There is little argument that one of the most important parts on a 3D printer is the machine’s hotend. The device that heats up and extrudes molten plastic onto a print bed, building up 3D printed objects one layer at a time, is vital to a successful print job on an FFF/FDM-based 3D printer.
There are several very high-quality hotends on the market today which developers and engineers have created to provide for the best experience when 3D printing. However, like everything, there is also better technology on the horizon. This may be the case when a company we have covered recently, called Deltaprintr, releases their all-new “Mini Hotend” in the very near future.
Like the name suggests, their new product is very small compared to other hotends that we are used to seeing. The Deltaprintr Mini Hotend, however, provides for “big” results.
“We plan to have this available in the coming months on our website at deltaprintr.com,” Shai Schechter, CEO and Founder of DeltaPrintr, tells 3DPrint.com. “The hotend mounts using two M3 screws. They screw into the top where the push fit screws in. The price will probably be around $20-30 once it is available.”
Schechter tells us that the hotend can be used on virtually any FFF/FDM 3D printer since the mounting uses screws and is not a “slide in” product like traditional hotends. So what exactly are the benefits of this new Mini Hotend?
For starters, it has a very powerful miniature fan built into it, which is secured with two screws. It also allows for the printing of materials that require much higher temperatures, as it can reach up to 700°C (1292°F). On top of this, it features a “heat break” in the middle between the heater and the heatsink, providing for a very sharp heat/melt transition. Some other features and specifications of this new hotend can be found below:
- Stainless steel construction – one single piece from top to bottom of nozzle, meaning no more clogs
- More compact – up to 50% smaller
- Symmetrical heating of the hotend for uniform melting
- More compact than traditional 6mm heater cartridges
- No need for an aluminum heater block anymore
- No need for extra screws/assembly to mount it
- Lighter setup
- Heats up quickly
- Less bulky heater cables and no need to bend them 90° upwards
- No need to change an entire heater block/nozzle/heater cartridge if you want to switch to faster printing/bigger nozzle. All you need to do is change this heater and a nozzle. Much simpler, lower cost in parts to change printing speed/nozzle size
It should be interesting to see this Hotend in action and see how well they sell once made publicly available. What do you think about the potential that it will provide for FFF/FDM based 3D printers? Discuss in the Deltaprintr Mini Hotend forum thread on 3DPB.com.
