The Revo rollout is now well and truly underway. Our initial product offering has already been joined by the extremely popular Revo Voron and more recently Revo Hemera XS.

(Revo CR and Revo ObXidian Nozzles are also coming Soon™ – we promise).

With all these releases planned, you’d be forgiven for missing our latest ‘little’ release 0.15mm Revo Nozzles!

The level of detail you can achieve with 0.15mm Revo Nozzles is incredible. We’re talking 3D prints so detailed, they were mistaken for SLA 3D prints at our recent trade show in Detroit!

Our 0.15 Nozzles are the same length as all other Revo Nozzles, so they drop right into your existing Revo setup. We won’t pretend that printing with a 0.15mm nozzle is as hassle-free as with your trusty 0.4mm, but by following the tips in this blog, you should be able to get up and running quickly while keeping nozzle clogs at bay.

📷 Detail to rival SLA prints. 

 

The history of 0.15mm nozzles at E3D

The 0.15mm nozzle is not a new idea, in fact, we’ve had them available for the V6 ecosystem since late 2016. Changing V6 nozzles with tools and hot tightening is a hassle, so many users were reluctant to experiment with new nozzle sizes like the 0.15mm. With Revo, it’s far easier – just change nozzles using your fingers!

Across the nearly six years of their existence, many of these pain points have been alleviated thanks to improvements in filament manufacturing, extruder hardware, and slicing software. However, this hasn’t yet translated to wider adoption among the community. For most users, it is simply too much hassle to change to a 0.15mm V6 nozzle just for a few prints. Revo eliminates that barrier to entry and as a result, we’re hoping to start seeing more awesome tiny prints from the community.

 

Things to know when printing with 0.15mm Revo Nozzles

If you’ve ever used a 0.25mm nozzle or smaller, you’ll probably understand 3D printing with tiny nozzles is much trickier than with a 0.4mm nozzle. Revo makes things easier, but you’ll still need to make some tweaks to your typical 3D printing process

 

1. Make sure your 3D printer’s bed is as level as possible

Your first layers will be 0.1mm or smaller, so your Z offset will need to be just right. If it’s too high, your first layer will have poor adhesion and your 3D prints won’t stick. On the other hand, if your Z offset is too low, you’ll clog the nozzle! We recommend setting your first layer height to 0.1mm, even if the rest of your layers are as low as 0.05!

Some TeamE3D two-colour portraits! Can you believe these were 3D printed?

 

2. Don’t even think about using any filled materials

A nozzle this small means filled materials like carbon fibre Nylon or other composites will have fibres the same size or larger than the nozzle’s orifice, which means clogs are unavoidable! These clogs may leave your nozzle permanently jammed and so it’s best to avoid filled materials altogether.

3. Clean your filaments

It might sound funny, but dust or debris on your filament can lead to a blockage. If your filament has been sitting idle for a while, consider making a filament cleaning device like this one. Also, consider drying your filament out to remove moisture – saturated filament won’t do you any favours.

A closeup of one of the portraits from the last image. You can see the dust and general debris on the print at this scale. This is capable of clogging your 0.15mm Nozzle.

 

4. Keep bed adhesion helpers on hand

The surface area on the base of your 0.15mm nozzle prints will often be so small, getting good bed adhesion can be challenging. It’s worth having some adhesion helpers on hand, such as Magigoo, 3DGloop, Dimafix, Kapton tape, hairspray, or whatever you find works for you.

5. Use filaments with good dimensional accuracy

In the six years since we released 0.15mm V6 nozzles, filament manufacturing has come a long way. Filaments are now of a much higher quality and made to much tighter tolerances. This, paired with considerable 3D printing hardware and software advances, has made 3D printing with 0.15mm nozzles considerably easier than it was back in 2016.

6. Update your slicer profiles

If you don’t have a dedicated profile available on your slicer, a good profile to start with is with a 0.25mm nozzle profile. The key changes are to update extrusion widths and layer heights. For more detailed settings, head to The E3D Help Centre.

Saruman bust by Fotis Mint. Printed with a 0.15mm Nozzle and 0.07 layer height.

 

7. Start by using ASA or ABS if you have it

ASA or ABS filaments have a higher melt-flow rate than PLA/PETG, and are less prone to clogging. We’ve still had plenty of success with other materials, but they can be less forgiving.

8. Use a suitable printer setup

Direct Drive machines are preferred. The less crisp retractions of bowden systems can end up negating some of the benefit you get with tiny nozzles.

Where to buy

0.15mm nozzles are available to buy now. Buying outside the UK? Avoid additional charges and lead times by ordering from your local E3D reseller.

If you have further questions, we’re available for your questions on Discord or social media. Don’t forget to follow our blog for the latest E3D news and updates!