1 Topic by SvdSinner

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Topic: Replacement nozzle piece?

My Davinci 1.0 hot end was performing badly, and I pulled it out to clean it.  While cleaning it, I dexterously (ok, not) broke off my .4mm drill bit inside the nozzle.  Since the broken drill bit is harder than the nozzle metal, my last ditch effort to re-drill it did little but mangle the edge of the hole and broke more drill bits.

Is there any place that I can buy a new nozzle piece without replacing the entire extruder?  (I'd rather do this cheap and save my $$ for my next printer.  I've got the sickness.)  If not, is it safe to assume my local metal fab shop could fab one for under the price of a new extruder? 

Alternately, if my only option is to replace the entire hotend, are their recommendations as to what to replace it with?  I've already voided my warranty a hundred times over, so I don't mind hacking in a better hot-end if it will improve print quality.  Specifically, I'd like an extruder that could handle a wider range of filament types than the DaVinci OEM nozzle.

2 Reply by evanalmighty

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Re: Replacement nozzle piece?

E3D v6 Lite is a great alternative.  A new extruder from Da Vinci will cost you $100.  I had 3 spares brass nozzle pieces, but I just sold them all.

3 Reply by carl_m1968 (edited by carl_m1968 2015-09-18 00:43:08)

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Re: Replacement nozzle piece?

SvdSinner wrote:

My Davinci 1.0 hot end was performing badly, and I pulled it out to clean it.  While cleaning it, I dexterously (ok, not) broke off my .4mm drill bit inside the nozzle.  Since the broken drill bit is harder than the nozzle metal, my last ditch effort to re-drill it did little but mangle the edge of the hole and broke more drill bits.

Is there any place that I can buy a new nozzle piece without replacing the entire extruder?  (I'd rather do this cheap and save my $$ for my next printer.  I've got the sickness.)  If not, is it safe to assume my local metal fab shop could fab one for under the price of a new extruder? 

Alternately, if my only option is to replace the entire hotend, are their recommendations as to what to replace it with?  I've already voided my warranty a hundred times over, so I don't mind hacking in a better hot-end if it will improve print quality.  Specifically, I'd like an extruder that could handle a wider range of filament types than the DaVinci OEM nozzle.


A new extruder form XYZ is $99. I doubt you can get a machine shop to make a new one for under that.

Unless you have another printer your only option is to buy a new one as all the alternatives will require printed parts to replace or modify existing parts.

Printing since 2009 and still love it!
Anycubic 4MAX best $225 ever invested.
Voxelabs Proxima SLA. 6 inch 2k Mono LCD.
Anycubic Predator, massive Delta machine. 450 x 370 print envelope.

4 Reply by kev0175

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Re: Replacement nozzle piece?

I bought a hot end off of eBay (throat, block, nozzle, and thermistor) for around $13. The only bad part is the throat is 6mm and the bottom of the carriage is if I'm not mistaken 10mm so you would have to find some kind of way to brace it. I had some fuel line from my rc car and I put that over the throat. It worked for a little while.

Da Vinci  AiO with firmware 1.1.1 using xyzscan 1.1.18
E3Dv6 hotend with custom carriage with Borosilicate glass bed
123D Design and Simplify3D, Replaced PS with a Solidgear Flex320
Zerokart resetter,  Installed a Extruder Controller for higher temps

5 Reply by carl_m1968

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Re: Replacement nozzle piece?

kev0175 wrote:

I bought a hot end off of eBay (throat, block, nozzle, and thermistor) for around $13. The only bad part is the throat is 6mm and the bottom of the carriage is if I'm not mistaken 10mm so you would have to find some kind of way to brace it. I had some fuel line from my rc car and I put that over the throat. It worked for a little while.


At 13 bucks on Ebay you will get what you pay for. If you are going to replace the hotend setup then it is best to go with an E3D or a B3 Pico if you really want to go all out. All of these require modding or replacing the existing mounts and if the printer with the issue is your only one then you are limited to your options.

Printing since 2009 and still love it!
Anycubic 4MAX best $225 ever invested.
Voxelabs Proxima SLA. 6 inch 2k Mono LCD.
Anycubic Predator, massive Delta machine. 450 x 370 print envelope.

6 Reply by mark.burton

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Re: Replacement nozzle piece?

If you do decided to go with a different extruder and cant print parts if you decide on what ones you want sand post links to them you might get some one to print them for you.

7 Reply by kev0175

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Re: Replacement nozzle piece?

carl_m1968 wrote:
kev0175 wrote:

I bought a hot end off of eBay (throat, block, nozzle, and thermistor) for around $13. The only bad part is the throat is 6mm and the bottom of the carriage is if I'm not mistaken 10mm so you would have to find some kind of way to brace it. I had some fuel line from my rc car and I put that over the throat. It worked for a little while.


