V6 Aluminium heater block
The lightest V6 standard size heater block on the market. This particular type is top quality as you can see in the pictures below and it is CNC machined from an aluminium block. It conducts heat from heater to nozzle very well and it's low weight helps with ghosting problems created by large acceleration or deceleration forces.
1. Is it a good choice for my 3D printer?
1. 1. 3D printers
Standard 3D printers:
This is a good choice for any standard 3D printer.
Fast 3D printers:
This is the best choice for a 3D printer using high speed and acceleration.
The lower the weight the lower the stopping forces that create ghosting and similar artifacts.
High-end 3D printers with standard speeds and accelerations:
I would choose a copper heater block plated with nickel.
It has better thermal conductivity, better thermal capacity.
1. 2. Filaments
Aluminium has a problem with thermal expansivity – the higher the temperature the bigger will the heater block become.
It is also soft, so the thread and other parts can be damaged easier.
I would recommend this heater block only for PLA, PETG, TPU.
2. What is inside the package?
You will get nice plastic case with a heater brake, silicone sock, screw for heater and a machine screw for thermistor.
So basically all you need 🙂
3. Material properties
For a better understanding how it works, I prepared some technical informations for you.
3. 1. Thermal conductivity
Thermal capacity is the amount of heat per unit time per unit area that can be conducted through a plate of unit thickness of a given material, the faces of the plate differing by one unit of temperature.
In short – how much energy does the material conducts.
Aluminium: 237 W/m*K
Brass: 109 W/m*K
Copper: 413 W/m*K
3. 2. Thermal capacity:
Thermal capacity says how much energy we need to warm up one kilogram of material to increase it’s temperature 1°C.
Aluminium: cca 890 J/kg*°C
Brass: 920 J/kg*°C
Copper: 385 J/kg*°C
3. 3. Thermal expansion:
Thermal expansion is increase in linear dimensions of a solid or in volume of a fluid because of rise in temperature.
We have a 3 dimensional object, so we need to use a volumetric coefficient of expansion which is about three times the linear coefficient of expansion.
Aluminium: 75 10-6*°C
Brass: 56 10-6*°C
Copper: 51 10-6*°C
3. 4. Density
Aluminium: 2710 kg/m3
Brass: 8730 kg/m3
Copper: 8960 kg/m3
4. Dimensions
All of these V6 heater blocks use design from E3D.
5. Weight
Aluminium heater block: 9.17 g
Aluminium heater block + silicone sock: 11.69 g
