3D printer nozzle size comparison

Everything about nozzles with a different diameter

The default nozzle diameter for most of today’s printers is 0.4 mm, and the nozzles used in Original Prusa i3 MK3S+ and the MINI printers are no exception. Changing the nozzle takes just a few minutes and it can bring a number of benefits. According to our survey, only approximately 20 % of users tried replacing their printer’s nozzle at some point, which is quite a low number. Let’s look at how changing the nozzle can improve your experience.

A smaller nozzle is great for detailed (but slower) prints, while larger nozzles print faster, but the quality suffers – or does it? In reality, it’s a bit more complicated. In our article, we will demonstrate the benefits of smaller and larger nozzles in real situations. But first, we need to clarify something users often get wrong – the correlation between layer height and nozzle diameter.

Layer height vs nozzle diameter

Layer height should not exceed 80 % of the nozzle diameter. If you are using the standard 0.4mm nozzle, the maximal layer height is about 0.32 mm. However, with a 0.6mm nozzle, it’s possible to achieve up to a 0.48 mm layer height.

Apart from these limitations, the two parameters are independent of each other. Tweaking their settings separately will bring completely different results. The nozzle diameter affects the overall level of detail almost exclusively in the horizontal plane (parallel to the print surface). What does this mean? With a smaller nozzle, you will be able to print a more detailed text –  assuming it’s placed on the top side of the printed object. Contrary to that, the layer height affects the level of detail on vertical and slanted sides of an object. You have a much greater chance of seeing individual layers on organic-looking objects. The lower you set the layer height, the better the overall result. On the other hand, it makes little sense to print rectangular-shaped objects with very low layer height. There will be little to no difference in the end result, plus the printing time will be unnecessarily long.

Print up to 4 times faster!

3D printing is not exactly a fast process. Even a print that is just a few inches tall can take several hours to complete. So it’s quite puzzling how overlooked large-diameter nozzle printing is, despite the fact that it can lead to a dramatic improvement of the printing speed.

STL download link – Chibi Grim by Tanya Wiesner

A larger-diameter nozzle lays down wider perimeters, which means that it uses fewer perimeters than a smaller-diameter nozzle to print a wall of the same thickness. A nozzle with a larger diameter also allows for printing with increased layer height. Combining these two effects leads to a noticeably shorter print time. There’s a catch, though: if you keep the same layer height to print something with just one perimeter, like a vase, you won’t notice any improvement in speed. Because the nozzle has to go through exactly the same sequence of moves, independent of diameter. Yes, the vase will have a slightly thicker wall, but the print time will be almost the same.

Effect on mechanical properties

Another advantage of using larger nozzles is the increased toughness of printed objects. An impact resistance test revealed that the objects printed with the 0.6mm nozzle absorbed up to 25.6 % energy more than those printed with a 0.4mm nozzle. And objects printed with a 0.25mm version absorbed 3.6 % less energy than those printed with a 0.4mm nozzle. This test was performed on ten different samples. We then removed the minimum and maximum values, which is why you can see values of 8 samples. To learn more about the Charpy impact strength test, please visit this link.

Supports are usually printed as a one perimeter wide polyline. If you go to slicer settings, you may often notice that the supports are deliberately underextruded, so they are easier to remove. And, of course, using a different printer nozzle directly affects the width of support walls. You can turn this into an advantage. By simply using a smaller nozzle supports will be thinner and easier to remove. Using larger nozzles has an opposite effect leading to wider and sturdier supports, which can be a bit difficult to remove.

How to replace the extruder nozzle?

Ready-made settings for 0.

If you want to try 0.25mm, 0.6mm, or 0.8mm nozzle and own an Original Prusa printer, you don’t need to create brand new slicer profiles. We’ve done that for you! Open the Configuration Wizard in PrusaSlicer and tick the nozzle diameter checkbox under your printer corresponding to your nozzle size. Then simply select it as the active printer profile.

Pros

Better looking printed texts

Better resolution in XY axes – perfect for jewelry, logos…

Extremely easy-to-remove supports

Cons

Significantly longer print times

Higher risk of nozzle getting clogged

Not compatible with some filaments (filaments containing larger particles)

Examples of practical use (0.25 mm)

Printing texts

As already mentioned, the nozzle diameter has a noticeable effect on the printing resolution of the plane parallel to the print surface. This means that a 0. 25mm nozzle is suitable for printing detailed text. Let’s compare it to the default 0.4mm nozzle. Despite the fact that ‘Detect thin walls’ is enabled, parts of the letters can be lost during slicing. This won’t happen with a 0.25mm nozzle, so you can use it to print an unusual business card to woo the crowds 🙂 It’s worth mentioning that changing the layer height won’t affect the text legibility.

