Tungsten Carbide 3D Printer Nozzle

3D printer accessory developer from Montreal, Canada, is preparing to launch a Kickstarter campaign for its newest product: the tungsten carbide nozzle. The 3D printer nozzle, which promises high flow and abrasion resistance, is compatible with a range of popular 3D printer brands including Ultimaker, Prusa, Lulzbot, Raise3D, and Robo.

When it comes to additive manufacturing, there are a number of components that can either make or break your print. The 3D printer itself is just part of the equation: finding the right materials, extruders, and nozzles is just as important for maximizing your print’s overall quality.

That’s why when we heard about the latest 3D printer nozzle, made from tungsten carbide, our interest was piqued.

Tungsten carbide is a hard ceramic material commonly used in steel cutting tools and in the mining sector for rock-crushing devices. In addition to strength, tungsten carbide is also known for its wear resistance and high thermal conductivity.

Using a tungsten carbide 3D printer nozzle results in high flow rates and consistent print quality, because the wear-resistant tungsten carbide material maintains the same diameter and height no matter how long or how hard you use it.

The nozzle consists of a tungsten carbide tip and a steel frame structure, which are entirely plated with electroless nickel. Steel was selected for the nozzle’s frame for a number of reasons: its high strength, pressure resistance, and thermal stability.

The only potential downside to using steel for the nozzle frame is its relatively low thermal conductivity. However, since the critical zone for thermal conductivity is the nozzle tip,” the print results are unaffected.

The high thermal conductivity of both the nozzle tip and body will pump all the required heat to maintain an even temperature while extruding. Viscosity highly depends on the plastic temperature for a constant shear rate. The flow pressure will be constant resulting in excellent results and stability. The ease of pushing the filament will give an extra margin for your extruder safety.

The nickel plating, for its part, is used to improve the tungsten carbide 3D printer nozzle’s surface finish, essentially making it more slippery. This means that plastic will simply slide off the nozzle, resulting in cleaner parts with less risk of drag. It also enables the nozzle to easily process flexible filaments.

In terms of other materials, the tungsten carbide 3D printer nozzle can purportedly process any type of filament, from PLA and ABS to carbon fiber reinforced materials.

Even compared its tungsten carbide nozzle to an Ultimaker nozzle made from brass. After 3D printing the same part from PLA at 210°C with both nozzles, Dyze found the output flow to be increased by a whopping 80 percent using its own nozzle.

Presently, the Montreal-based company has a number of versions of the tungsten carbide nozzle, each compatible with a range of popular FDM 3D printers. The tungsten carbide UM3, for instance, is built for the Ultimaker 3, while the tungsten carbide M6 1.75 mm has a more broad compatibility with Raise3D, Prusa, Makerbot, and Robo 3D printers, to name a few.