I saw a new high-flow, high-heat hot end series, the Chube.
Produced in Wisconsin by Luke’s Laboratory, the Chube Air and Chube Conduction provide significant advantages over stock hot ends found in desktop 3D printers.
Why the need for a replacement hot end? It’s all about consistency and speed. These days, high-speed 3D printing is one of the most important goals, and most 3D printer manufacturers are busy tweaking their system designs to achieve ever-higher speeds.
But some of the high speeds are not quite real. Many 3D printer manufacturers boast of print speeds of, for example, 600mm/s. That seems quite high, but in practice, you would only reach around 300mm/s. Are the manufacturers lying to you?
Not exactly. Their 600mm/s print speed was achieved by printing 0.1mm layers instead of the more standard 0.2mm layers. This is almost never stated in the speed specifications. So yes, they did print at 600mm/s, but you can’t do that for your 0.2mm layer prints.
There is a reason for this, and it’s all about the hardware. Each desktop FFF 3D printer has a maximum volumetric throughput that its extrusion system can achieve. Older 3D printers might have a volumetric rate of, say, 10 cubic mm/s. Faster devices like today’s Bambu Lab gear might hit 30 or higher.
But what if you want even higher speeds? Clearly, the motion systems on these devices can handle higher speeds, as they can print thinner layers at high speeds. The limitation is in the maximum volumetric flow, and that’s all about the ability of the hot end to warm up the filament as it passes through.
Luke’s Laboratory is on the case here and has developed two products to alleviate this problem: the Chube Air and the Chube Conduction. Both are replacement hot ends, which are fully compatible with any V6-style hot end.
The 69g Air is the less expensive model at US$260, and it provides a 42mm heating zone for filament. The lightweight 74g Conduction provides 52mm of heating and costs US$320. Both hot ends can reach 500°C, enabling use of almost any engineering material.
An interesting feature of the Chube hot ends is their “Chalice” heatbreak technology. The heatbreak is the section that separates the hot zone from the cold zone. This is critical to prevent filament jams. Here you can see an image of the technology, which resembles a chalice. They explain:
“The thin, unibody break can withstand extreme temperatures and abrasive materials with ease while still preventing heat creep; keeping the surrounding components cold.
The cup design of Chalice provides an ideal seat for the bowden tube and smoothly guides filament into the generous meltzone.”
These hot ends don’t specify a maximum print speed because that depends on the motion system of the 3D printer they are mounted upon. However, they will both provide significantly more heating potential, and should enable considerable speed-ups in printing.
Via Chube
