EDIT 03/04/2023 : for lazy people and to avoid offtopic answers please jump to this post if you want a howto (using clone bambulab hotend & clone CHT nozzle)
Original Post :
I finally received parts required to use CHT Nozzle from Bondtech into Bambulab printer, and was able to test it on a simple benchy. Not the most relevant test as it is a small object and it dont get all the advantage of increased flow & speed. I wil make tests with bigger objects.
The first object I printed is a Benchy in 17 minutes with a very good quality (Sliced with Bambu Studio & so not the most optimized)
The only drawback is that the nozzle is 1.9mm lower and I am afraid that the plastic nozzle wiper will probably break prematuraly, for everything else it works perfectly and I can now use filament max volumetric rate up to 35mm/s maybe 40 with certain PLA, without any issue.
Cooling seems to works well too, I use 100% for the auxiliary big fan.
And the result :
Print time : 17min
Filament : eSUN PLA+
Max volumetric speed : 30mmÂł/s (35 works too and print a bit faster, but quality is not as good)
Nozzle : 0.6mm
Layer height : 0.3mm
If you want to try this, you should have some more informations :
does it print : yes
does it print faster : yes
does it print pretty : yes
But…
The nozzle is 1.9mm lower, this have some annoying consequences :
the plastic part that wipe the nozzle is hitted hard, mine did not crack but I suppose it could happen
the Bambulab detect something wrong and display a warning message, saying the nozzle appear too low, and to verify if there is not a plastic sticked to it (but just a warning, you can ignore it)
last and related to the previous the first layer is squished
I manage to mitigate this bad effects by cutting the inside tube of the hotend but it is still not perfect and must be done with care.
Very cool mod.
Personally I’m too scared to make a change like this. Glad other folks are pushing limitations though.
Just wanted to mention the nozzle wipe thing though - I’ve seen folks mod the nozzle wiper to have a brass brush instead of the little PTFE bit. Normally i wouldn’t bother with something like that, but it sounds like it could be helpful in conjunction with this mod. (Can’t seem to find where i saw it, but i’m certain it was on the bambu discord server… i think)
@DzzD Thanks. Interesting. My question is whether there is any information on the package you received about the manufacturer and whether one could contact them and ask them to make this setup 1.9 mm shorter. Because THEN this could be a fantastic thing, other than that, for those not willing to tinker (like me, two left hands),… difficult.
Also, in the start code (the original one from BL) there is this code, which (AFAIK) lowers the nozzle (offset) by 0.04 mm - this could be amended to increase the offset, so that the first layer is niot squished that much (this refers to usage of textured plate, but could surely be amended - therafter is a copy of part of the start code from another one (printables " Bambu Lab Modified Start and End gcode " ) which was written by the author add more squish to various plates, could also be reversed…
Bambu Lab
;===== for Textured PEI Plate , lower the nozzle as the nozzle was touching topmost of the texture when homing ==
;curr_bed_type={curr_bed_type}
{if curr_bed_type==“Textured PEI Plate”}
G29.1 Z-0.04 ; for Textured PEI Plate
{endif}
tthrutheframe
;===== for Textured PEI Plate, High Temp Plate and Wham Bam Plate ===============
;curr_bed_type={curr_bed_type}
{if curr_bed_type==“Textured PEI Plate”}
G29.1 Z-0.02 ;squish of -0.04mm for Textured PEI Plate
{elsif curr_bed_type==“High Temp Plate”}
G29.1 Z0.03 ;raise of 0.03mm for High Temp or Wham Bam Plate
{endif}
Thanks for all the tips, I will write to the manufacturer of the hotend replacement block & to Bambu support. The block itself works because they give you two unstandard nozzles, that are shorter than common M6 Reprap or orther nozzles.
The solution of cutting the tube is not the best, the best thing they could do is making the nozzle thread 1.9mm deeper. Tens of compatbile M6 Nozzle for special material and other (including CHT) could be then fit perfectly and be used.
Posting to indicate interest in Bondtech manufacturing a nozzle that is the proper height for the Bambu… would suggest others do the same as Bondtech can use it as a data point for interest (and thus whether or not it is worth their time.)
Of course, it would be nice if Bambu took this as an opportunity and offered a hotend with nozzles. That way, users could decide for themselves what they want. The "Normal! Users will continue to buy the standard stainless steel and hardened steel combinations, and the “Expert” users could then switch to the “Universal” hoods with interchangeable nozzles and use their nozzles.
Perhaps suggest this to Bambu support as a business idea. It would also be helpful if you create a new thread as a “product request” explaining this, and Bambu can see from the numerous likes and votes how popular the topic is and how many want this.
After all, the topic is not only of interest to X1 users, but also to P1P users, as well as future printers of Bambu.
This product would generate a lot of revenue for Bambu with little effort.
While true, I think folks forget Bambu was like… a dozen devs less than 9 months ago. I’m no business major, but seems to me like their primary goals at this point in time should be customer retention (i.e. additional support staff) and increased production capability (and possibly quality)… when they work, the X1 series are amazing printers, but between spats of QC issues and the constant support woes they are leaving a sour taste in a non-trivial number of customers’ mouths. I think these are understandable as growing pains for any company seeing the sudden level of interest Bambu is, but their polished marketing and rave reviews do them somewhat of a disservice here as I think the average consumer is going to assume this is a well-established company: how else would they be putting out something that everyone is talking so much about? That’d be my logic anyway.
