Micro Swiss All Metal Hotend with Slotted Cooling Block for Wanhao i3 w/.4mm Nozzle

This took me some time to dial in my settings to account for the change from the stock hot end, but once I adjusted retraction and temp, this hot end is completely worth it. I havent had a jam since.

its been bit tricky to install. Remember to reduce retraction settings

Very nice upgrade to my Monoprice Maker Select V2. Will probably buy another for my Plus. Print quality improved and prints PETG well.

I recently upgraded my Monoprice unit with this hotend primarily because I dont want to have to deal with tearing it apart every so often to replace the PTFE tube. Im not so interested about running at higher temperatures, but at least that option is now available. So far, its been running beautifully. Ive been running at lower temperatures while simultaneously printing at faster speeds without any problems. As a result, the amount of residual strings has vastly decreased and the quality of the prints seems to be a lot better as well, although that could easily be confirmation bias. Still, many problems that I was having with the stock front end and PTFE tube have been decreased or eliminated, and its nice to run my prints at a cooler temp but at faster speeds with no apparent impact in quality. Yes, PTFE tubes are a lot cheaper. But if this wont break your bank account and youre going to tear your extruder apart anyway, you should strongly consider upgrading to this and getting rid of the need for PTFE tubes.

First and foremost, I would like to begin this review by stating that I did in fact receive the all metal hot end from Micro Swiss in exchange for my unbiased and honest review. Its made well, its made VERY well. The tolerances on the threads and bore are spot on, and leave little room for error. In one of the pictures Im attaching you will be able to see the clearance between the barrel and the slotted cooling block. Its so perfectly fit in there that Micro Swiss actually recommends NOT using thermal compound to improve thermal transfer. This allows the upper portion of the barrel to stay below that dreadful glass transition temperature while allowing the lower barrel and heating block to melt to its hearts content. What this means for the user is that there are no jams from premature softening before diameter reductions. And since the hot end is all metal, you can print any material you wish, because you are no longer limited by that 240 degree degradation temperature of PTFE (which is present in almost all commercial hot ends). This opens the door to many filaments, such as HTPLA, Nylon, and PETG, all while printing with beautiful consistency. I highly recommend this hot end to anyone looking to take the next step with their 3D printer. Word of caution! the threading this item does NOT fit most heater blocks, and it is recommended (that if you chose not to use this with a wanhao), you purchase a HotBlock from WMD Products, which is custom made to fit this all metal hot end. Perfect for a conversion on any MK style printer (little bit of a hassle converting J-Head style printers).

It is GREAT, better than the ad says.

Worked fine at first. But quickly went south. Had to take it apart and xlean it, same issuesm. Upgrqxed cooling block. Better but still clogging issues. Bad underextrusion. And worse yet, it LEAKS. I tightened while hot, it leaks. Tried everything short of using teflon tape. Still leaks. PLA, PETG, whatever. Quality of construction and precision, just doesnt perform.

Great improvement on my monoprice maker select.

Upgraded to this set so I dont have to worry about PTFE liner decomposing. Install was a breeze but of course I broke one of the heating cartridge wires - my own fault, be careful when you do it. Print mostly PETG on Maker Select V2 with stock stepper and D4 drive gear, 0.25mm layers with 0.4mm nozzle at 60mm/sec head speed. Calibrated ESTEP at 3mm/sec which gives me a bit of a headroom for my head speed. It extrudes reliably, probably can push it even faster. Good experience so far.

This thing is a godsend. If you have a 3D printer and want quality prints, this is an absolute must have. No excuses. This works so much better than stock.