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- EZBoard - EEPROM, TMC Driver Settings, and Acceleration
- EZBoard - FAQ
- EZBoard - Installation Guide & Firmware Info
- EZBoard - Lite V1.X - BTT TFT35-E3 Wiring and Firmware Setup
- EZBoard - Lite V1.x - EZABL Not Triggering Fix
- EZBoard - Lite V1.X – Why do you use the TMC 2208 Instead of TMC 2209 Drivers?
- EZBoard – Flashing Firmware MicroSD Recommendations
- Setting up VSCode to Compile EZBoard Firmware - Local Compile
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- Bowden Fitting Clips for Tough Extruder Fittings
- Creality Extruder Motor Shaft Lengths
- Heatbreak Installation Information
- PTFE Heatbreak Installation Directions
- TH3D Ender 5 Plus ABS Tough Extruder Bracket Assembly
- Tough Extruder Firmware Settings
- Tough Extruder or E3D Titan Assembly Video
- Upgraded Aluminum Extruder Installation Video (V2)
- Using your All Metal Hotend
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- Applying Vision Miner Nano Polymer
- EZFlex/EZMat/EZPei – Adhesion Tips and Tricks
- Fitting Fans to Creality Machines – Larger Metal Standoffs
- How to use our Fan Quick Connectors (UY Style)
- Older EZABL Kits (V1/V2/V3/V3.1)
- PTFE Safety Precautions – ALL PTFE & ToughTube
- Raspberry Pi Direct Wire Power Adapter – How to connect
- TH3D High Amp 12V/24V MOSFET V2 Installation Information and Mounts
- TH3D Solid Bed Mounts Installation Information
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- Creality Mega 2560 Board Connections (CR-10S/Dual Board)
- Creality Melzi Board Connections (CR-10/Ender 3/Ender 5)
- Creality V2.0/V2.1/V2.2 Board – Atmel 2560 ICSP Programming Header Pinout
- Creality V4.2.2 & V4.2.7 Board BL Touch Wiring Options
- Creality V4.2.X Board Driver Codes
- Creality V4.2.X TMC Boards - Recommended VREF
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- Creality CR-10 V2 Firmware | V2.5.2 Board
- Creality CR-10, CR-10S, CR-20, Ender 3/5 - Dual Extrusion Board | V2.X (2560) Board
- Creality CR-10/Mini/S4/S5, Ender 2, Ender 3, Ender 5 Firmware | Melzi (V1.1.x) Board
- Creality CR-10/S, Ender 2/3/3 Pro/5/5 Pro/5 Plus, & Sovol SV01 Firmware | EZBoard Lite Board
- Creality CR-10S Mini/S4/S5/Pro, CR-20, CRX, Ender 3/5/5 Plus Firmware | V2.X (2560) Board
- Creality Ender 3 V2 Firmware + LCD Firmware | V4.2.X Board
- Creality Ender 3/3 Pro & Ender 5/5 Pro Firmware | SKR E3 Mini Board
- Creality Ender 3/3 Pro & Ender 5/5 Pro Firmware | V4.2.X Board
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- Audew JC-48A Humidor Trays
- Bowden Fitting Clips for Tough Extruder Fittings
- Ender 3 Dual Z Kit PSU Relocation STL Links
- EZABL Probe Mounts - Where to download them
- EZABL Solid Mount Camera STL Files
- EZOut Filament Sensor Mount for Wanhao Duplicator i3
- TH3D 40MM Fan Grill
- TH3D Ender 5 Plus ABS Tough Extruder Bracket Assembly
- TH3D Uno Bootloader Kit Case
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- 3D Printer Help Guide Creality & Others
- ABL Z Offset, Gantry Leveling, Babystepping, Storing Offset to EEPROM
- Creality V4.2.X Board Driver Codes
- Printer Bed Sizing Chart
- Printer Homing Types | Home Positions Explained | Min/Max/ABL Probes
- Removing Stress Marks from Printed Parts
- SKR E3 Mini, SKR E3 Turbo, Creality V4.2.2, and V4.2.7 LCD EMI Issue
- Testing and Checking your Stepper Motors
- Thermistor Values for Unified 2 Firmware
- Tips for Printing ABS Successfully with your 3D Printer
- What board is in my Ender 3D printer? | Ender 3/5
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- AnyCubic Mega Zero V1 Heated Bed Upgrade DIY Info
- CR-10S V2.0/V2.1 Temperature Repair
- Creality Press-Fit Extruder Gear Removal
- Dual Extrusion Setup Information
- EZABL Duet Board Setup Information
- Linear Advance Information for Marlin Based Firmware
- P.I.D. Bed Calibration Guide
- P.I.D. Hotend Calibration Guide
- Re-wiring 2 Pin Fan Connectors - Video
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- Arduino IDE - Mac OS X Setup Guide
- Pronterface - Using Pronterface to send GCode to your Printer
- Simplify3D - Not Connecting to Printer over USB
- Slicers - Starting Gcode Locations - EZABL
- VSCode - "No such file or directory" Error
- VSCode - Manually Selecting your Upload (COM) Port
- VSCode - PlatformIO Toolbar Missing - How to Fix
- VSCode - Problems & Terminal Tabs
- VSCode - Setup Guide for Unified 2 and Marlin 2 Firmware
- VSCode - Unified 2 Tips for Noobs (Video)
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- 3D Printer Help Guide Creality & Others
- CR-10(S) Setup and Mechanical Checks
- EZFlex/EZMat/EZPei – Adhesion Tips and Tricks
- Fan Stuck 100% or Not Coming On - Layer Fan or other Fan
- Flashing Firmware with an Uno – Useful if your printer USB port is bad
- Printer Grounding – How to Check your PSU and Grounding Your Bed
- Sensors and Gantry Grounding
- Setting your ZOffset (Video)
- Temp Reading High, MAXTEMP Error, or LCD Blank
- Testing and Checking your Stepper Motors
- Testing your SD Card for errors
- Using your All Metal Hotend
- Y Layer Shifting on Your Printer
- Z Axis Troubleshooting
- Zits or Blobs On My Prints
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- Creality BL Touch Probe Mount Offsets (Metal Bracket)
- Creality CR-10 and CR-10S Models – What Printer do you have?
