MakerGear Forum

Sorry ahead of time if theres another thread discussing this, as it seems like it would be a common topic but searching "hot ends" came up empty-handed.

I was going to place an order to makergear for some spare parts, mainly some new .35 nozzles and heater tubes, a .25 nozzle to try out and some fans since I already grenaded the 40mm by putting a screwdriver through it

That got me thinking that instead of getting spares for my v3b, maybe I should just spend the extra and get an upgrade, but I'm really not sure what other hot ends have to offer and which is best for me. I know MG has the V4 available, or somewhat available at least... lots of guys are running e3d's v6, and I saw one from micron as well. I cant say I know anything about the MG v4 but the other 2 look like really nice units.

Input on this and experience with the alternatives to the v3b would be awesome to hear

Thanks

Imo the only 2 that should be considered are the e3d and v4 from makergear. Either one is fine. I would definately go this router before i bought spare v3b parts.

I there any specific reasoning for going with the v6 over the v4 or vice versa?

from what I understand the v4 is essentially plug and play and Im not sure if its all metal or not. The v6 seems to be all metal and I'm not sure if its plug and play or not.

wrenches wrote:I there any specific reasoning for going with the v6 over the v4 or vice versa?

from what I understand the v4 is essentially plug and play and Im not sure if its all metal or not. The v6 seems to be all metal and I'm not sure if its plug and play or not.

The E3D is not a drop-in replacement for the V3b, but it will fit in the same mounting area. You'll need to change some of the wiring harness (all of which can be done on the E3D itself so you don't modify the M2). It is not a supported upgrade from MakerGear, so if you need support or warranty work they may ask you to revert to the V3b hotend that came with your machine before diagnosing things further. The E3D is rated to 300C out of the gate.

The V4 is not a drop-in replacement for the V3b either, and is a more invasive upgrade consisting of two parts (the mount, and the hotend). The single doesn't seem too invasive (no wiring harness changes), but the dual is a right bugger to get put together, easily an entire afternoon. The entire X axis gets stripped down and rebuilt with new components. The hotends themselves are small and cheaper than the V3b, and much easier to unjam if you cork it up like I do occasionally. The PTFE V4 is rated to 265C (IIRC) but MG has said it will unofficially do something crazy like 295C. There is an all-metal that they had at one time that isn't available anymore for some reason ... I managed to snag an early one and like it for ABS & Polycarbonate. Changing between hotends on the V4 is an extremely fast procedure, well under a minute if the thing is cooled down, and setting the Z-0 is also very easy as well.

If you have a newer machine (single 24v supply, modular harness), absolutely go with the V4 unless you have 20 pounds of polycarbonate you need to burn through.

Is the V4 actually sold anywhere on the site, or is it a special request? I just placed an order (including my first second sheet of boro!) and didn't see it listed anywhere.

I like my E3 but I may have gone V4 if it was out at the time. It would be nice to know which is more reliable, but no one is going to know that answer. If you go E3D you will need to print a filament drive in advance.

We have two M2's - one modified with the E3D v6 and prints steady at 400c and the other with the MG v4 and it prints steady at 300c (we regularly print some strange materials…) Both extruders are very nice, but the MG v4 is an obvious choice due to the simplicity of the set-up - as long as you don't want to print above 300c (it still has PTFE in it for some reason). The E3D v6 took a lot of tinkering with the firmware, thermocouple, t-couple board, etc. to get working, but it works great now. It would be ideal if MG came out with an all-metal (v5?) that is plug and play - sometime soon hopefully.

Should note for other users that the tinkering you went through was only becauae you are using a thermocouple due to running it at 400c. For normal use up to 300c its a 2 min job of changing the temp table in the firmware. Otherwise no tinkering is required.

mlhmail wrote:We have two M2's - one modified with the E3D v6 and prints steady at 400c and the other with the MG v4 and it prints steady at 300c (we regularly print some strange materials…) Both extruders are very nice, but the MG v4 is an obvious choice due to the simplicity of the set-up - as long as you don't want to print above 300c (it still has PTFE in it for some reason). The E3D v6 took a lot of tinkering with the firmware, thermocouple, t-couple board, etc. to get working, but it works great now. It would be ideal if MG came out with an all-metal (v5?) that is plug and play - sometime soon hopefully.

They HAD an all-metal v4. It was more or less form-factor identical to the PTFE v4. They stopped offering it for some reason.