Or other nozzle like this one that has a long removable pointed Stainless Stee tips
To get as little as possible heat into the print, the nozzle needs to be as long and pointy as possible. The longer the nozzle, the bigger the distance between heaterblock and the print. And the more pointy it is, the less heat radiation can affect the print.
Normal users ?
Did you just assume my user level ?
I’m just joking
But on a serious note although it would be nice if Bambu offered a hotend that can be somewhat customized it won’t be long before the aftermarket swarm comes swooping in to provide options for the Bambu design
I’m very happy with the ceramic heater and the ease of doing a re&re for the parts but having the throat/heatblock permanently pressed into the heat sink does take away from the ability to customize or hop up the hot end assembly
I’m most definitely doing this upgrade and am very happy that there’s already aftermarket parts available for professionals and even novices such as myself
Next will be a profile added in Prusa Slicer mostly because Joseph seems to be a bit butt hurt over the Bambu Lab lineup so they’ll want to show why they are the innovators at the top
I guess it ain’t easy being King Sh*t of Turd Island
This is brilliant However it should probably have been made this way from the beginning instead of that very proprietary solution Bambu Labs implemented.
Looking forward to be able to use all my CHT and Vanaddium nozzles I have for the Troodon. Perhaps use the X1C for making proper thick vase mode and see how good the hotend and cooling are. yeahhh
Would be great if someone can get in touch with the company that produce this clone and ask them to do a 2mm longer thread to make it compatible with most M6 nozzle.
We are just 2mm away from a really compatible hotend…
There are unfortunately many offers for this hotend on Aliexpress, so I don’t think the manufacturer can be found there.
If you enter the search term “Bambu Lab” at Alibaba.com, for example, you will be overwhelmed with Bambu Lab original articles and also many compatible manufacturers such as print beds and hotends. Bambu Lab-Bambu Lab Manufacturers, Suppliers and Exporters on Alibaba.com3D Printers However, you have to pay attention to the minimum purchase quantity at the low prices. A PEI print bed for 12$ is great, but only if you take 10 boxes
I have no idea why they chose to use a completely new nozzle design instead of simple V6 compatibility.
You can carefully drill into the heatsink so the heat break tube sits higher. It seems to be OK leaving just a tiny gap between the collar on the block and the heatsink. I also chamfered the hole in the top of the heatsink because the corners were sharp compared to stock.
I got some cheap Chinese brass V6 nozzles with the 3 hole copper inserts. I didn’t like the way the middle of the insert would mostly block the hole in the block so I filed it down and countersunk the 3 holes again.
Then I had problems with it not sealing and filament leaking down the thread and filling up the silicone sock. I filed some more off the thread so the shoulder of the nozzle sat against the block which helped reduce height even more but still leaked slowly. A bit of PTFE tape stopped the leak but isn’t a great solution. I will be trying a copper washer on the nozzle when I get round to it.
In the mean time a 0.6mm nozzle has been printing PLA and PETG at 35mm^3/s. Initially it would do PLA flow tests at 35mm^3/s and 225C but the heater could not maintain 235C and would error out. After filing down the nozzle it seemed better possibly because the nozzle didn’t poke out of the silicone sock as much. I think I did a PLA flow test OK at 230C and I have been printing parts in PETG at 240C, but, for parts the average flow rate would be less than 35mm^3/s.
You can carefully drill into the heatsink so the heat break tube sits higher. It seems to be OK leaving just a tiny gap between the collar on the block and the heatsink. I also chamfered the hole in the top of the heatsink because the corners were sharp compared to stock.
In the mean time a 0.6mm nozzle has been printing PLA and PETG at 35mm^3/s. Initially it would do PLA flow tests at 35mm^3/s and 225C but the heater could not maintain 235C and would error out. After filing down the nozzle it seemed better possibly because the nozzle didn’t poke out of the silicone sock as much. I think I did a PLA flow test OK at 230C and I have been printing parts in PETG at 240C, but, for parts the average flow rate would be less than 35mm^3/s.
Well thanks but this is is somehow have already be mentioned elsewhere :
EDIT: anyway the only good solution IMHO would be to have a thread length that match standar nozzles, cutting heatsink, using spacers to make contact, all are workarounds
and to avoid offtopic answers please jump to this post if you want a howto (using clone bambulab hotend & clone CHT nozzle)
I’m no business major, but seems to me like their primary goals at this point in time should be customer retention (i.e. additional support staff) and increased production capability (and possibly quality)… when they work, the X1 series are amazing printers, but between spats of QC issues and the constant support woes they are leaving a sour taste in a non-trivial number of customers’ mouths. I think these are understandable as growing pains for any company seeing the sudden level of interest Bambu is, but their polished marketing and rave reviews do them somewhat of a disservice here as I think the average consumer is going to assume this is a well-established company: how else would they be putting out something that everyone is talking so much about? That’d be my logic anyway.
