# Converting a TAZ 5 single extruder for mini **URL:** \ **Category:** LulzBot Mini\ **Created:** [January 24, 2019, 4:07pm UTC](https://forum.lulzbot.com/t/converting-a-taz-5-single-extruder-for-mini/6457 "2019-01-24T16:07:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![spei](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/71c47a/32.png) [@spei](https://forum.lulzbot.com/u/spei)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2019, 4:07pm UTC](https://forum.lulzbot.com/t/converting-a-taz-5-single-extruder-for-mini/6457/1 "2019-01-24T16:07:36Z")
Has anyone tried to converting a TAZ 5 single extruder 0.5 mm to a single extruder for LulzBot Mini? Thanks for the help! ---
**Author:** ![johnson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@johnson](https://forum.lulzbot.com/u/johnson)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2019, 10:45pm UTC](https://forum.lulzbot.com/t/converting-a-taz-5-single-extruder-for-mini/6457/2 "2019-06-08T22:45:08Z")
I really wouldn’t recommend using a TAZ 5 tool head on a Mini. The reason is that the tool head is a different dimension and the firmware won’t differentiate the difference. Your printer will think that you have a Mini tool head and this can cause some potential physical damage to your printer. That being said, if you have a V2C extruder with a V2 0.5 mm hexagon hot end, you can switch that out with the Mini 1’s hot end assembly. There are some helpful instructions that you can use for a guide here: [https://ohai.lulzbot.com/project/replacing-lulzbot-mini-hexagon-hot-end/maintenance-repairs/](https://ohai.lulzbot.com/project/replacing-lulzbot-mini-hexagon-hot-end/maintenance-repairs/) ---
**Author:** ![bbc0](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e8c25b/32.png) [@bbc0](https://forum.lulzbot.com/u/bbc0)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2019, 4:28pm UTC](https://forum.lulzbot.com/t/converting-a-taz-5-single-extruder-for-mini/6457/3 "2019-06-13T16:28:47Z")
I purchased my mini used and it came with a separate Taz printhead. Not sure why. The components seem to be the same as the mini printhead just mounted on a different backplate. Is this really not the case? Maybe there are hidden differences. ---
**Author:** ![mwester](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/forum.lulzbot.com/mwester/32/135_2.png) [@mwester](https://forum.lulzbot.com/u/mwester)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2019, 1:40am UTC](https://forum.lulzbot.com/t/converting-a-taz-5-single-extruder-for-mini/6457/4 "2019-06-14T01:40:02Z")
The old taz-5 print-head was based on a buddaschnozzle hot-end; the newer taz print-heads and the mini heads are all based on the hexagon hot-end. The differences between the taz version with the hexagon hot-end and the mini version are minor - the biggest mechanical differences are the mounting plates, and the connector – and the taz unit has a pair of cooling fans. Note that there are two different versions of the hexagon hot-end for both the taz and the mini. The older has a tiny little heat-sink cooling fan, the newer has a larger fan. The difference is actually a bit more involved between the two; other parts fit a bit differently as well. I’ll not go into the details here, but I’ve converted several print heads over the past few years – one of them twice (turned a damaged mini print head I picked up for a song on eBay into a flexystruder for my mini, then when I got a Taz 6, I converted it into a flexystruder for the Taz. I’ve also built a couple of extruders from spare parts – much cheaper than buying them. So the point is that if you have the hexagon hot-end, you can easily construct either a Taz or a Mini print head. ---
**Author:** ![bbc0](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e8c25b/32.png) [@bbc0](https://forum.lulzbot.com/u/bbc0)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2019, 4:34pm UTC](https://forum.lulzbot.com/t/converting-a-taz-5-single-extruder-for-mini/6457/5 "2019-06-14T16:34:14Z")
What is a ‘flexistruder’ and how does it differ from a normal extruded? ---
**Author:** ![mwester](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/forum.lulzbot.com/mwester/32/135_2.png) [@mwester](https://forum.lulzbot.com/u/mwester)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2019, 10:00pm UTC](https://forum.lulzbot.com/t/converting-a-taz-5-single-extruder-for-mini/6457/6 "2019-06-14T22:00:14Z")
It’s a variation of the standard extruder that is capable of handling flexible filaments. Alas, while it does a great job with flexible filaments, it can’t do traditional filaments – so you needed both prior to the introduction of the aerostruder (which effectively obsoleted both of the older hexagon-hot-end extruders).