The Prusa FFF printers are equipped with a brass nozzle. This article will review the main information about the nozzles that can be used with your printer.
Brass has excellent heat conductivity and is tough enough to print most common filaments. However, when using abrasive filaments, the brass nozzle tends to wear too quickly, so abrasion-resistant nozzles are available.
If you need to change or replace the nozzle, please refer to our guides:
E3D nozzles
The E3D (or E3D compatible) nozzles fit into the MK3, MK3S, MK3S+, as well as MK2-series and previous, and the MINI/+ hotend. This nozzle needs to be tightened while the hotend is heated, or there will be a gap between the nozzle and the heatbreak through which the filament will leak out. The filament is led into the heatbreak through a PTFE tube.
Identify nozzle size
You can identify the nozzle diameter by the dots around the rim of the nozzle. For example, the E3D 0.4 mm nozzles shipped with the Original Prusa MK3S+ have three dots.
Note that the E3D V6 0.25 mm nozzle has no dots, and looks almost the same as the E3D compatible 0.4 mm nozzle that ships with the Original Prusa MINI/+.
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Nozzles for abrasive materials
Some filaments have particles added to them that can make them abrasive. A regular brass nozzle will degrade quickly and lose its properties when printing these. To print them, you will need to use a nozzle made of another material
Most of the abrasive materials are composites and plastics with additives. Some examples are ColorFabb XT CF20, ColorFabb Bronzefill, ColorFabb SteelFill, and some glow-in-the-dark filaments. Always ask your filament vendor if you are not sure about filament requirements. A slight disadvantage of the hardened steel nozzle is that some standard materials, like ABS, cannot be printed as fast as a regular nozzle. Due to the different thermal properties of a hardened steel nozzle compared to a brass nozzle, you may have to increase the nozzle temperature when printing.
Hardened steel nozzle by E3D
The hardened steel nozzle is recommended for printing abrasive filaments, which wear out the standard brass nozzle very quickly.
Most of the abrasive filaments are composites, plastics with something mixed in.
Some examples are Bronzefill, Brassfill, filaments with carbon compound, and glow-in-the-dark filaments.
Always ask your filament vendor if you are not sure. Keep in mind, hardened steel has different thermal conductivity properties than brass. Due to that, you may need to adjust your printing settings and increase the hotend temperature by about 5°C to print successfully with the hardened steel nozzle.
Nozzle X by E3D
Nozzle X is a nozzle designed to address the thermal limitations of a hardened steel nozzle and the poor abrasion resistance of plated copper or brass nozzles. It is coated with WS2, a polyphobic coating, that reduces the amount of plastic that sticks to the inside of the nozzle. For this reason, Nozzle X should not be maintained the same way as hardened steel or copper nozzles.
It can be used with abrasive fillers like glass, Kevlar, or carbon reinforcement, but does not support more abrasive fillers, like Boron Carbide, Boron, Boron Nitride, Tungsten, or Tungsten carbide.
Recommended cleaning methods:
- Non-abrasive cloth/rag for external use.
- Cleaning filament for internal use.
Non-recommended cleaning methods:
- An acupuncture needle or a brass brush can damage the coating.
- Cold-pulls. Can tear off the WS2 coating.
The Olsson Ruby nozzle
Similar to the hardened steel nozzle, the Olsson Ruby is designed to print highly abrasive materials. Since it is mostly made of brass, it retains the excellent heat conductivity and throughput of the stock brass nozzle, but with a very hard gemstone as its tip. Even though the ruby gemstone is highly wear-resistant, it’s also brittle. If you have the Live Z adjust value set incorrectly, or if your PINDA sensor is not set to a correct distance and the nozzle hits the removable steel sheet, the nozzle may crack. For installation, please refer to the official 3DVERKSTAN instructions, as its installation is a bit more involved.
Nextruder V6 Nozzle Adapter
The Nextruder V6 Nozzle Adapter enables your Prusa printer’s Nextruder to accept E3D V6 nozzles.
If you need to install or replace a nozzle with Nozzle Adapter, please refer to our guides:
- Nozzle adapter for CORE One
- Nozzle adapter for MK4S, MK3.9S
- Nozzle adapter for MK4, MK3.9
- Nozzle adapter for XL Single tool, Nozzle adapter for XL Multi tool
Other nozzle diameters
If you want to use a nozzle with a different diameter from the ones we already mentioned, you have to create the profile in PrusaSlicer manually. Starting with your standard 0.4 mm nozzle, you have to change the nozzle diameter in the Printer Settings and Extrusion width (percentage-wise). Keep in mind that the maximal layer height is always around 80% of the nozzle diameter. For more information, please see Creating profiles for different nozzles.
