# Silicone Boot for Hexagon hot end?

**URL:** <https://forum.lulzbot.com/t/silicone-boot-for-hexagon-hot-end/5041>\
**Category:** LulzBot Mini\
**Created:** [July 10, 2017, 6:16pm UTC](https://forum.lulzbot.com/t/silicone-boot-for-hexagon-hot-end/5041 "2017-07-10T18:16:14Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![erasmus42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e57/32.png) [@erasmus42](https://forum.lulzbot.com/u/erasmus42)\
**Post date:** [July 10, 2017, 6:16pm UTC](https://forum.lulzbot.com/t/silicone-boot-for-hexagon-hot-end/5041/1 "2017-07-10T18:16:14Z")

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I found that E3D makes silicone boots standard with their hot ends:  
[http://e3d-online.com/Socks-Launch](http://e3d-online.com/Socks-Launch)  
Apparently they can make for better prints by insulating the print from the hot end, as well as prevent plastic build up on the nozzle.

I found this one from Makerfarm:  
[http://www.makerfarm.com/index.php/hot-ends/hot-end-parts/hexagon-heater-block-insulating-boot.html](http://www.makerfarm.com/index.php/hot-ends/hot-end-parts/hexagon-heater-block-insulating-boot.html)  
Is it compatible with the LulzBot Mini? Are there any other options?

Thanks!

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**Author:** ![kcchen\_00](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9dc877/32.png) [@kcchen\_00](https://forum.lulzbot.com/u/kcchen_00)\
**Post date:** [July 10, 2017, 7:16pm UTC](https://forum.lulzbot.com/t/silicone-boot-for-hexagon-hot-end/5041/2 "2017-07-10T19:16:09Z")

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I seem to recall there was a source for a silicone boot for the AO hexagon heater blocks… Not sure if the one you listed would work since it may be fore the regular Hexagon hot ends which have a thicker heater block.

Do a search… I think there was a discussion about this.

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**Author:** ![piercet](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/forum.lulzbot.com/piercet/32/12_2.png) [@piercet](https://forum.lulzbot.com/u/piercet)\
**Post date:** [July 11, 2017, 5:25am UTC](https://forum.lulzbot.com/t/silicone-boot-for-hexagon-hot-end/5041/3 "2017-07-11T05:25:51Z")

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A trip to [devel.lulzbot.com](http://devel.lulzbot.com) in the research section may be enlightening…

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![erasmus42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e57/32.png) [@erasmus42](https://forum.lulzbot.com/u/erasmus42)\
**Post date:** [July 12, 2017, 4:36am UTC](https://forum.lulzbot.com/t/silicone-boot-for-hexagon-hot-end/5041/4 "2017-07-12T04:36:14Z")

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Hi kcchen\_00 and piercet,

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction.

I found kcchen\_00’s request for a boot from October 2016:  
[https://forum.lulzbot.com/t/adjustable-heat-bed-glass-mount/38/1](https://forum.lulzbot.com/t/adjustable-heat-bed-glass-mount/38/1)

Also found piercet’s suggestion from August 2016:  
[https://forum.lulzbot.com/t/adjustable-heat-bed-glass-mount/38/1](https://forum.lulzbot.com/t/adjustable-heat-bed-glass-mount/38/1)  
martinbogo talked about making a silicone boot mold, but he doesn’t have any follow on posts about the boots.

I found this comment from March 2016 by discojon saying “The makerfarm boot does not fit the Lulzbot hexagon heater block.”  
[https://forum.lulzbot.com/t/makerfarm-hexagon-hot-end-insulating-boot/2564/1](https://forum.lulzbot.com/t/makerfarm-hexagon-hot-end-insulating-boot/2564/1)

Following piercet’s suggestion to look into the devel research section, I found that a silicone boot is on the wish list for the Lulzbot V3 Hexagon (dolores Rev 3):  
[http://devel.lulzbot.com/research\_projects/dolores/](http://devel.lulzbot.com/research_projects/dolores/)  
last updated in January 2017.

I also found the socks in:  
[http://devel.lulzbot.com/research\_projects/socks/](http://devel.lulzbot.com/research_projects/socks/)  
At least the .stls look about right, there is no written documentation and I don’t yet have the expertise to play with the other CAD files.

There are no other recent forum references to ‘socks’ or ‘boots’ except someone asking about an e3d mod.

From this I conclude that there may be a LulzBot silicone boot in the works, but there currently is no commercial source and I’d need to make it myself. I’m not that ambitious, so I’ll have to be patient instead.

Thanks!  
-erasmus42