Source
r/ender3•
fivefivefives

Can this printer hand 0.1 nozzles?

Help

I'm needing to print some relatively small gears and am shopping around for a new printer. Can the Ender 3 use 0.1mm nozzles?

I'm coming from using an UP 3d printer that I've had for years and that thing has to use it's own software and I've never had the option to screw with nozzle diameters or other fine tuning. Because of this my gears have always been kinda shitty but now I have a project that I really, really want to have small, nice, functioning gears on. I do wonder if I even need to go down to 0.1mm or if a 0.25mm would work just as well?

Posted Dec 29, 2021, 4:19 PM UTC

011
herdertree•

How small is small? A .2mm nozzle gives really great details, easy to do on an ender 3.

If you want ultra, ultra fine then a resin printer is the way to go. A lot more work and cost per part though.

8
Deathbydragonfire•

Resin is very brittle as well, may not be a good option for gear teeth. However it is a good option for making a master that can be molded and cast in a variety of materials.

1
herdertree•

Agree, the majority of resins used aren’t good for gears. There are plenty higher cost ones though that work great.

1
[deleted]•

[removed]

1
fivefivefivesOP•

12 tooth gear, 14 diameter is what I'm working with right now but I'll go as fine tooth as I can.

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imcoveredinbees880Upgrades, Seperated by Commas, Aluminum Extruder, Bed Springs•

+1 on how small is small. What diameter and how many teeth?

2
fivefivefivesOP•

14mm diameter with 12 teeth atm. I want to go as fine as I can with the teeth but with a 0.4mm nozzle I can't get much smaller and have it still work.

1
imcoveredinbees880Upgrades, Seperated by Commas, Aluminum Extruder, Bed Springs•

I think a 0.2 will be all you need. Keep in mind that print times will go through the roof.

1
PyroNine9Upgrades, Aluminum Extruder, SKR Mini, glass bed•

(14mm -2) * pi /24 = about 1.8mm for the width of a tooth (Very roughly), so .2mm should be fine enough.

1
MrBilky•

Unless your a printing ninja I would not consider it you would have a ton of teething issues and print slower than molasses

1
fivefivefivesOP•

Point taken, ty :)

1
Tarasque_1024•

0.1mm will work, but you might need to heavily tune your settings and printer to get it to work decently. 0.2mm or 0.25mm are more forgiving. I print minis with 0.25mm nozzle.

The stock extruder will struggle with pushing the small amounts needed for a 0.1mm nozzle. You'll want to look at something that has gearing reduction (like a BMG or similar) and ideally direct drive as the bowden tube could soak up the minute movements the filament needs to make.

1