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I am looking to buy a low priced 3 mm e3D all-metal v6 hot end. It says 3 mm, however I am wondering if I could make it compatible 1.75 mm if I just get a different Bowden tube and Bowden clip.

Is an e3D hot-end rated for 3 mm actually machined for said filament diameter, or is such constraint only relating to the diameter of the Bowden clip?

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You shouldn't buy a hotend for 2.85 mm (which is the actual filament diameter, real 3 mm filament is hard to get nowadays) when you need a hotend for 1.75 mm filament.

Indeed, the Bowden tube is way thicker (about 6 mm) for 2.85 mm filament apposed to about 4 mm for 1.75 mm filament, so you need a different coupling, but, the inside of the hotend is not meant to transport the thinner filament, so you need to fill the inside with a proper tube. This essentially makes your metal hotend a lined version. Furthermore, the nozzle has a bore of about 3.2 mm (like the heatbreak), this is detrimental for your retraction and ooze performance.

I operate printers with both filaments, but always found that it is better to buy dedicated hotends for the correct size you are operating, unless you have many spare parts lying around to rebuild the hotend (nozzle, heatbreak, tubes and coupling).

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