Fibtip, a sub-organization of TRD Surfaces – a Danish startup that spun off the Technical University of Denmark – has developed nozzles of the same name. Designed for FDM 3D printing, the nozzles are coated with ceramic and would deliver extreme thermal conductivity, anti-stick properties and lifetime durability.
Using ceramic diffusion coating, the company promises unmatched and durable performance, even with the most abrasive filaments. The ceramic diffusion coating was first designed for marine engines before being optimized for FDM 3D printing. This ceramic coating surface technology has also been used successfully in large diesel engines from MAN ES and industrial-grade water nozzles.
“We thought: ‘fine this should work well when printing in abrasive filament’, however, we had some doubts about the bulk material being tool steel. Due to tool steel not having a thermal conductivity that can rival brass or tungsten carbide,” said fibtip Production Manager Alexander Hejgaard Andersen. “However, when we tested our nozzle and compared it to brass or tungsten nozzles we did see a decline in thermal conductivity, but instead an increase. We later found out that this was because our surface, which is made from chromium carbide, has a thermal conductivity that is twice the amount of brass and is even better than tungsten carbide. Even though the layer is so thin, it will still contribute very much to the thermal transfer of the nozzle.”
The company explains that usually a failed print with molten plastic covering the whole hot end results in a lengthy cleaning procedure, but in this case the plastic comes right off. After more testing, the fibtip team discovered that the chromium carbide surface has a unique anti-stick property which makes cleaning the nozzle much easier, and keeps the nozzle build-up to a minimum. Even the inside of the nozzle is coated and thus has this anti-stick property reducing clogging risk.
Two versions of the nozzle are available: the Fibtip MK8 and the Fibtip V6. The Fibtip MK8 is suitable for popular printers from Ultimaker and Creality, where the V6 is suitable for printers from Prusa and all E3D hot ends.
“With our nozzle you get Extreme durability with every filament (we even have a lifetime guarantee on every nozzle); Anti-stick surface reducing nozzle built up, cleaning effort and clogging risk and extraordinary thermal conductivity giving an excellent heat transfer between nozzle and filament. I know some of this sounds too good to be true, but I promise you it is not” Andersen concludes.
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