A 0.1 mm nozzle can be considered experimental; Its small diameter will not work with all filaments, the tolerances required in its manufacturing are hard to guarantee, and the excessive printing time it requires can be beyond reasonable. For these fine resolutions, you may want to consider SLA printing.
PrusaSlicer configuration
To adjust preset settings in PrusaSlicer, go to Menu -> Configuration -> Configuration Wizard -> Prusa Research and select the printer model you have, as well as the nozzle diameter you are currently using (purple squares).
Uncheck all the other models and nozzle diameters to avoid confusing the presets. You can always do the Wizard again and modify the settings. To set a different nozzle size on your printer, please see HW setup (MK2.5/S & MK3/S/+).
On MINI/+, navigate to Menu -> Settings -> Hardware.
Except for the presets for the stock 0.4 nozzle, all other nozzle configurations will have the diameter stated in the name of the profile. If you don't have the words "0.25 nozzle", "0.6 nozzle" or "0.8 nozzle" in the profile's name (green square), the preset is for a 0.4 mm nozzle.
First Layer Calibration of other nozzles
Starting from firmware 3.13.0, the First Layer calibration works for multiple nozzle sizes. The nozzle size can be changed at Settings -> HW setup -> Nozzle d. [0.25|0.40|0.60|0.80]. The 0.4 mm nozzle is the default.
Reset Live Adjust Z value:
- Original Prusa MK3S+/MK3S/MK2.5S - Reset your Live Adjust Z value from LCD menu -> Settings -> Live Adjust Z, then scroll the selector knob clockwise until the value reaches zero.
- Original Prusa MINI - Reset your Live Adjust Z value from LCD menu -> Calibration -> Live Adjust Z, then scroll the selector knob clockwise until the value reaches zero.
- Original Prusa MK4, XL - These models are equipped with a Loadcell. If any Live Adjust Z value is set, this is automatically reset after the next print is done.
After this, start your G-code and 'Adjust Live Z' while printing:
- Press the knob after it has started extruding and locate 'Adjust Live Z'.
- Select it and turn the knob clockwise until the line is flattened, but not squished. It should have a smooth top. When doing solid top-fill, make sure there are neither gaps between the lines (too far away), nor ridges between the lines (too close). Please see First Layer Calibration (i3) or Calibrazione primo layer (MINI/MINI+) for examples.
- Press the selector knob again to store the value.
The image depicts the first layer of a 0.4 mm nozzle. The line can be almost half the width of what is depicted.
Other considerations
Smaller diameters (~0.25 mm)
Almost any Composite material is out of the question. The particles in it can (and will) quickly clog or ruin your nozzle. However, filaments with fine glitter or similar "shine particles", like what is found in Prusament Galaxy Silver, should be no problem.
Flexible materials can also be problematic on a smaller diameter nozzle due to the higher pressure required for extrusion. It can buckle and tangle around the filament pulleys with higher pressure.
Slow speed - Precision takes time, prepare yourself for printing times of 24 to 100 hours, even with smaller objects. Not only is each line thinner and narrower than usual, which results in more perimeters, but the extruder movements are also greatly reduced to accommodate the increased accuracy.
When printing with a smaller nozzle, calibration and bed leveling become even more important. After changing the nozzle, make sure you at least run the Z calibration of your printer before you start printing.
Larger diameters (>0.6 mm)
The main drawback is its resolution. The thicker and taller layer lines will print the object faster, but will have limitations regarding fine details. On the other side, functional parts may prove stronger since each line has a larger amount of solid material.
Also, thanks to the larger nozzle diameter, there will be more solid material to cool down, which may increase warping. This might be an issue for materials prone to warping during print, like ABS or PC Blend.
| Nozzle size / Material | 0.25 mm | 0.4 mm | 0.6/0.8 mm |
| Flexible materials | ✖ | ✔ | ✔ |
| PLA | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| ASA/ABS | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| PETG | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| wood/metal infused | ✖ | ✔ * | ✔ |
| CF/kevlar infused ABS | ✖ | ✔ * | ✔ * |
| PC Blend | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Nylon | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| PVA/BVOH | ✖ | ✔ | ✔ |
* Hardened nozzle