzles
Under Print Settings>Layers & Perimeters>Advanced, there is a setting called Perimeter Generator. By default it is set to Arachne. This controls how the slicer generates the perimeters. Arachne was a new algorithm a year or two back, which uses variable amounts of extrusion to adapt to the dimensions needed for the perimeters. In effect, it does controlled underextrusion to reduce the line thickness. There is a video on the subject here: , and it has certainly been my experience that I can print gears with very small teeth using Arachne. The video is about using a 0.6 nozzle to get the same precision as 0.4 with the Classic algorithm, and similar reasons applies to using 0.4 to get the same precision as 0.3 or 0.25. The larger nozzle then allows you to us thicker layers and so shorter print times. In any case, I'd recommend doing some experiments with the 0.4mm nozzle and seeing it if gets you what you want - no point in buying extra nozzle is you don't get a benefit from them.
RE:
when would you expect to *not* want arachne?
why do you suppose prusaslicer doesn't have it as default?
whats the downside of it?
RE: first dive into different nozzles
PrusaSlicer does have Arachne as default - sorry if I gave the wrong impression. Arachne is nearly always better. The only exception I have come across was in some gears used in Steve Peterson's clocks ( https://www.stevesclocks.com/) where he recommends Classic based on some very specific details on how it constructs line segments into the gear teeth, see https://www.stevesclocks.com/forum/general-discussion/arachne-slicing.