- Creality CRX – EZABL, EZOut, and Firmware Videos
- Creality Ender 3 & Ender 3 Pro - Upgrades, Information, and Tips
- Ender 3 V2 - Swapping to the 12864 Creality LCD for more features
- Ender 5 Plus Upgrade Paths – EZABL, EZBoard, LCD Kit
- Unified Firmware Wanhao Duplicator i3 Plus Information
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- AC Bed Wiring with a SSR for Control
- BL Touch Wiring Harness Colors – Antclabs vs BigTreeTech (BTT)
- BL Touch Wiring Harness Colors – Antclabs vs Creality
- Creality Mega 2560 Board Connections (CR-10S/Dual Board)
- Creality Melzi Board Connections (CR-10/Ender 3/Ender 5)
- Creality V2.0/V2.1/V2.2 Board – Atmel 2560 ICSP Programming Header Pinout
- Creality V4.2.2 & V4.2.7 Board BL Touch Wiring Options
- EZABL PSU 12V/24V Power Wiring
- EZABL SKR 1.4/1.4T Connection
- How to use our Fan Quick Connectors (UY Style)
- MKS Gen L Board Connections
- MKS SGen L V2 Wiring/Pinouts
- TH3D High Amp 12V/24V MOSFET V2 Installation Information and Mounts
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- COVID19 - Shipping Delays
- Route+ Insurance - FAQ
- Route+ Insurance - How to open a claim
- Route+ Insurance - Is it worth it?
- Route+ Insurance - When to file a Route+ claim, deadlines, and policies
- Shipment Received, Package Acceptance Pending - USPS Status
- Shipping to Mail Forwarders
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- Wrong Address Entered at Checkout
All metal hotends are great additions to your 3D printers. We sell our Tough All-Metal Hotend and even a Dual Hotend that all come with high-quality all-metal heat breaks. Manufacturers like E3D and MicroSwiss also sell hotends that are all-metal.
No matter what brand you have there are things that you need to be aware of when printing with an all-metal hotend if you want to have high success and great looking prints.
Why upgrade to an all-metal hotend?
- Printing High Temp Filament
- Most stock hotends can only handle up to 240C before you damage the hotend.
- All-metal hotends can handle up to 290C and even higher with aftermarket thermocouples (like a PT100)
- Lower retractions
- Long Life
- More Nozzle Options when you go with a hotend like our Tough All-Metal Hotend or offerings from other companies
- More/Different Printable Hotend Mounts
What is different from using a PTFE type hotend?
The main thing that new users who switch over to an all-metal hotend are that they notice that they get “jamming”. This is where the filament cools in the heatbreak and sticks to the inside of the heatbreak. This is very rare with PTFE hotends that most printers come with since not much sticks to PTFE.
This occurs mainly with PLA because it is a starch-based plastic. Think of what happens if you cook food in a pan with no oil in it. The food sticks to the pan and is hard to get off. This is what happens when you get a jam.
What causes jams and how to address them
- Too much retraction
- We typically use about 2-3mm on our Bowden machines when fitted with our Tough Tube and 3-4mm when using stock PTFE tubing with the larger inside diameter.
- Use the lowest amount of retraction that yields the best balance between print quality and risk of jamming. More retraction = higher chance of jamming.
- No lubrication in the heatbreak (most common with PLA)
- Canola can be used to oil the filament before insertion to the printer or introduced on the filament by adding a filament oiler.
- Here are our favorite filament oilers you can print: Universal Filament Filter and Lubricator & Snap-on Filament Filter/Oiler
- Put some parts of a sponge or cloth in the oiler with a few drops of oil on the medium you inserted into the oiler.
- Remember to put it on the filament before a print
- If you can’t print we have just dipped the end of the filament in the oil before feeding into the printer about 2-3 inches into the oil container
- Recommended canola oil – Organic Canola Oil
- Do note that some people will say that Canola oil affects adhesion but we have not found any adverse effects and have been using this method for over 2 years on our own machines here as needed.
- Here are our favorite filament oilers you can print: Universal Filament Filter and Lubricator & Snap-on Filament Filter/Oiler
- Another way is a dry PTFE lubricant
- This is best applied before the machine is used but if you want to go this way and you have been printing a while already on the heatbreak make sure to remove as much filament by pulling the filament out around 120C
- Once the heatbreak is clear (or new) shoot some Dry PTFE lube in there and let dry for 15 mins. Then you are ready to print. This usually lasts anywhere from 2-3 months from our testing and by the time it does wear off the heatbreak is usually “seasoned” well enough that jams are no longer an issue.
- Recommended Dry PTFE Lube – Dupont Dry PTFE Lube
- Canola can be used to oil the filament before insertion to the printer or introduced on the filament by adding a filament oiler.
We love our all-metal hotends and its great knowing that we can print any material we want without having to further upgrade our printer.
We hope this article has been helpful to you and wish you Happy Printing!