Correct nozzle replacement

Question

I have a Monoprice Maker Ultimate 3D Printer and have tried to replace the nozzle.

The nozzles I bought turned out to be too small.

What are the important specifications of a nozzle?

• Thread size
• Thread length
• That plastic tube thing?

Monoprice is very bad at publishing the specs, can I work it out with a caliper?

Answer 1

This is a so-called MK10 nozzle, it is larger than the normal nozzles you find (as you found out).

There are quite a few questions on this nozzle, with e.g. this answer or this answer.

This nozzle uses M7 (metric threads of 7 mm) to have more room to fit the PTFE tube (white tube) in the nozzle itself. This tube forms the barrier between the heating source and the filament feed so that it does not melt too soon. You can find these nozzles on those typical auction websites by searching for "MK10 and M7".

When you have ordered the correct nozzle you could reuse the existing PTFE liner if it has not degraded or damaged, or buy replacement PTFE tube of 4 mm outer diameter and 1.9 or 2 mm inner diameter and cut a similar sized replacement liner.

Answer 2

What part fits?

A replacement nozzle needs to fit 3 parameters:

• Thread diameter and pitch need to match up, to allow mounting
• Thread length should be close to the original to allow secure fastening
• The style needs to fit: there are quite some styles of nozzle - most are not lined, yours is PTFE lined to the nozzle (see also Can the filament tube be outside of the nozzle?)

Monoprice nozzles are not compatible with what is known as Ultimaker Mk8 or E3D style (which you bought). They are Ultimaker Mk10 style.

What's a good nozzle?

Now, what separates a good replacement nozzle from a bad one?

• good machining to leave no burs and a smooth interior.
• a good inner geometry that allows easy flow
• outlet hole is to size

Finding premade replacement parts

As a first measure to not get the wrong replacement parts, make sure to add the manufacturer of your printer to the search and then check the thread diameter if given. In your case, you might have to add Monoprice or Toymaker, as those use this style of nozzle.

Reverse engineering a Nozzle

Now, which measurements do you need to reverse engineer it?

• nozzle front pitch angle
• hex head flat-to-flat & hight
• recess diameter & hight
• screw shaft relief diameter & hight
• thread outer diameter & length
• inner bore diameter at entry (and in case of a lined one: after the step) & corresponding depth of drilling
• amount of chamfering

With these, it's possible to do do a CNC model or a sketch of the outside and produce pretty much blanks or shells on a lathe that just need their last little bit of drilling... and here comes the tricky part: till now, all could be accessed from the outside. We are missing one profile though: the last piece of the inner bore geometry.

This one can't easily be measured, but if one can push some plastic in, let it cool and then pull it out, one might get a molding of it, which might allow to reverse engineer a fitting drill for the last piece.