I like my Printrbot, but there are certain tasks that I wish were easier. I often go back and forth between larger, less detailed prints and smaller, very detailed prints. Generally, I like to keep each print to around an hour or two, so I often switch my nozzles between .2mm, .4mm and 1.0mm.



A few months ago, I upgraded my Printrbot Simple Metal to the Ubis13 hot end and while I was at it, I bought a bunch of the new tips because they were much cheaper than the old Ubis (ceramic) style tips. I bought all of the sizes they had at the time which were .2, .4, .75 and 1.0mm. Since then, they have come out with almost every size from .2 to 1.0mm.



The Ubis13 (and Ubis13s) have an all metal design which makes them heat up quicker and maintain temperature better than the ceramic hot end did. I definitely get more consistent results with this hot end. When changing the tips, you have to make sure you heat up the hot end to 200c before trying to remove the tip (to allow for thermal expansion). This is easier said than done, because handling a tiny piece of brass that is red hot can be tricky.



At first, I just used a pair of needle nose pliers that I keep around for cleaning the nozzle tips from hot plastic, but then I had an idea. If I could use a socket wrench to loosen the nozzle, it would make it quicker for me to change the tips and prevent the scratches that are slowly obscuring the tip size that is engraved on the side.

https://printrbot.com/shop/hot-end-tips-for-the-ub...