Hexagon Hot End?

Wow I didn't realize how small this was, would certainly gain some z and x travel for duals.

Does it not require active cooling? Seems like it would.

 

Yes, I have a 40mm fan on it as per the picture higher up in the post, Mike. It is appreciably smaller than the e3d and is still working great this morning. I've switched filaments several times and only once have I needed to undo the tension screws. I like this hot end.

 

Sadly, the Hexagon has gone the way of my other all metal hot end. 2 more clog n'clean sessions and too much failed nylon. Great looking prints until the filament feeds no more. I am going to bore larger. If there is no appreciable thermal creep, a slightly bigger bore may solve the problem. Nothing to lose at this point. I do think the nylon is a slightly larger diameter than my other filaments but still, it passes through freely, then it doesn't after a few hours.
I think this guy may be on to something: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/prometheus-hot-end

 

Hmmm. Just measured everything, The nylon is oval from 1.86 - 1.96. The bore is 1.97, cold. I sense a problem.
My PLA is 1.73. Feeds fine.
Moisture does not seem to be a factor as the nylon prints without steam and was opened new yesterday. Room humidity around 45% or less.

 

Bored and burnished a bit, printing with XT. Could this be yet another long print block of plastic? Tune in tomorrow for yet another report after an all-nighter (for the ROBO, anyway)...

 

All is well with XT and the Hexagon. 8 hours @ .45 layer height and very nice result. Finally. I will be having a discussion with Taulmann which is a real shame because Bridge is really great, strong stuff. But if I can't finish a print due to filament diameter....
So, the Hex is back in favor.It wasn't the hotend's fault. Great price. Yay.

 

Hey 1d1. I am glad you noticed my new hot end!

I have a lot of experience with all metal hot ends and printing Nylon and I can tell you that the problem you are experiencing will not be solved by a larger bore. In fact, enlarging the bore will actually increase "backpressure" in the hot end resulting in a higher extrusion force required, making the hot end even more prone to jamming.

The problem you are experiencing is the direct result of the friction in the hot end passing a critical point causing the hot end to jam. The biggest problem with all-metal hot ends has always been friction. J-Heads avoid this problem by using a PTFE liner which has a very low friction coefficient. The problem with moving to an all-metal design is that the machined interior of the SS heat break is relatively rough and significantly increases friction with the soft rubbery plug that forms in the "transition-zone". This is why is starts off printing well and then fails at some point when the friction is too much. The only reliable way to fix this issue is to polish the interior of the SS Heat Break to lower the friction with the "transition-zone" plug. Many all-metal hot ends do not have proper polishing and therefore have a very small margin of reliability.

If you take a look at my Prometheus Hot End, I replaced the nozzle and heat break combo with a single 1-piece SS Nozzle that eliminates ALL leaks. I was also very careful about polishing the internal bore of the 1-piece nozzle (to a near mirror finish!) to eliminate excess friction in the hot end. The results speak for themselves as I never experienced a jam in my testing. If you look on my campaign page you can see a video of my hot end prototype printing Nylon flawlessly. I also have links to my YouTube Stream and Flickr account on my campaign page where you can see a bunch of videos and pictures of the exhaustive testing I did.

I hope this isn't too much marketing for you guys I tried to be helpful and I think you guys would be happy with my hot end. Of course, I would really appreciate it if you guys could support my Indiegogo campaign and order a Prometheus Hot End kit!

Thanks and just ask if you have any questions about anything hot end related.

Happy printing!

Eric

 

Thanks for tuning in, Eric. I'm still only up to 1.97 in the bore... or maybe 1.975 as I polished a bit. That still won't eliminate the joints though. I like the looks of your system.
Actually, when I measured the nylon filament it was within .1 of the bore when cold. That couldn't help either!

 

The bore of the Hexagon is very smooth, polishing may causes scratches, i would not recommend it. While reading your previous posts, i've got some other idea, if you could keep some of the oval filament would be great. Please let me know and i will prepare you a special Hexagon which should solve the issue. I am not sure but if we don't try we will never know, but i will need around 10-14 days to modify the hexagon for this test. Let me know by PM if you are interested and have time.

 

Hi "reprapdiscount" I`m using a E3D-V5 hot end that works fine when printing PLA, but if I try to print using Taulman Bridge it gets clogged 30-40minutes into the print. I have Taulman618, T-Glase and Bridge + PLA
I did consider testing if your hexagon hot end is better printing Taulman filaments (Nylon), but is it better to wait? Do you plan a new hexagon that handles nylon in a better way?

 

A member of this forum reported that he had a faulty taulman filament, it was oval instead of round, is your filament okay? I see else no reason why it should not work with E3D, but anyway, you are welcome to test the hexagon, please PM me your address and the filamet size you are using and i will send you one for test.

 

I have a spool of nylon that I am dying to get into. I am still on the stock hot end and have been waiting to have the extra cash to upgrade. I am now debating on The hex or E3d. It was always the e3d but this may change things.
Reprapdiscount, I know the hexagon is smaller, can you give me an exact measurement? I have a fan shroud on my machine that hangs low, practically flush with the stock nozzle, that's why the e3d was appealing as it would raise my machine a bit. I am thinking the Hexagon would lower it.
Easy fix I know as I can just print new mounts and a fan duct but I am just curious if it will work with the existing setup I have.

 

Great offer - have sent PM

 

Just a report on the Hex: Working great with nylon, XT and PLA/PHA. Since getting the filament problem discovered and solved, I have had zero problems with the Hexagon.
Elvira will be sending me a beta Hex for out-of-spec filaments and I will report back on this when it happens.
Taulman replaced the bad filaments no questions. New stuff working perfectly (Bridge/t-glase).
Today it is all good.
Cheers,
Dean

 

Glad to hear this, but how long time did you print? Can you try a longer print, like 18-20 hours? Sadly i have no Taulman here and what i am getting on the local market, i am not sure it is real Taulman.

 

Holy cow. I just had to post this as I was shocked to see it. I have a hexagon on its way that was sent last night my time.
Now I have ordered things from all over the world pretty much since I met the internet decades ago with an AOL CD and 28.8k dialup. (remember those days? lol)

I have never recieved anything this fast. From Hong Kong to my door in Michigan USA, in literally HOURS! not days, HOURS!!!

Reprapdiscount, this is the fasted international shipping I have ever seen, maybe I just don't get out much but holy cow.

This just bends physics and the space time continuum lol. I couldn't make it there that fast with a plane ticket and 5 layovers haha. The thing is going to be smoking when it gets here.

AAAND, as I type there's the FEDEX guy...

 

Holy shit that's halfway around the world in 15 hours. That's insanity.

Your package averaged 520MPH to get to your house

 

Geebus!