My company ordered a 0.4mm ObXidian nozzle for our Prusa Mk4 printer. We ordered it because someone wanted to print something with abrasive carbon-fiber-reinforced filament.
It’s mounted now and It’s the same diameter as the stock nozzle we’ve been using so far. Since I had to run a print and the bgcode file was made for 0.4mm, I just ran the print with plain old PLA.
And… wow! The difference in quality is staggering. Particularly on vertical walls: they’re so smooth and shiny, it’s incredible. And the top surfaces are so much nicer and smoother than with the regular nozzle. I printed that particular print several times before and while it wasn’t bad, it’s never been that good.
I didn’t realize the nozzle impacted the quality of the print that much.
The taco bell blowout of brass nozzles happens even with PLA. Change nozzles frequently or go with hardened high end nozzles.
Could you do a side-by-side image of the prints from the old nozzle and the ObXidian? Just interested in seeing the difference
I have prints of (almost) the same part here, printed with the regular nozzle at the same speed and layer height. Unfortunately, they were printed with Galaxy Black PLA, and that makes it really hard to see the finish. But here’s the best I could take:
Also, the feel is quite different, but that’s difficult to convey in a picture.
I’ll make proper test-prints later this week. Right now I’m out of the office for Christmas.
I have yet to use anything other than the stock nozzles as I haven’t ran into any printing issues yet that would justify it, but I’ve heard many people say a high quality nozzle makes a world of difference. Even if they’re the same size, I wonder what about the better nozzle improves quality? More uniform heat or something?
It definitely can have a big impact, especially if the old nozzle wasn’t quite flat or smooth at the tip. Or if it was just worn out from lots of use.
Mine somehow gets worse every time I change the nozzle lol
