Hi all,
I just purchased a taz5 and am experimenting with materials and ways to reduce print times as part of a project on 3d printing prosthetic legs. Two questions : first, has anyone tried larger alternatives to the stock .35 nozzle on the hexagon hot end? If so, is there a source? Second, has anyone installed the e3d volcano on the taz5? I’d really like to see if I can speed up our printing process using larger layers.
Thanks,
Matt
Hey Matt, I ordered a smaller nozzle from makerfarm. The only larger size I remember seeing was a .4mm. But I wasn’t looking for larger I was looking for a direct replacement. One thing I will say if you do order from them, do not pay for the two day shipping. I payed an extra $8 for 2 day shipping and got my package about a week later. They ship through usps. I was very happy with the nozzle that I did get from them. It fit my Taz perfectly and is actually printing out parts for a project as I type this.
+1 on makéfarm. They have a .5mm hexagon nozzle also.
Great - thanks both - I see that both Makefarm and reprapdiscount have a .5 nozzle for their Hexagon. I know that the Lulzbot version is somewhat different but glad to know that the nozzles fit. Now, I just need to find out more about the volcano - I think I’ll order and give it a try as well.
Look for the thread on converting to E3D-V6. Should be able to utilize the Volcano hotends once converted.
I looked but I thought the only thread I found referred to the Taz4 hotend prehexagon? I will look again.
Could be… Its a long thread, and somewhere in the last three pages, I think folks moved from the hexagon to E3D-V6 using the latest firmware (used for hex hotend). I think all you need to do is print a j-plate… The hexagon aluminum plate is slightly too thin for the E3D from my limited experimentation.
In any case, I put the .5mm nozzle on the hexagon this evening beacuse my stock nozzle was clogged. Prints were considerably faster. My original layer height with the stock .35 was .2 with a extrusion width of .4. With the .5 nozzle (from makerfarm) at layer height of .25 and width of .5. The original print time was 3hrs cut down to 2hrs. The detail wasn’t bad… But for fine detailed projects, I’d probably go back tot he .35 nozzle.
At $10, I’d give the .5mm nozzle a try before switching to the volcano.
that’s great - thanks very much. I’ve ordered the .5 and will give it a try. I’m also going to get another extruder and will set it up with the volcano just for testing - speed and strength is very important for this project.
I thought the volcano would only work with the E3D V6 hot end.
I have a TAZ 4, I’m thinking of upgrading the hot end to the hexagon hot end, purchasing the whole unit from Lulzbot, not cheep. then upgrade that to the E3D V6 hot end.
Will this work and how complicated is it
I’m new to this forum, it there a thead on what I’m thinking about doing???
Yes, I believe the volcano nozzles wil only work with the E3D-V6.
Upgrading to either the hexagon or E3D-V6 would be a nice update to your printer. I believe all you would need to do is update the firmware so that it reads the thermister values correctly. The hotends are different heights, so standardizing on one will help with toolhead swaps in the future. I’m in a similar process, and leaning towards the E3D line-up…
You can also print all the parts for the toolhead and purchase a Wade’s hardware kit… could be a little less expensive than buying a brand new toolhead. Actually, I’d probably start with the hexagon toolhead from lulzbot in case you require their support down the road. Then build your own and experiment with the other hotends out there.
Kcchen
I would be interested in how the progress goes with converting to the E3D V6 hot end. I am really new to the lulzbot, I currently have a robo r1 and it is using the E3D v6 hot end. Does anyone know when the hexagon hot end upgrade will be available for purchase it is currently out o stock.
I’m pretty happy with the LB hexagon at the moment… But I do have a E3D-V6 and reprapdiscount hexagon as a backup… Or to print materials other than ABS. I need to figure out how to maintain the height of the nozzle, and figure out an elegant way to use a 20x20 box fan in place of the blower.
LB came up with a nice elegant design, but the lack of availability has me a little concerned. I believe its just a minor set back for LB… With CNY & Spring break behind us, hopefully production gets back on track and supplies replenished. Bit going with a more widely used hotend, seems to make sense for spares/replacements and advice.