recently i saw a youtube from an oft-poster-on-3d where they said in passing “and they do wear out” in reference to nozzles;
anyone know about that ?
i use a high-speed printer and print a fair amount and ( i think) have found another source of my nozzle as a spare ( incredibly, the manufacturer said they didnt have any);
i matched the technical specs of the hot-end and the nozzles; the source is on amazon, which amounts to a 3-week delivery to me here in thailand;
advice ?
Yes the absolutely wear out. depending on material and colour faster or slower. Brass ones for me (I print a lot of carbon fibre) do not last at all. Days. I get about 400gm of carbon or less per nozzle. Glow, Filled (wood metal or stone) white or light coloured opaque filaments also wear fast.
Aliexpress is a ok source although the quality of manufacturing makes a big difference the cheap clones produce poor prints. Along as it is universal if it is custom for your printer I would suggest ordering a bunch. (20?) I hate down time.
I switched to E3D X nozzles. I hear the Zodiac are very good but so are the slice Vanadium ones.
thanks; good to hear, my end-end (my printer hot-end) is E3D
If you are just printing basic PLA then you should get at least a year out of a nozzle. If you print an extraordinary amount then that will be some what shorter.
I usually have to change my nozzles every 1-2 years. But a good way to tell if you need to change it is if your prints suddenly start to look really bad and uneven, I have included a picture that shows the difference. Usually if I am unsure of the state of my nozzle I just replace it anyways, they are really cheap anyways so it just makes sense to change it.
Thanks,
Matthew
color is a factor ? why would that be ?
Hey there!
Its mostly to do with the pigments used in the making of the filament. Some pigments by nature can be slightly more abrasive than others.
Hopefully that helps,
Matthew
yes whites are typically made with Titanium oxides (di or mono depending) it is very abrasive. Light opaque colours also use Titanium. These are much more abrasive. I used to change mine out every couple of KG. Why I switched it was a pain. I would often get only a few days or weeks.
If I started to notice weird lines, Mathews examples both to my estimation suffer this although it could be 100s of other things, stringing, I rarely get any or much so when I do especially with filaments I use all the time It is gone. Sizes that are off when the calibration is fresh. All are potential nozzle issues.
It is my first diagnostic for all print issues. Change the nozzle. Adjust z verify flow/extrusion multiplier and if it is still not sorted then move on. Most of my print quality issues will be gone.
thanks KD, in adjustments after nozzle replacement , i hear chatter regarding “esteps” what is that all about ?
No one said 3D Printing was easy. You got to be tough to survive in this game! 
Hey there,
The e-steps is short for extruder steps. Since stepper motors spin in steps (normally 1.8 degree steps) you have to tell the extruder how many steps it needs to make in order to extrude a certain amount of filament. There are many different factors that can affect this value which is why most if not all printers need this to be tuned.
Basically what you have to do is to measure out ~120mm of filament from the input to the extruder. Then tell your extruder to extrude 100mm, after it is done you can measure how much is left. You can do the calculations yourself using the formula * New Steps/mm = (Old/Current steps/mm) x [100 / (measured distance filament traveled)]. But what I always prefer is to just chuck the values into the TH3D calculator which I have linked below.
Thanks,
Matthew
Changing the nozzle doesn’t typically change the e-steps. I always change nozzles when there is an issue first. Then move forward to other calibration issues. The brass nozzles are very soft and abrade and before fast. Deformed prints oddly and it looks like something else often. under extrusion or something and adjusting calibration and then have the nozzle before more it just means calibration over again. Nozzle is the first, easiest. IF there are still issues move forward.