Voron Nozzle Types Guide — Brass, Hardened Steel, Ruby, and Nozzle Sizes

Hotend Reference Materials

Your Voron's nozzle is the final interface between your carefully tuned printer and the filament being deposited. Everything — hotend temperature stability, pressure advance tuning, extrusion consistency, and layer adhesion — is filtered through that tiny orifice. Choosing the wrong nozzle material or size can undo hours of calibration work, while the right nozzle choice unlocks new materials and print capabilities. This guide covers every nozzle type compatible with Voron hotends, when to use each, and how to maintain them. Last updated: May 2025.

Nozzle Compatibility — V6 vs Voron Style

Voron printers use hotends that accept one of two nozzle standards:

• V6-style (M6 x 1.0 thread): The classic standard. Used by the AfterBurner, most Revo Voron adapters, and many third-party hotends. The V6 nozzle has a characteristic conical tip and is widely available in every material and size. Thread length is 12mm for standard V6, 8mm for "short" V6 used in some toolheads.
• Voron-style (M6 x 1.0 thread, 8mm thread length, 7mm hex): Also called "Voron nozzle" or "HF (high flow) nozzle." Developed for the StealthBurner and Voron toolheads. Shorter thread engagement (8mm vs 12mm) and a larger internal bore for higher flow rates. The shorter nozzle means the heatbreak and heater block are positioned differently, optimized for the Voron toolhead geometry.
• Revo-style (proprietary bayonet mount): The E3D Revo system uses a quick-change bayonet mount. Revo Voron adapters exist for StealthBurner. The advantage is cold-swapping nozzles without heating the hotend — less risk of burns and faster changes. Nozzles are Revo-specific and available in a smaller range of materials.

Important: Do not use a standard V6 12mm thread-length nozzle in a StealthBurner designed for Voron-style 8mm nozzles. The extra 4mm of thread will push the nozzle too far into the heatbreak, potentially causing a clog or preventing proper seating. Conversely, a Voron-style 8mm nozzle in a standard V6 hotend may not have enough thread engagement and could leak.

Nozzle Materials — Complete Comparison

Brass Nozzles

Brass is the default nozzle material for good reason. Copper-alloy brass offers excellent thermal conductivity (110-120 W/mK), which means the nozzle heats evenly and responds quickly to temperature changes. This makes brass the best choice for consistent extrusion with standard materials like PLA, PETG, and ABS.

• Thermal conductivity: ~120 W/mK (excellent)
• Hardness: ~80-100 HB (soft — wears with abrasive filaments)
• Max temperature: 300°C (practical limit; brass softens above this)
• Cost per nozzle: $2-5
• Best for: PLA, PETG, ABS, ASA, TPU, PC (non-abrasive filaments)
• Lifespan: 200-500 hours before wear affects print quality

Hardened Steel Nozzles

Hardened steel nozzles are the workhorses for abrasive filaments. They are significantly harder than brass, resisting wear from carbon fiber, glass fiber, glow-in-the-dark, and metal-filled filaments. The trade-off is lower thermal conductivity (~15-25 W/mK), which means the nozzle requires higher temperatures (10-20°C more) to achieve the same flow rate as brass.

• Thermal conductivity: ~15-25 W/mK (poor — requires temperature compensation)
• Hardness: ~600-800 HV (very hard — excellent wear resistance)
• Max temperature: 500°C+ (suitable for PEEK/PEI/Ultem)
• Cost per nozzle: $6-15
• Best for: Carbon fiber, glass fiber, glow-in-the-dark, metal-filled, wood-filled, PEEK, PEI, Ultem, PPSU
• Lifespan: 500-2000 hours (virtually unlimited with standard materials)

Temperature adjustment: When switching from brass to hardened steel, increase your printing temperature by 10-20°C and re-tune pressure advance. The lower thermal conductivity means the inner surface of the nozzle is cooler than the sensor reading, so the filament needs more heat to reach the same viscosity.

Ruby Nozzles

Ruby-tipped nozzles use a synthetic ruby (corundum) insert at the orifice, combining the thermal conductivity of the brass body with the extreme hardness of the ruby tip. The ruby is second only to diamond in hardness (9 on Mohs scale), making these effectively immortal for any consumer-grade filament.