At 13 bucks on Ebay you will get what you pay for. If you are going to replace the hotend setup then it is best to go with an E3D or a B3 Pico if you really want to go all out. All of these require modding or replacing the existing mounts and if the printer with the issue is your only one then you are limited to your options.

Well he said he wanted to go the cheap route so that's the cheapest I could think of.

Da Vinci  AiO with firmware 1.1.1 using xyzscan 1.1.18
E3Dv6 hotend with custom carriage with Borosilicate glass bed
123D Design and Simplify3D, Replaced PS with a Solidgear Flex320
Zerokart resetter,  Installed a Extruder Controller for higher temps

8 Reply by SvdSinner (edited by SvdSinner 2015-09-18 18:10:27)

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Re: Replacement nozzle piece?

kev0175 wrote:
carl_m1968 wrote:
kev0175 wrote:

I bought a hot end off of eBay (throat, block, nozzle, and thermistor) for around $13. The only bad part is the throat is 6mm and the bottom of the carriage is if I'm not mistaken 10mm so you would have to find some kind of way to brace it. I had some fuel line from my rc car and I put that over the throat. It worked for a little while.


At 13 bucks on Ebay you will get what you pay for. If you are going to replace the hotend setup then it is best to go with an E3D or a B3 Pico if you really want to go all out. All of these require modding or replacing the existing mounts and if the printer with the issue is your only one then you are limited to your options.

Well he said he wanted to go the cheap route so that's the cheapest I could think of.

Both of these are options.  (Ebay-generic or nice E3D)  I've got a small lathe, so making a reducer bushing would be trivial.

My main goal in spending is that I want to print more materials, with nylon sort of my "holy grail".  If the E3D could give my Davinci those capabilities with reasonable quality, I'll happily go there.  OTOH, if the rest of the printer has no chance of printing things like nylon, I'd rather start saving for  one that can.  Plus I love the idea of being able to swap different nozzle sizes in and out.

Should running an E3D in a Davinci give decent results?  (I've seen people have done it, but most write ups were very verbose, and I haven't been able to read through them yet.) 

Ideally, I should keep away from anything that would require more than 8-10 hours of fiddling to install.  (If I need 3d printed parts, I should be able to bum some from friends at the local makerspace. smile )

9 Reply by kev0175

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Re: Replacement nozzle piece?

The E3D will give you everything you are looking for

Da Vinci  AiO with firmware 1.1.1 using xyzscan 1.1.18
E3Dv6 hotend with custom carriage with Borosilicate glass bed
123D Design and Simplify3D, Replaced PS with a Solidgear Flex320
Zerokart resetter,  Installed a Extruder Controller for higher temps

10 Reply by mark.burton

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Re: Replacement nozzle piece?

I like the e3d and you can do it on a day. there are sever different carriage designs or one that uses the original carriage.
I used the original carriage at first but I then switched over to a  printed carriage since the adjustments on the original I had to keep fiddling with it to keep it working and printing flexible materials was something you had to really keep a eye on. 

With the extruder that I'm using now I don't have to do that as it guides the filament right from the gear all they way to the hot end.

11 Reply by TheNeck

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Re: Replacement nozzle piece?

mark.burton wrote:

I like the e3d and you can do it on a day. there are sever different carriage designs or one that uses the original carriage.
I used the original carriage at first but I then switched over to a  printed carriage since the adjustments on the original I had to keep fiddling with it to keep it working and printing flexible materials was something you had to really keep a eye on. 

With the extruder that I'm using now I don't have to do that as it guides the filament right from the gear all they way to the hot end.

which printed carriage design did you go with? im looking at upgrading to the e3d as well. thanks

12 Reply by scobo

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Re: Replacement nozzle piece?

Before going to the expense/trouble of switching out the extruder, you might want to have a go at modding the stock extruder with some extra heatsinks and repositioning the fan.
I added a couple of small heatsinks next to the feedtube and moved the fan down so it blows right over the feedtube and the nut which secures the hotend.
It's a ridiculously easy mod and I'm getting great results printing with all the types of filament in my signature.
I haven't tried nylon but there's a good chance it'll work with that too.

Davinci 1.0 with repetier firmware & E3D V6 Lite
Anycubic Photon DLP printer, Einscan-S 3D scanner
Simplify3d, 123D Design, Meshmixer
http://www.thingiverse.com/scobo/designs

13 Reply by carl_m1968

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Re: Replacement nozzle piece?

scobo wrote:

Before going to the expense/trouble of switching out the extruder, you might want to have a go at modding the stock extruder with some extra heatsinks and repositioning the fan.
I added a couple of small heatsinks next to the feedtube and moved the fan down so it blows right over the feedtube and the nut which secures the hotend.
It's a ridiculously easy mod and I'm getting great results printing with all the types of filament in my signature.
I haven't tried nylon but there's a good chance it'll work with that too.


