# Which nozzle (brass, hardened, 0.6mm) should I use for which filament?

Use brass or stainless steel for plain PLA, PETG, and TPU. Use hardened steel for carbon fiber, glass fiber, and the particle fills Bambu lists, including marble, sparkle, and glow. Bambu's first choice for most of those fills is a 0.6 mm hardened nozzle, and for their own PLA-CF, PETG-CF, marble, sparkle, and glow it is a 0.4 mm hardened nozzle.

Use brass or stainless steel for plain PLA, PETG, and TPU. Use hardened steel for carbon fiber, glass fiber, and the particle fills Bambu lists, including marble, sparkle, and glow. Bambu's first choice for most of those fills is a 0.6 mm hardened nozzle, and for their own PLA-CF, PETG-CF, marble, sparkle, and glow it is a 0.4 mm hardened nozzle.

Match the nozzle to the filler. Plain PLA, PETG, and TPU do not need hardened steel on Bambu's table. Carbon fiber, glass fiber, marble, sparkle, and glow do. Diameter is the clog-versus-detail choice: 0.6 mm hardened for most fiber fills, and 0.4 mm hardened when the filament is Bambu PLA-CF, PETG-CF, marble, sparkle, or glow. [Carbon fiber](/answers/cf), [clogs](/answers/clog), [metal fill](/answers/metal_fill), [wood](/answers/wood), and [PETG-CF](/answers/cf_petg) already cover the neighboring cases.

## The table

[Bambu's filament guide](https://wiki.bambulab.com/en/general/filament-guide-material-table) marks hardened steel not required for PLA Wood, standard PLA supports, PETG, and the TPU rows. PLA-CF and PETG-CF require it, and 0.2 mm is not compatible with those fills. The fiber section says to use hardened steel whenever you print carbon, glass, or particle-filled filament, and it names PLA-CF, PETG-CF, ABS-CF, PA-CF, marble, sparkle, and glow. The first choice is a 0.6 mm hardened nozzle because it clogs less. The second is 0.4 mm hardened, which keeps more detail. For Bambu PLA-CF, PETG-CF, marble, sparkle, and glow, that order flips: 0.4 mm hardened is the first choice. Larger diameters lose detail and gain clog resistance. The guide does not give a grams-to-failure number for brass.

[PLA Basic](/brand/bambu-lab/pla-basic) is the plain row, 190–230 °C (374–446 °F), bed 35–45 °C (95–113 °F). [PLA-CF](/brand/bambu-lab/pla-cf) is 190–230 °C (374–446 °F), bed 50–70 °C (122–158 °F), hardened flag set. [PolyLite PETG](/brand/polymaker/polylite-petg) is 220–250 °C (428–482 °F) and 70–90 °C (158–194 °F), with no hardened flag. [PLA](/material/pla), [PETG](/material/petg), and [TPU](/material/tpu) are the hubs. The [A1](/printer/bambu-lab-a1) ships with a 0.4 mm stainless nozzle. Hardened steel is a separate part. That stock nozzle is the right one for PLA Basic and the wrong one for PLA-CF.

## The threads

[r/3Dprinting sivlq6](https://www.reddit.com/r/3Dprinting/comments/sivlq6/) is the brass nozzle worn into a slot by carbon-fiber filament. The score-31 comment calls the fill sandpaper, says brass nozzles were lost before a switch to steel, and says steel wears too, more slowly. Ruby tips are that comment's next idea, not a tested ranking. The score-6 comment's "less than 100 g" is the same thread. Treat it as a warning, not a lab result.

[r/functionalprint 17l23e2](https://www.reddit.com/r/functionalprint/comments/17l23e2/) is a door knob and a 1/4-32 screw. The score-27 comment is about electroplating a plastic print. It is not a nozzle recommendation. The TPU-diameter thread, the stainless-for-PLA thread, and the ObXidian PETG thread had no excerpt attached, so this page does not take a setting from their titles. [TPU](/answers/tpu_ams) already has Bambu's line that hardened steel is not required for TPU, and that 0.2 mm is not recommended.

Updated 2026-10-19. Sources accessed 2026-10-19. Use case: Carbon fiber.

## Ranked filaments

| Rank | Filament | Nozzle | Bed | Price per kg |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | Bambu Lab PLA Basic | 190–230 °C (374–446 °F) | 35–45 °C (95–113 °F) | — |
| 2 | Bambu Lab PLA-CF | 190–230 °C (374–446 °F) | 50–70 °C (122–158 °F) | — |
| 3 | Polymaker Polylite PETG | 220–250 °C (428–482 °F) | 70–90 °C (158–194 °F) | — |

## What the community says

r/3Dprinting sivlq6 shows carbon-fiber filament wearing a brass nozzle into a slot. The score-31 comment calls it sandpaper, says they lost brass nozzles before switching to steel, and says steel still wears slowly. They mention ruby-tipped nozzles as the next choice. The score-6 comment says less than 100 g is enough to ruin a common brass nozzle. r/functionalprint 17l23e2 is a printed door knob. The score-94 comment is a link to a 1/4-32 screw. The score-27 comment suggests electroplating instead of a metallic PLA. No excerpt was supplied for r/BambuLab 15jovbt, r/prusa3d 1qexmcd, or r/FixMyPrint vyyu5j. The bank titles there are a TPU nozzle size, swapping hardened steel for stainless on PLA, and PETG stuck to an ObXidian nozzle.

## Sources

- [Bambu Lab filament guide](https://wiki.bambulab.com/en/general/filament-guide-material-table) (manufacturer)
- [Bambu A1 FAQ](https://wiki.bambulab.com/en/a1/manual/faq) (manufacturer)
- [Bambu PLA-CF technical data sheet](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0584/7236/6216/files/Bambu_PLA-CF_Technical_Data_Sheet_V3.pdf) (datasheet)
- [Bambu PLA Basic technical data sheet](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0584/7236/6216/files/Bambu_PLA_Basic_Technical_Data_Sheet_bf3411ce-be39-4db7-9669-1b4671d2196b.pdf?v=1734060943) (datasheet)
- [Polymaker PolyLite PETG technical data sheet](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0548/7299/7945/files/PolyLite_PETG_TDS_EN_V5.4.pdf) (datasheet)
- [Community source, r/functionalprint 17l23e2](https://www.reddit.com/r/functionalprint/comments/17l23e2/) (reddit)
- [Community source, r/3Dprinting sivlq6](https://www.reddit.com/r/3Dprinting/comments/sivlq6/) (reddit)
- [Community source, r/BambuLab 15jovbt](https://www.reddit.com/r/BambuLab/comments/15jovbt/) (reddit)
- [Community source, r/prusa3d 1qexmcd](https://www.reddit.com/r/prusa3d/comments/1qexmcd/) (reddit)
- [Community source, r/FixMyPrint vyyu5j](https://www.reddit.com/r/FixMyPrint/comments/vyyu5j/) (reddit)

HTML: https://filamentfacts.com/answers/nozzle