• Thermal conductivity: ~120 W/mK (brass body) + 30-40 W/mK (ruby tip)
• Hardness: 2300 HV (ruby tip — extreme wear resistance)
• Max temperature: 300°C (limited by brass body), or higher with stainless body options
• Cost per nozzle: $25-50
• Best for: All materials including highly abrasive, long-term production use
• Lifespan: 3000+ hours (effectively permanent under normal use)

Caveats: Ruby nozzles are expensive and can be damaged by a severe crash (the ruby can crack if the nozzle is slammed into the bed at speed). They also have a slightly smaller internal bore due to the ruby insert geometry, which can reduce maximum flow rate. Not recommended for first-time Voron builders who might crash the toolhead during initial setup.

Tungsten Carbide Nozzles

Tungsten carbide (often just called "tungsten" nozzles) offers the best combination of thermal conductivity and hardness of any nozzle material. Tungsten carbide has thermal conductivity of ~85 W/mK (much better than hardened steel) and hardness of ~1300-1800 HV (comparable to ruby). This means you get wear resistance without needing to significantly increase temperatures.

• Thermal conductivity: ~85 W/mK (good — close to brass)
• Hardness: 1300-1800 HV (very hard — better than hardened steel)
• Max temperature: 500°C+ (suitable for all filaments)
• Cost per nozzle: $20-40
• Best for: Abrasive filaments, high-temperature filaments, users who want one nozzle for everything
• Lifespan: 2000-5000 hours

Tungsten carbide is increasingly becoming the preferred "do-it-all" nozzle for Voron owners who print both standard materials and abrasive composites. The thermal performance is close enough to brass that you don't need massive temperature adjustments, while the hardness means you can switch to carbon fiber filament without changing the nozzle.

Copper and Copper-Alloy Nozzles

Pure copper or copper-alloy nozzles (often copper-nickel or beryllium copper) offer the absolute best thermal conductivity — even better than brass. This makes them ideal for high-flow printing where maximum heat transfer to the filament is critical.

• Thermal conductivity: 200-400 W/mK (excellent — best in class)
• Hardness: 40-80 HB (very soft — worst wear resistance)
• Max temperature: 300°C (copper softens at higher temps)
• Cost per nozzle: $8-20
• Best for: High-speed printing, large layer heights, high-flow hotends (CHC, Rapido, Goliath)
• Lifespan: 100-300 hours before wear (use only with non-abrasive filaments)

Nozzle Sizes and When to Use Them

Nozzle diameter directly affects print speed, detail resolution, and layer adhesion. Voron printers with high-flow hotends can push significantly more plastic than stock printers, making larger nozzle sizes particularly effective.

0.2mm Nozzle

• Layer height range: 0.04-0.12mm
• Detail: Exceptional — fine text, miniatures, detailed models
• Speed: Very slow (max ~20 mm/s volumetric flow)
• Reliability: Poor — clogs easily with debris or inconsistent filament diameter
• Recommendation: Use only for specialized detail prints on a V0 or small Trident. Not practical for production work. Requires meticulously clean filament and a quality hotend.

0.4mm Nozzle

• Layer height range: 0.08-0.28mm
• Detail: Good — the standard for most prints
• Speed: Moderate (~10-15 mm^3/s on standard hotend, ~20-30 mm^3/s on high-flow)
• Reliability: Excellent — least prone to clogging of any size
• Recommendation: The default nozzle for all Voron builds. Use this for general-purpose printing, calibration, and dimensional-critical parts.

0.6mm Nozzle

• Layer height range: 0.12-0.40mm
• Detail: Good — slight loss of fine detail, better surface finish on functional parts
• Speed: Fast (~15-25 mm^3/s on standard, ~25-40 mm^3/s on high-flow)
• Reliability: Excellent — less prone to clogging than 0.4mm
• Recommendation: The best all-around nozzle for Voron printers printing functional parts. 60-80% faster than 0.4mm with minimal detail loss. Highly recommended for ABS, ASA, and PETG functional prints.

0.8mm Nozzle

• Layer height range: 0.16-0.48mm
• Detail: Poor — visible layer lines, rounded corners
• Speed: Very fast (~25-40 mm^3/s on standard, ~40-60 mm^3/s on high-flow)
• Reliability: Good — but requires sufficient hotend power to maintain temperature
• Recommendation: Excellent for prototype prints, large functional parts, and vase-mode prints. Use with a high-flow hotend (CHC, Rapido HF, Goliath) to reach full speed potential.

