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Measure Nozzle Diameter?

Discussion in 'Off Topic' started by Kirk, Mar 2, 2015.

  1. Kirk

    Kirk Member

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    So i recently decided to check my nozzle diameter to see if this could help with quality but am not totally positive on how to check accurately.

    I have the stock hotend (Pre Hexagon) and what i did was just extrude some filament let it cool and measured the thinness but i was very suprised with what i came up with with.it is sopose to be a .4 nozzle and i consistently measure between .7-.75 (not even Close)?

    I have cleaned the nozzle before but only with guitar string and a brass brush. nothing that should affect it.

    Any ideas??

    Thanks
     
    #1 Kirk, Mar 2, 2015
  2. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    It is possible that the nozzle has worn open somewhat.
    I had a 0.4 that was extruding 0.55
    Most of my others were much closer and the new volcano hotend nozzles are pretty much correct as well.
     
    #2 mark tomlinson, Mar 2, 2015
  3. Kirk

    Kirk Member

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    would it be possible to be off by that much? (.4-.7) and if so, if i adjusted the nozzle diameter in sd3 would it help with the print quality? my other thought was the fact that i did the print with some pretty cheep filament..would that affect it at all?
     
    #3 Kirk, Mar 2, 2015
  4. Mike Kelly

    Mike Kelly Volunteer

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    Material will expand after extruding so it's not fair to say filament coming out at say .5mm means the nozzle diameter is .5mm
     
    #4 Mike Kelly, Mar 2, 2015
  5. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    True, you can measure the diameter pretty closely though with a micrometer.
     
    #5 mark tomlinson, Mar 2, 2015
  6. Kirk

    Kirk Member

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    unfortunately all i have is a digital caliper. i can attempt to measure the nozzle tip (opening) with those, i just and see it being super accurate.
     
    #6 Kirk, Mar 2, 2015
  7. Mike Kelly

    Mike Kelly Volunteer

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    Yeah it won't be. Just trust the manufacturer. If you're that concerned, buy a new one, they're cheap.
     
    #7 Mike Kelly, Mar 2, 2015
  8. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    You can bore them out yourself, get a 0.2 and re-bore to a 0.4 (for example).
    @Printed Solid did some that turned out pretty darn good.
     
    #8 mark tomlinson, Mar 2, 2015
  9. Printed Solid

    Printed Solid Volunteer Admin
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    The tool to actually measure the nozzle diameter is a pin gage. These are precisely ground pins. If you don't have access to a set, it's probably not an economical way to check things, so Mike's advice on buying another is probably a better option.

    It's also worth considering that you can just calibrate around it.

    Extrusion is done volumetrically, so it sort of doesn't matter what your nozzle diameter is. If your code says to extrude as if you have a 0.4mm nozzle, then you extrude that much. I've actually run code sliced for a 0.8mm nozzle with a 0.4mm nozzle and gotten visually good results.
    Flipping that around, you can set your extrusion width to be much wider than the nozzle, so as you've discovered, extruding a little and then measuring it doesn't tell you anything .

    If you crack open the slic3r manual, it will walk you through a process where you calibrate based on your set nozzle diameter and then adjust extrusion ratio by material.
     
    #9 Printed Solid, Mar 2, 2015

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