Nozzle size - advantages / disadvantages of different sizes

I want to buy some spare nozzles for my printer, and see that there are multiple sizes available. Mine came with a 0,5mm nozzle (one of the biggest), so I’l obviously get one or two of those, but I’m curious as to any advantages offered by the smaller sizes, if any. I can imagine that the prints would take longer, but I’m interested to know why you would choose them, so any info gratefully received.

Cheers

Les

The nozzle size of 0.5mm is fairly common as is 0.4mm. Smaller nozzles give you the opportunity to use smaller layer heights and finer detail at the expense of longer print times. The smaller nozzles are more sensitive to tuning changes and can clog more easily with cheap quality filament.

I printed some miniature models for my son that would not print with a 0.5mm nozzle. I bought a 0.2mm nozzle and a 0.35mm nozzle (which was half way between 0.5 and 0.2) and was able to print the models he wanted (six of them in different colors, 20+ hours each). I have since used the 0.35mm nozzle more than the 0.2mm nozzle. I routinely do .25 layer height with the .5 nozzle, .14-.18 with the .35 nozzle, and .1 with the .2 nozzle.

Changing nozzles can be a delicate process prone to error if you aren’t careful. I bought separate tool heads so I only had to do the swap once.

If you want to print some of the exotic filaments, you may want nozzles made from something other than brass. For the TAZ 6 and Mini that have auto bed leveling, you cannot use the ruby tipped nozzles as ruby doesn’t conduct electricity which is needed for the leveling process.

If you use a smaller nozzle you can get a lot of plugging due to the size of fillers particles for metallic/wood filled/carbon fiber filaments. So try not to use smaller sizes for these types of filaments. :frowning:

Thanks for the info guys.

The stuff I print doesn’t need high levels of accuracy as they tend to be larger parts, however smaller parts may benefit if I start making any. For now, I’ll stick with 0,5mm!

Cheers

Les