Tungsten Alloy Nozzle?
These look like the holy Grail of nozzles. I'm looking at one from Midwest, thoughts? I didn't want a hardened steel nozzle or a Ruby nozzle.
RE: Tungsten Alloy Nozzle?
No mention of specs ... how long is it?
RE: Tungsten Alloy Nozzle?
This Nozzle
RE: Tungsten Alloy Nozzle?
Absolutely do not confuse tungsten alloy with tungsten carbide
If the only characteristic you are worried about is increase wear resistance, then either is OK. However, tungsten alloy nozzles (the one that is linked above) will have much lower thermal conductance than brass. You will need to boost nozzle temperature to get equivalent extrusion. If you are on a hot end that is super sensitive to nozzle cooling, a hardened steel (of which tungsten alloy is one) may not even attain equivalent performance of brass.
On the other hand, a tungsten CARBIDE nozzle has both high thermal conductance and hardness. A tungsten CARBIDE nozzle combines both desirable characteristics. It is however, very easy to get confused.
tungsten carbide <> tungsten alloy!
Tungsten alloy is a hardened steel which will have maybe 1/4 to 1/5 the thermal conductance of brass nozzles.
Tungsten carbide is a carbide and will have nearly identical thermal conductance of brass.
Both are hard materials that will resist abrasive wear, but the carbide is much easier to dial in and leaves you with more thermal head room for higher temperature plastics.
Spool3d sells a tungsten carbide nozzle that is close enough match to the E3D V6 nozzles, that you only need to adjust live-Z. That is the nozzle with which my Mosquito magnum works very well. https://spool3d.ca/tungsten-carbide-reprap-m6-nozzle/
EV3D's nozzle is a longer tungsten carbide nozzle that will require lower of the PINDA.
RE: Tungsten Alloy Nozzle?
Stefan from CNC Kitchen YouTube fame used one during his "filament oiler part 2" clip and was disappointed at the poor internal finish. I'd be sure to order anything so expensive from a well known manufacturer.
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He is intelligent, but not experienced. His pattern indicates two dimensional thinking. -- Spock in Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan
RE: Tungsten Alloy Nozzle?
"Used one" - which are you referring to? The Tungsten Alloy link or the Tungsten Carbide link?
RE: Tungsten Alloy Nozzle?
Absolutely do not confuse tungsten alloy with tungsten carbide
If the only characteristic you are worried about is increase wear resistance, then either is OK. However, tungsten alloy nozzles (the one that is linked above) will have much lower thermal conductance than brass. You will need to boost nozzle temperature to get equivalent extrusion. If you are on a hot end that is super sensitive to nozzle cooling, a hardened steel (of which tungsten alloy is one) may not even attain equivalent performance of brass.
On the other hand, a tungsten CARBIDE nozzle has both high thermal conductance and hardness. A tungsten CARBIDE nozzle combines both desirable characteristics. It is however, very easy to get confused.
tungsten carbide <> tungsten alloy!
Tungsten alloy is a hardened steel which will have maybe 1/4 to 1/5 the thermal conductance of brass nozzles.
Tungsten carbide is a carbide and will have nearly identical thermal conductance of brass.
Both are hard materials that will resist abrasive wear, but the carbide is much easier to dial in and leaves you with more thermal head room for higher temperature plastics.
Spool3d sells a tungsten carbide nozzle that is close enough match to the E3D V6 nozzles, that you only need to adjust live-Z. That is the nozzle with which my Mosquito magnum works very well. https://spool3d.ca/tungsten-carbide-reprap-m6-nozzle/
EV3D's nozzle is a longer tungsten carbide nozzle that will require lower of the PINDA.
Reviews mention being able to lower their temperature compared to brass? I'll have to compare their thermal properties
RE: Tungsten Alloy Nozzle?
Guy - you mention you have used the spool3d.ca variety .. they don't show the ID of the filament bore. Is it 1.75 or 2.0 mm or something else?
RE: Tungsten Alloy Nozzle?
😎It is a 1.75 mm filament bore. I have two of the Spool3D and one of the EV3D tungsten carbide nozzles.
The Spool3D is the one I am using on my higher temp/abrasive filament machine. I would say that the Mosquito hotend practically begs for a tungsten carbide nozzle. A hardened steel nozzle was just too difficult to dial in and I didn't want to cook my filament with 20 to 30C higher temps. Tungsten carbide solved the problem perfectly.
BTW on the Spool3D site it does say...
Package contents:
- 1 tungsten carbide nozzle for 1.75mm filament (Size 0.4mm, 0.6mm or 0.8mm orifice)
RE: Tungsten Alloy Nozzle?
These will still do pla and whatnot too right? I just don't want to keep changing nozzles. Want to get a .6 mm one for my otherwise stock MK3 and be done with it.
Tungsten Carbide the way to go? Why doesn't more companies make these?
RE: Tungsten Alloy Nozzle?
These will still do pla and whatnot too right?
Yes. TC will print PLA filament without problem. It gives you full range of possible materials printing.
HOWEVER there is one risk you take by relying on a tungsten carbide (or any other expensive nozzle for that matter).
Any nozzle you print with will eventually get clogged. You can usually clear out a clog and thankfully it is rare. Printing PLA and PETG with a TC nozzle adds a tiny bit of risk. It's not a bad risk. Just understand that it may not be optimal risk distribution. Brass nozzles are cheap and you can just toss them if they clog. I just keep my TC nozzle on the machine, but low temp plastics are usually on a different printer.