Slic3r preview shows that the object’s details are too small for the selected nozzle

Left: Business card printed with a 0.4mm nozzle. Right: Same model, printed with a 0.25mm nozzle.

Printing jewelry

This is another great use of a smaller nozzle. The difference between a 0.4mm and a 0.25mm nozzle is not so dramatic, because even a 0.4mm nozzle can print small objects reasonably well. Improvements will be visible especially when printing thin lines.

Printing miniatures

Surprisingly, printing miniatures using a small-diameter nozzle leads to a fairly minor improvement in print quality. You’ll notice the biggest improvement while printing supports for these objects. Supports printed with a 0.25mm nozzle are easy to remove and they leave nearly invisible marks on the object.

STL download link

On the other hand, if you don’t need supports, the difference between a 0.4mm and a 0.25mm nozzle is close to zero. Honestly, if we had switched the labels above those two chests, could you tell?

STL download link

A 0.60mm nozzle is suitable for any print that doesn’t rely on tiny details. Headphone stands, various holders, racks or flower pots… can all be printed in half the usual time. We have been mostly using a 0.4mm nozzle during the past few months, so frankly it was a pleasant re-discovery of how nifty the 0.6mm nozzle is.

Pros

Print times up to twice as fast

Almost the same print quality as a 0.4mm nozzle

More durable prints

Low risk of a clogged nozzle

Cons

Worse resolution of tiny details and texts

Supports are more difficult to remove

Examples of practical use (0.

Flower pots and vases

Flower pots usually don’t feature any intricate details, so the difference between a 0.4mm and a 0.6mm print is nearly impossible to tell. In the example below, we’re using the same layer height. With an increased layer height, the 0.6mm would finish the print even faster. And thanks to the shape of the flower pot, the difference wouldn’t be too noticeable.

STL download link

Buddy the Dog

Buddy is quite a detailed model. However, the 0.6mm nozzle has no trouble with that whatsoever at this scale.

Voroni lamp

Thanks to the shape of this lamp (large flat surfaces), almost no quality has been sacrificed. A 0.6mm nozzle requires one perimeter less to achieve the same thickness of the wall as a 0.4mm nozzle (3 perimeters with 0.4 mm vs 2 perimeters with 0.6 mm). This saved a huge amount of time with the reduction of the print time by nearly 9 hours!

STL download link

One millimeter?! 0. 04 inches? Yep, correct. Forget everything you think you know about 3D printing. Even prints that take dozens of hours to finish can be done in only a few hours using a 1mm nozzle. You can achieve up to 5 times faster printing speeds compared to a 0.4mm nozzle. Of course, there is a price to pay. With a 1mm nozzle, you will usually print at a layer height of 0.5 mm, but it’s possible to go even higher. Sure, the printed object’s layers will be highly visible, but sometimes that doesn’t hurt. In some cases, it can even give the model an interesting aesthetic, which could be quite challenging to achieve using other methods. We will, of course, demonstrate that on several examples below.

Pros

Extremely fast printing

Very sturdy prints

Unusual look with highly visible layers

Nearly zero risk of a clogged nozzle

Cons

Lack of detail

Visible layers

Supports very difficult to remove

Filament seems to disappear from the spool

Examples of practical use (1 mm)

Dinosaur – a toy for children

A surprising advantage of using a 1mm nozzle is its ability to print rounded edges naturally – without any extra settings. This is great for printing toys for children because the risk of cutting one’s finger on a sharp edge is minimized. Plus, the toy was printed five times faster compared to the default 0.4mm nozzle.

STL download link

Pencil holder

STL download link

Transparent prints without infill

Models printed using a transparent filament (e.g. PETG) without an infill and with a very high layer height have the ability to refract light in an interesting way. Especially, if you can print them with only one or two perimeters. Achieving a similar look would be otherwise quite challenging.

Conclusion

If we could recommend buying only one nozzle as an alternative to the 0.4mm nozzle, our vote goes to the 0.6mm option. It offers noticeably shorter printing times, but it’s still possible to print reasonably detailed models. If you usually print tiny models with texts, jewelry or logos, you should also consider the 0. 25mm nozzle. The 1mm version has a limited use, but it’s still pretty fun to use. Even the original E3D nozzles, which can be purchased through our e-shop or directly from E3D, are just around 7 EUR per unit. This small investment can have a surprisingly large impact on how you print.

What 3D Printer Nozzle Size Should I Use? - The Pros and Cons

When browsing for your last printer, 3D printer nozzle size may well have been the last thing on your mind. It’s an often overlooked detail.