His stock extruder is toast. he mangled the tip which is all part of the heat block as you know due to a broken off drill bit. That's why he is looking to replace.

Printing since 2009 and still love it!
Anycubic 4MAX best $225 ever invested.
Voxelabs Proxima SLA. 6 inch 2k Mono LCD.
Anycubic Predator, massive Delta machine. 450 x 370 print envelope.

14 Reply by scobo

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Re: Replacement nozzle piece?

Ah, maybe not then. hmm

Davinci 1.0 with repetier firmware & E3D V6 Lite
Anycubic Photon DLP printer, Einscan-S 3D scanner
Simplify3d, 123D Design, Meshmixer
http://www.thingiverse.com/scobo/designs

15 Reply by SvdSinner

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Re: Replacement nozzle piece?

TheNeck wrote:
mark.burton wrote:

. . .  but I then switched over to a  printed carriage . . .

which printed carriage design did you go with? im looking at upgrading to the e3d as well. thanks

I'm interested as well.  Do tell.

Also, I'm a bit confused with the PTFE liners in the E3D V6.  Some places say that all 1.75mm hotends have the PTFE lining and are therefore limited to 260C or so.  Others make it sound like a partial liner is fine and you can still hit 300C safely.  I'm finding all sorts of conflicting information.

My filament supply is all 1.75mm ABS right now
1) Is a PTFE liner desirable for standard ABS printing?  (If so, highly or marginally?)
2) Can the PTFE liners be removed/reinserted when I want to switch from ABS to Nylon?  (Only relevant if the PTFE liner is highly desirable for ABS and "worth the trouble" of switching)
3) Are any Davinci parts (heater, fan, thermistor, etc.) reusable in an E3D, or do I need to replace them all?
4) Any suggestions for navigating the maze of E3D hotend suppliers?  I want a low price, but not a low-quality knock off.  What do I look for?  (I see most cheapo units have their thermistors insulated with PTFE tubing which would melt long before 300C)

16 Reply by kev0175

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Re: Replacement nozzle piece?

I want to add if you are looking to do a printed carriage for the E3D the one one thingiverse I have modified so you won't loose that 20mm of build space.

Da Vinci  AiO with firmware 1.1.1 using xyzscan 1.1.18
E3Dv6 hotend with custom carriage with Borosilicate glass bed
123D Design and Simplify3D, Replaced PS with a Solidgear Flex320
Zerokart resetter,  Installed a Extruder Controller for higher temps

17 Reply by mark.burton (edited by mark.burton 2015-09-20 05:44:26)

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Re: Replacement nozzle piece?

they do have a ptfe liner inside the cold end side of the ptfe heat break of the e3d. however since that is on the cold side and that side doesn't get that hot. The hot end of the heat break is all metal there is no ptfe in that portion.  I have taken mine to 300 without any issue.

I used a few different printed carriages but I am currently using a modified version of this
http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:709228
I basically threw away the top of the carriage widened the hole to fit the  e3d + fan so it can sit at the same height. I am holding the e3d with this  http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:879368

The height is determined by the platform I use to hold the stepper motor.  the stepper motor platform was epoxied to the carriage.

it works pretty good.

18 Reply by mark.burton

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Re: Replacement nozzle piece?

oh while id post the mods I made to them they need a bit more tweaking before I would feel comfortable about sharing them.

what carriage are you using kev?

19 Reply by kev0175

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Re: Replacement nozzle piece?

I'm using www.thingiverse.com/thing:473038 I have modified it so it sits higher and will not loose the 20mm on the z axis

Da Vinci  AiO with firmware 1.1.1 using xyzscan 1.1.18
E3Dv6 hotend with custom carriage with Borosilicate glass bed
123D Design and Simplify3D, Replaced PS with a Solidgear Flex320
Zerokart resetter,  Installed a Extruder Controller for higher temps

20 Reply by barry1685

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Re: Replacement nozzle piece?

I have a extra nozzle if you want to buy it. It needs a thermistor and heat cartridge installed.

21 Reply by SvdSinner

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Re: Replacement nozzle piece?

barry1685 wrote:

I have a extra nozzle if you want to buy it. It needs a thermistor and heat cartridge installed.

Certainly would have done so earlier, but I've already got the new E3D V6 in shipment.  I'm really looking forward to discovering how much this mod is going to impact print quality.