Why PB uses a inferior hotend

[bbrown64]

Since I have upgraded to a E3D-V6. I was wondering why PB just does not go ahead and use a E3D-V6 as their standard hotend? I found the quality of the E3D to be far superior when compared to the standard Ubis hot end. Anyone have a thought about this question?

[PxT]

Consider that the E3Dv6 was not available when Printrbot first launched so they created what, at the time, was arguably a better solution than other hotends that were available. This is subjective, of course, but in 2011 I believe the Ubis was at least competitive with what was generally available on the market, and better in some regards.

So that is the historical reason that the Ubis exists. Over time Printrbot has tended to veer towards more control of their parts / process rather than less, so they are unlikely to switch to a hotend that they don't control. The all-metal Ubis is their attempt to match what the v6 provides.

[JonS]

The new Ubis Metal is PB's answer. They have limited supply right now due to subcon issues, but I'm sure the plan is to eventually phase out the ceramic Ubis.

I've used both E3D v6 and the new Ubis Metal on my dual-extruder Metal Plus, and the Ubis Metal gives the E3D a run for its money. If anything it heats up even faster, and the print quality seems to be very similar. I really like this new hot end.

[Mach-Chris]

[dsegel]

Me too. The Metal Ubis is vastly better than the standard model, and works well enough for me that the E3D V6 I purchased is still sitting on the shelf, unused. I just wish they had replacement nozzles available. If they don't get some soon I may have to make my own.

[bbrown64]

I found replacement nozzles for the standard Ubis hotend on Amazon. I do not know if they fit the all metal hotend. I also am on the "WAIT LIST" for the all metal hotend. However, since this E3D is working so well I doubt that I will purchase a new hotend.

[Mooselake]

The all metal Ubis (AMU) uses a different nozzle. The non-metal Ubis (NMU) has a male 1/4-20 thread which made it easy to roll your own nozzles from brass (or stainless, although I never tried it) acorn nuts. Somebody has mentioned what thread the AMU nozzles are, so you could look in the usual places for an alternative.

If you're referring the Anubis nozzles they're of inconsistent quality, and the company is undergoing a traumatic upheaval. They're a gamble, and are for the NMU rather than AMU.

Kirk