May be best to learn good nozzle changing technique and be comfortable swapping them. Brass for PLA/PETG and non-abrasive PC. TC for carbon fiber and glow in dark filaments.
Just some food for thought as you balance your needs and wants.
RE: Tungsten Alloy Nozzle?
Tungsten carbide nozzle are hard enough to have reasonable expectation of them surviving a cleaning.
Brass nozzles are soft enough that pushing a needle through them easily scratches or deforms the nozzle.
So, yes a TC nozzle is more likely to be unclogged without damage.
You can't readily machine tungsten carbide to create a nozzle. TC gets molded and sintered. It is an exacting process.
RE: Tungsten Alloy Nozzle?
😎It is a 1.75 mm filament bore. I have two of the Spool3D and one of the EV3D tungsten carbide nozzles.
The Spool3D is the one I am using on my higher temp/abrasive filament machine. I would say that the Mosquito hotend practically begs for a tungsten carbide nozzle. A hardened steel nozzle was just too difficult to dial in and I didn't want to cook my filament with 20 to 30C higher temps. Tungsten carbide solved the problem perfectly.
BTW on the Spool3D site it does say...
Package contents:
- 1 tungsten carbide nozzle for 1.75mm filament (Size 0.4mm, 0.6mm or 0.8mm orifice)
It's the back side orifice I am asking about. Does it mesh with the heat break 2.0 mm bore or is there a step to worry about that might catch filament during loads.
RE: Tungsten Alloy Nozzle?
The inlet orifice on the Spool3D TC nozzle is very slightly tighter than that of a brass E3D nozzle.
EV3D's TC nozzle has the tightest inlet orifice. It also has a huge inlet chamfer that I worry can accumulate old cooked, filament.
A freshly cut 1.75 mm PETG filament very easily goes into brass E3D and has a bit of slop available.
That 1.75 filament readily slides into Spool3D TC nozzle, but has a little less slop.
Same 1.75 filament just fits into EV3D TC nozzle. Any tighter and it would be a snug fit.
Comparison picts showing inlet orifices and relative nozzle lengths. You can see why I favor the Spool3D nozzle. The EV3D nozzle is quite a bit longer and has a huge inlet chamfer.
Both Spool3D TC and E3D brass have similar, small inlet chamfers. Also, remember nozzle orifice / heatbreak interface is flat and inside the melt zone.
RE: Tungsten Alloy Nozzle?
Thanks ... what I was looking for.
RE: Tungsten Alloy Nozzle?
[...] Comparison picts showing inlet orifices and relative nozzle lengths. You can see why I favor the Spool3D nozzle. The EV3D nozzle is quite a bit longer and has a huge inlet chamfer.
Both Spool3D TC and E3D brass have similar, small inlet chamfers. Also, remember nozzle orifice / heatbreak interface is flat and inside the melt zone.
I ordered (and have not received since May) nozzles from 3D Solex. They seem to have died on me, but at one time had a bit of a reputation with their "Matchless" series which actually split the filament path of 1.75mm filament. The idea being that twice as much surface area was exposed to the heated nozzle resulting, they claim, in much higher rates of extrusion. I actually did some research before ordering, and they had a good reputation. I still see their stuff sold by e.g. Matterhackers, so they seem to have been legit.
The reason I mention this is because I wonder if the tighter fit might be a benefit for the same reason. At the point of contact with that opening, the plastic should be melting and increased surface contact might increase heat transfer. Have you done any comparisons with extrusion rates, or experienced any issues?
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He is intelligent, but not experienced. His pattern indicates two dimensional thinking. -- Spock in Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan
RE: Tungsten Alloy Nozzle?
I don't think I have a good means of objectively determining max filament flow rate through a nozzle.
What I do know is that on the finicky Mosquito hot end, I can pretty much use my normal brass nozzle tuned PETG profiles and print successfully with the Spool3D tungsten carbide nozzle. Whereas I definitely could not do so with a Slice Vanadium steel (a hardened steel) nozzle. PETG is particularly difficult with low thermal conductance nozzles because you need both a hotter nozzle AND good print part cooling for successful PETG prints. With just hardened steel, I was needing up to 290C nozzle temps to print PETG and was still not getting full melt.
RE: Tungsten Alloy Nozzle?
FYI - heard back from the vendor:
Hi Tim,
Thank you for contacting us. The bore on the nozzles is 2.0mm to match with heat breaks.
Best regards,
Derek
RE: Tungsten Alloy Nozzle?
Just to add a second opinion on the Spool 3D nozzles. I have been running a 0.6mm Spool 3D Tungsten carbide nozzle on one of my otherwise stock Prusa Mk3S for a couple of weeks. I've been printed carbon fibre Nylon, Polycarbonate, PETG, and PLA with no issues - no temperature or other adjustments. I have yet to try the 0.8 mm.
I have to admit to getting a bit tired of changing nozzles and accordingly I intend to leave this nozzle fitted to the machine and use it for every type of filament. The other machine is currently fitted with a 0.4mm Nozzle X which I am also happy with. The Spool 3D nozzles aren't cheap, but I value my time and if it cuts down on the number of nozzle changes it's worth it for me.
I might have to get another Mk3S for the 0.8 nozzle 😉
Cheers
Rick
RE: Tungsten Alloy Nozzle?
Making want to opt for the single piece carbide one now.
Is there a superior hot end that I should be looking at instead of the stock MK3 one? Not sure if it's worth the extra work. Printing PC mainly, hopefully with a .6mm nozzle here soon