Depending on what you need to print; the wrong setup could be holding you back.

In this article we’ll take a look at the options, and why you might need to explore different 3D printer nozzles, different materials, the relationship between nozzle size vs layer height and if in doubt, how to measure your actual nozzle diameter. 

How does the 3D printer nozzle size affect prints?

The nozzle diameter directly affects the 3D printer extrusion width of each line in your print. This has an effect on a few elements of your print.

If you 3D print for business (or doing large quantities of very similar prints) you’ll want to make sure your extruder is laying down the right amount.

Not too much (as you could be using more filament than necessary) and not too little (as your print times could be longer than they need to be).

Or perhaps you print various models, some very detailed and intricate, and some more practical prints (like a replacement doorknob for example) that just need to be printed quickly, and for maximum strength.

Either way, you’re going to need the right setup for you so you’re not wasting your time, wasting filament or just coming out with an undesirable print quality. You can treat this guide as a sort of 3d printer nozzle size comparison.

There’s no simple answer to what’s the best 3D printer nozzle size, you need to weigh up what you’re trying to achieve and what elements matter most to you.  

Depending on your 3D printer, various nozzles can be interchanged reasonably easily (most are screw fit) and multipacks (with different sizes in) can be picked up quite cheaply.!–split3–!

Let’s look at the various nozzle size 3D printer options commonly available:

The most common standard nozzle sizes are the 0.4mm (or 0.35mm) nozzle used by most current 3D printer manufacturers currently available. The reason for this, quite simply is that it’s a great all-rounder nozzle size.

This means you can print exceptional detail, and it won’t take forever.

That’s because you can print down to layer heights of just 0.1mm, or up to 0.3mm using a 0.4mm 3D print nozzle. The thinner the layer height, the better the detail (on the Z axis), and the thicker the layer height the fast your print will be, but with less detail.

This is more often than not, for most print jobs the best nozzle size for your 3D printer. 

Well, maybe some prints take forever – but at least it’s an acceptable amount of time. A common misconception is that if someone isn’t getting good enough print quality from their printer running a 0.4mm nozzle, they immediately think they need a smaller 3D printing nozzle size.

Another common smaller size is 0.25mm. Some printers are now offering 0.2mm, 0.15mm and Mass Portal are even experimenting with 0.1mm 3D printer extruder nozzles.

These create some incredible results for FDM machines, they managed to print the inner workings of a watch in excellent detail.  

3D Printer Resolution Explained:

Now in theory, smaller 3D printer nozzle sizes do allow you to achieve better precision. But for a lot of printers, especially lower-priced or older models – a smaller-sized extruder nozzle isn’t necessarily going to make a difference unless your printer supports the higher resolution necessary.

Like putting low profile, performance tires on an old classic car – it won’t make it go any faster or necessarily handle the corners better.

It’s similar to how 3D printer specifications on paper (such as advertised resolution) won’t always translate to better print quality on the finished article.

Similar to how Ultimaker and Zortrax have very similar resolutions on paper, but in our unbiased opinion our Zortrax creates better quality prints than our Ultimaker 2 does – for example.

Check out the fine detail below for a 3D printing resolution comparison on very small nozzle sizes. 3D printing fine detail: Close-up shot of an FDM print with a 0.1mm nozzle – Mass Portal. If you were wondering how small can a 3d printer print, then this will give you a good idea.

If you bought your 3D printer recently though, it’s likely you’re going to be able to benefit from a smaller nozzle size as the resolution across the board is getting really good.

Let’s take a look at the pros and cons to printing with smaller nozzle sizes. Some are less obvious than others. Then we’ll take a look at the underrated larger nozzles available.

Hopefully once you’ve finished this article you’ll be able to answer that “What nozzle size should I print with?” that you’ve likely been losing so much sleep over.

You’ve likely guessed already that the smaller the nozzle in your extruder, in theory the higher detail you can print.

This is great for those intricate prints, or if you need to print very thin walls for aircraft skin, or high transparency prints and similar reasons for example.

This photo of a ‘printed model plane skin was done in one layer thick on a regular 0.4mm nozzle. If we’d done it on a 0.2mm nozzle the weight (and strength) of the skin would be halved.

It’s worth noting though that a 0.2mm nozzle 3d printer does not extrude half the amount of filament that a 0.4mm nozzle does.

Oh no, thanks to Area that means that halving the diameter actually means you’re looking at extruding just 25% of filament in an 0.2mm nozzle compared with a standard 0.4mm.

