V2.4 Hotend Pros/Cons/Recommedantions/Experience

[wmattias]

Printer Model

Voron 2.4

This has probably been asked many times on Discord, but I'm trying to figure out of there is some concensus / pros / cons on the bewildering array of Hotends out there...

Seems like these are some popular choices, but I can't figure out what the pro / cons of each of them are:
(In terms of reliability, performance, geometry implications, standard/non-standard build, which ones to stay away from, etc).
- Classic v6
- Dragon SF / HF / UHF
- VORON Dragon ST / HF
- Rapido / Rapido Plus
- Mosquito / Mosquito Magnum

What is everyone using (and is happy with / would recommend)?

 

[eridum]

I'm sure people with experience with multiple hotends will be able to compare. You're also missing Revo. This should be in your list.
My 2cents (and what I use): On Dragon SF
Pros:

• Never had an issue, never clogged it (>1500h)
• Can print up to 18-19 mm^3/s with standard brass nozzle (more typically = 15-17)
• Can print up to 25-26 with CHT nozzle
• It's a workhorse. I don't remember having someone say they had an issue with it

Cons:

• If you're aiming for very fast prints (>24mm^3/s), this is not the right Hotend
• Changing nozzle is not as simple as with E3D Revo

 

[Oberon]

Here's what I wrote to a similar question on Reddit about a month ago :

I would go at it this way

1. Unless you want to print with very small nozzle diameter, don't go Revo. Why : max flowrate is too low. Main advantage of Revo is swappable nozzle, which is useful to rapidly switch between a 0.4 and 0.6/0.8 nozzle to print faster.... But even at 0.4 a Voron printer will print faster than a Revo can spit out filament, so there's no point switching to a larger nozzle.

2. High flow nozzles are not the best to begin / tweak your first high end printer with (more oozing, a bit less control on the filament).

3. Dropeffect XG is an interesting proposal, but very new and little feedback/reviews on it. Not saying it's bad, but if your looking for support from the rest of the community you'll get little on the XG for a few months. Nozzle types and availability are limited too.

4. This leaves us with standard nozzles : Dragon, V6, ...

V6 is outdated, groove mount is not the best, neither is cooling.

Dragon just like V6 has a vast standard nozzle choice including hardened/coated/ruby ones and if you need more flow you can use a CHT nozzle which will bring you close to 30mm^3/s with ABS without the downsides of a HF nozzle. It also has good thermal performances and mounting design.

I would go with a Dragon or something similar based on this, and keep an eye on the Dropeffect XG in the near future.

So at the time I did go with the Dragon SF when I built my 2.4 in early 2020, absolutely no issue since and I agree with what @eridum except I'd say you can get up to 28mm^3/s if you raise the hotend temperature a bit. This is PLENTY for you to get used to your printer and then if you really need more you can just change the heatsink and go for a HF.

As for the moskito, my very personal opinion is that I don't like the way that company works, they have not understood or shown any respect for the concept of FOSS and have a strange view on the hobby 3D printing industry from a pricing and advertising pov. For that reason I would not consider buying their products.

 

[wmattias]

Thanks for the feedback!

Any opinions on the “Voron” Dragon ST vs the Dragon SF?

 

[Oberon]

I'm not sure but I think ST is Pheatus' talk for "STandard" and SF is the more general calling for a Standard Flow hotend. I think they're the same thing.

As for the "Voron" version afaik this is just for aesthetics, no performance difference.

 

[NoGuru]

I use a E3D V6 and Dragon, and can swap them out in just a few minutes but I don't have a preference on one vs the other. I use both with a hardened .6 nozzle.

I have been considering changing to the Rapido UHF hotend. Looks like it has some advantages but since I am not having issues I might just stay with my setup now.

 

[NikkiTr]

Had my Magnum on a previous printer so it was a case of having it in stock…. Just integrated it into my Stealthburner and it rocks. High flow, fast and reliable, and means that on big jobs I can run 250mm/s+ without worry about hitting flow issues.

Also ran a Revo 6 - also brilliant, but limited to about 17mm3/. The printed quality was remarkable but just not able to do the capability and speed of the V2-350 justice.