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Larger nozzles do kick ass. I personally use my 0.6 nozzles pretty heavily. As others have mentioned though, there are definitely scenarios where you'll really want or even need to drop to a smaller size. My printer hates trying to print PETG at higher sizes for example, maybe my hot end isn't powerful enough.
it also consumes way more filament- especially on single-wall parts or parts that have x perimeters rather than a perimeter thickness. They're great for structural prints, and large prints that you want done quickly. For comparison, a .4mm nozzle will have a nozzle area of about 0.125 mm^2, where a 0.6mm is .28 mm^2. and .8mm is .502mm^2. More than double the extrusion width.
like basically everything else in 3d printing, it's all about compromise and which compromises are acceptable.
No, I don't agree with consumes 'way more' filament.
If your design calls for 1mm width wall. You're doing two passes with a 0.4 nozzle (0.5 width x2) or one pass with a 0.8 nozzle (1 width x1)
It's the same plastic.
You'll use more plastic on the infill, but you could arguably use a lower % infill if the infill wall thickness is larger.
So you could be using more plastic overall, but I don't think it would qualify as 'way more'.. maybe like 10% to 20% more.
10-20 % comes out to $3-6 extra for the same parts across a 2kg reel. For parts that are structural or large (and not meant to be seen, or will be post processed anyway,) the advantages in strength and speed could be worth it.
But, that 3-6 adds up significantly over time.
I do agree that .6 and .8mm nozzles have a place in anyone’s kit. I don’t agree that this excludes .4mm or smaller nozzles from a similar place
It’s all about finding the right balance.