That could, if all other things being equal increase printing time by a large margin. In real terms though, it’s likely to increase by about two times longer, as you’ll usually use less filament as you print thinner wall thicknesses and thinner infill supports.

So bear that in mind if you need really strong parts; high detail and strength can only both be achieved if you’re willing to wait a long time…

Basically the smaller the nozzle size, the higher you increase your chances of 3D printer problems. Especially if you’re using cheap filament – it might work fine with lower detail, thick nozzles, but if you want specialist prints with small nozzles, it’s key to using pure, high-quality filaments. 

Other factors when printing with thin diameter nozzles are less obvious – like it’s harder to print with overhangs. This is because each layer has less width for the next layer to purchase on as your traverse an overhang for example. Bridging is also more challenging.

Psst: here’s how to print really good overhangs and bridges.

But there’s good news! Where overhangs are a little more tricky with a thinner nozzle, the supports are actually much easier to remove.

Because of the additional precision, your slicer can use the minimum filament necessary between your model and the supports, so they’ll break away more easily – and have less broken contact area that needs sanding.

One last point, that really is the elephant in the room is the ease with which very thin nozzles are clogged. If you get down to 0.2mm or even 0.1mm sizes, you only need a small particle to clog the hotend.

We’re not trying to plug our own product here (well, maybe a little) but it’s increasingly important to print with excellent quality filament the thinner you go.

No contaminants in your filament, and clean out the nozzle sufficiently and regularly and you’ll turn an otherwise problematic printing experiment into a reliable endeavor.

So it’s worth mentioning you’d benefit from using a filament dust catcher when printing with those extra fine nozzles. 

Before we consider a wider selection of 3D printer nozzle diameter, it’s worth taking a moment to understand the relationship between nozzle size and layer thickness.

In short, the former dictates horizontal details (along the x and y axis), and the latter controls the resolution on the vertical, or z axis.

How do I measure the nozzle size? 

While the manufactured diameter of your nozzle should be engraved on the side of it, it’s not always possible to read this if it’s already mounted in your extruder, or if you’ve been printing with it for a while, you may not be confident it’s the same size as it was before.

Some materials can be more abrasive than others, wearing your nozzle to a larger diameter.  

To work out what size your nozzle is really extruding, extrude some material into the air very slowly (fast can alter the shape or size) at the coolest setting you can extrude that material at, around 1mm/s.

Once cool, use a micrometer if you have one, they tend to be more accurate than digital calipers. You should find this is reasonably accurate. 

Bear in mind it’s likely the filament will have expanded after extruding, but doing it this way should minimize this. Poor quality filament, or printing way too hot (especially if you’re extruding 1mm/s) will cause the material to expand more, giving an inaccurate reading. 

Having said all this, it’s often useful to know the swollen die size that your filament is expanding to after extrusion if you’re working to get a really nice, precise finish on your prints. So feel free to experiment with a faster speed that’s a little more similar to your actual printing. 

Ultimately the most important metric is volume of filament delivered. This is simply related to your actual filament diameter (not just the advertised diameter) and the speed you’re extruding.

That’s one of the reasons it’s so important your filament diameter is consistent to get nice-looking prints. So it pays to get good quality filament.  

What is layer height in 3D printing?

Simply put, it’s the thickness of each line of extruded material that makes up each layer of your print.

The thinner the layer height (or layer thickness) the finer the detail of the print on the Z axis (the vertical dimension of your print), but the more layers it will need. Leading to a longer print time. 

They are related but not completely independent from each other. For example, it is possible to print a thinner nozzle with a thicker layer height if vertical resolution is less important to you, and a thicker nozzle with very thin layer heights for vice versa priorities – but if you take this route to the extremes it will cause problems.

To maintain adequate pressure your layer height wants to be at the very least 20% smaller than the width of your nozzle – in most instances though we recommend it to be 50% for the best results. 

How do I gauge the correct distance from the nozzle to the bed? 

Getting this right can mean the difference between your print not even starting, and your print finishing with a perfectly smooth, glass-like surface under it.  

People assume a feeler gauge 3D printer setup is required – but even this can be too thick. We recommend using very thin paper, like receipt paper to gauge the correct distance of your nozzle from the bed. 

Please the receipt paper under the nozzle, and move the nozzle down step by step until the receipt paper has just a little resistance to it when you try to move it out. Printing at this height will give the bottom of your prints a professional glass-like finish. 

Here’s our explanation for the best 3d printer layer height combo.

What’s The Max 3D Printing Layer Height vs Nozzle Size?

