BCN3D Hotend X by E3D (0.6mm)

The standard hotends use brass nozzles, these were designed to be used with soft filaments like PLA, ABS, PP, etc. But nowadays the 3d printing industry request other materials with new properties, that’s why the fibre materials have come to stay.

The downside? These materials are much more abrasive, they literally act like metal files when are extruded thought the nozzle. As you will see, it is not necessary to print many meters of these filaments to start causing irreparable damage to your brass hotends.

These pictures were taken after printing just 250gr of carbon fibre filled filament, using a brand new brass 0.4mm nozzle. You can compare the wear of the hotend X after printing 2.5 kg of various carbon filled materials, and glass filled materials too “right side hotend”. Ten times the amount of material (250g) that the brass nozzle on the left has printed.

The pictures are self-explanatory, the tip of the brass nozzle has worn down making the nozzle shorter in overall length, causing, for sure, calibration issues. The tip of the nozzle has also been rounded over into a dome shape due to abrasion.

Want to learn more about the engineering behind the Hotend X? Find it out in this article on our Knowledge base.