E3D Revo: Is It Worth It?

E3D just introduced a new Revo hotend, and it took the attention of the whole 3D printing community. There’s clearly a lot of innovation going on with the Revo, and I’m going to try and break it down whether it’s worth the hype and your money.

There are 2 unique features that sets Revo apart from all the other hotends:

1. The heatbreak and the nozzle are combined into a single unit. This design enables easy nozzle swapping since you no longer need to worry about tightening the nozzle to the heatbreak. You will never get leaks caused by poor tightening. The obvious downside is that this assembly is more expensive at $25 for a brass nozzle compared to $5 for the same V6 nozzle. Finally, it will likely be more challenging to clean since you cannot separate the nozzle from the heatbreak, and in case of a major clog, you might need to replace the whole unit.

2. The heating element is integrated into the heater block. They did it again, E3D took heater block, heating element and thermistor, and put them into a single package. And, again, it means that you cannot replace the components separately if they fail, but in my opinion, it’s not an issue in this case. The benefits of this design far outweigh the concerns. The new Revo HeaterCore is smaller and lighter but provides better heat transfer. The early testers report that it heats up 2X faster than a typical 50W heating element. Also, the part cooling ducts can be better positioned around the nozzle due to its smaller size. The only downside is that you are limited to the thermistor that comes with Revo, and currently, E3D doesn’t have a PT100/PT1000 option for high-temperature printing.

Is It Worth It?

The new Revo features are great, but at the end of the day, they are mostly quality of life improvements. The flow rate is a moderate 10mm³/sec¹, although E3D promised a high-flow version is coming. You’re not going to get significant improvements in print quality either - just a little less oozing. E3D Revo starts at $108, while a good old V6 clone will set you back only around $20. Revo is not going to beat the value for money there. However, it is an excellent option for someone who doesn’t care about flow rate and can pay the extra for ease of use.

Disclaimer: I didn’t have access to do any test prints with Revo, and my opinion is solely based on data provided by E3D and the feedback from early testers.

Update: Phaetus recently introduced Rapido hotend featuring a similar heater design but a much higher flow rate for high-speed printing, check out my thoughts on it here.

Update 2: E3D Revo is now available to purchase here.