You don’t necessarily need a 3D printer layer height calculator, but a general rule of thumb is your max layer height is 50% the width of your nozzle. In some instances you can go higher (maybe 75%) but you may sacrifice reliability.

It’s best to experiment with the parameters of your print, as long as you understand the relationship between 3D printer nozzle size vs layer height you’ll be on track.  

So for a 0.4mm nozzle, you’ll be looking to print at 0.2mm layer height, or up to 0.3mm. Your minimum would want to be around 0.1mm, any lower than this and you’re just increasing your waiting time for not much benefit (on the same 0.4mm size nozzle). 

Just don’t forget to adjust filament flow rate or extrusion pressure to compensate for any layer height vs nozzle size changes. Though most updated slicers should handle standard extrusion width vs nozzle diameter for you automatically. 

For most cases we recommend printing thinner layers with thinner nozzle diameters, and thicker layers with thicker nozzles, generally.

Just note that if you do print with a thicker nozzle diameter and a very thin layer height, you’ll need to bring your extrusion settings in the slicer way down to prevent over-extrusion.

It’s also worth noting, regardless of size, you’ll always want to make sure you have a clean 3d printer nozzle at all times. One of the easiest ways to do this is with high quality cleaning filament. You only need to use a few grams of it each time you clean, but it’ll prevent carbon build up over time. 

If you’ve got a partially clogged nozzle, it’s effective enough to help with full nozzle cleaning too – flushing out all the impurities without being abrasive.  

Another point to note, if you’re printing thicker layer heights (in proportion to nozzle diameter) your overhangs will look a bit messier.

In contrast to thinner layer heights, or better 3D printer layer resolution, will improve the detail on Z axis. Here’s a diagram to better illustrate layer height 3d printing.

So why would I use a 0.8mm or thicker nozzle?

These were more common on older machines, but they’re making a comeback. It’s all about using what you need, and no more. For a lot of prints, the stock 0.4mm that likely came with your printer could be overkill as far as detail is concerned.

If you want strength and speed and detail is less important, printing for a nozzle size comparison with a 0. 8mm or even a 1.0mm nozzle could be your answer.

This is especially important if you’re printing for business.

Need to get more prints in a shorter time frame from your machine and increase profits? Switch up the nozzle size – remember a 0.8mm could reduce print times down to ¼ of a print done with a 0.4mm.

The savings could be massive.

And don’t forget, prints done with 0.8mm can still be impressively detailed depending on your printer.

The only slight downside could be that you use slightly more filament, but with the thicker part walls you can likely get away with lower infill to compensate.

There’s no single best printing nozzle size diameter for all prints, you just need to consider what’s appropriate for what you’re wanting to print. 

Which leads us onto…

What Nozzle Size Should I Use For Composite Materials? 

It’s worth noting that composite filaments (any particle based filaments like Woodfill, Copperfill, Carbon Fibre Nylon or Glass Reinforced Nylon) will have trouble extruding through a thinner 3D print head.  

That’s because these filaments have particles that, although still nano-sized, can have issues flowing through nozzles under 0.4mm diameter. We recommend that the best printing nozzle diameter is 0.5mm for composite materials, and for any metal, glass or Carbon Fiber materials you’ll need a hardened nozzle.

The brass one that came with your printer likely won’t last, and will bore out to a larger size after a few hours of printing. 

A 0.5mm stainless nozzle or tungsten nozzle will last much longer for composite filaments and cost £5-£20. Or you might want to really splash out on one of these.

So if you’re still wondering “What extruder size to choose?” let’s recap with the pros and cons of smaller nozzles so you can work out the best nozzle size for your 3D printer:

• Much finer details, providing your printer supports the additional resolution.
• Can take significantly longer to print, but thicker nozzles can cut the time down dramatically. Spending 5 mins changing the size on longer prints could be worth the time investment!
• Overhangs are a little more challenging to print, but supports break away more cleanly.
• You need seriously good filament, or your nozzle could block easily. Is it worth the risk?

Hopefully this article has shed some light on the options available to you. If it has, or you have further questions related to this, please do comment below so we can help – we love to hear your thoughts or even see photos of experiences you’ve had with different nozzle sizes.

When experimenting with various types of nozzle and rate of using filament, it may be useful to know the length of the remaining filament on the spool. We’ve put down a chart for various spool sizes and filament diameters for the different materials, you can find our filament length guide here. 

• For any more nozzle information, read our full guide to 3D printer nozzles.
• We also have a guide to 3D printer hot ends
• How to unclog a clogged nozzle
• How to print overhangs and bridges over 45 degrees
• The best FDM 3D printers

How to choose the nozzle size for a 3D printer? Pros and cons

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