1.0mm Nozzle

• Layer height range: 0.20-0.60mm
• Detail: Very poor — roughly finished, decorative-grade quality
• Speed: Maximum (~40-60 mm^3/s on high-flow hotends)
• Reliability: Fair — requires aggressive temperature and flow calibration
• Recommendation: For rapid prototyping and large, non-cosmetic parts. Requires a high-flow hotend (Rapido UHF, Goliath, or similar) and increased hotend temperature (245-265°C for PLA).

Pressure Advance and Nozzle Size

Pressure advance values depend on nozzle length and diameter. Here's a critical point that many users miss:

When you change nozzle size, you need to re-tune pressure advance. A 0.6mm nozzle requires a lower pressure advance value than a 0.4mm nozzle because the larger orifice creates less resistance to flow. The change is roughly proportional — going from 0.4mm to 0.6mm reduces pressure advance by about 30%. Always recalibrate pressure advance after changing nozzle size using the standard test pattern:

# Standard pressure advance calibration
# Print a tower with increasing pressure advance values
# (Use OrcaSlicer's built-in calibration or the official Klipper method)
# For a 0.4mm nozzle: typical PA range is 0.02-0.06
# For a 0.6mm nozzle: typical PA range is 0.01-0.04
# For a 0.8mm nozzle: typical PA range is 0.005-0.02
    

Nozzle Replacement Schedule

Nozzles don't last forever, even with non-abrasive materials. Establish a replacement schedule based on your printing habits:

• Brass (standard materials only): Replace every 200-400 hours of print time. The orifice wear is gradual — you may not notice until first layer quality degrades. Mark the date of installation on the nozzle box or calendar.
• Brass (mixed materials with occasional abrasive): Replace every 50-100 hours if you've printed even one spool of glow-in-the-dark or carbon fiber filament. A single print with abrasive filament can measurably enlarge a brass orifice.
• Hardened steel (abrasive materials): Inspect every 500 hours. Replace if you see visible wear or if first layer quality degrades. Most users never need to replace hardened steel nozzles unless they crash the toolhead.
• Ruby / Tungsten carbide: Inspect every 1000 hours. The limiting factor is usually accumulated carbonized filament deposits on the internal surfaces, not orifice wear. Replace only if cleaning doesn't restore performance.
• Any nozzle after a crash: Immediately inspect. A crash that bends the bed slightly can easily deform or crack a nozzle. Check the orifice with a magnifying glass or nozzle inspection tool.

Signs of Nozzle Wear

Watch for these indicators that your nozzle needs replacement:

• Blobs or stringing that wasn't there before — Worn orifices produce less consistent extrusion, leading to poor filament cutoff and stringing
• First layer inconsistency — Uneven bead width despite good bed leveling indicates the orifice is no longer round
• Filament curling up from the bed — A worn nozzle tip can allow the filament to curl rather than be laid flat, especially visible on the first layer
• Changing pressure advance values — If your previously perfect PA value starts producing bulging corners, the orifice diameter has changed
• Visible damage — Scratches, dents, or deformation visible under magnification

Nozzle Maintenance

Proper maintenance extends nozzle life:

• Cold pulls: Perform a cold pull (cold-end pull) every 50-100 print hours to remove carbonized filament buildup inside the nozzle. Heat to 250°C, insert filament, let cool to 90-110°C, and pull firmly. The filament should bring internal deposits with it.
• Exterior cleaning: A brass wire brush (steel can damage brass nozzles) to clean the exterior. Do this with the hotend at temperature and be careful not to damage thermistor wires or heater cartridge wires.
• Nozzle cleaning needles: Use 0.15mm-0.35mm needles (smaller than your nozzle diameter) to clear stubborn clogs. Always do this with the nozzle heated to 200-250°C.
• Preventive replacement: For production environments, schedule nozzle replacements at fixed intervals (e.g., every 200 hours for brass) rather than waiting for visible wear. The cost of a $3 nozzle is nothing compared to a failed 12-hour print job.

Quick Reference — Material-to-Nozzle Guide

The right nozzle choice can make the difference between a Voron that prints adequately and one that prints exceptionally. For most users, a 0.4mm brass nozzle for detailed prints and a 0.6mm brass or hardened steel nozzle for functional parts covers 95% of all printing needs. Invest in a good quality nozzle (from E3D, Slice Engineering, or Bondtech) — the $2 AliExpress nozzles often have poorly finished orifices and inconsistent thread quality that can cause problems that look like printer issues but are actually nozzle issues.