The Importance of All-Metal Hotends

Having been 3D Printing for a while now, I can say that, without a doubt, having an all-metal hotend and a steel/plated nozzle for your 3D Printer is one of the best upgrades you can have. It's also probably the first one I'd recommend doing, especially if your extruder is a Mk10.

Normally, extruders are lined with a PTFE tube going down into the nozzle. A tough plastic, for sure, but plastic nonetheless. I've yet to go a couple months without cooking the PTFE liner in any hotend that has one, even at normal ABS printing temps (230C). They have a hard limit of 240C; anything hotter and you're starting to fry it--and PTFE fumes are NOT something you want to be breathing in. I also find that these tubes clog often. Moral of the story is, I find myself replacing them quite frequently.

With an all-metal hotend, you eliminate those problems. Here's the benefits you get:

• Capability to print up to 300C, allowing you to work with materials like Nylon and Polycarbonate
• Reduced frequency of clogs
• With the steel/plated nozzle, you gain the ability to work with abrasive materials like metal-filled and carbon fiber filaments without immediately destroying your nozzle

For my shop (Durham 3D Printing) it's pretty much become mandatory that all my hotends get upgraded before they do any printing. If you have a Mk10 hotend and you haven't already done so, I highly recommend doing the upgrade! It's simple to do.

Find one here: MK10 All-Metal Hotend Upgrade on Amazon