nozzles and torque

[Phil]

I've purchased a few steel nozzles and now find these have 2 flat sides and 2 round sides making it difficult/impossible to use a nut driver to take in and out the nozzle from the hot end.
I'm leery of using a needle nose or pliers since it adds far more angular torque to the hot block and carrying arm.
Is there a particular reason for some/all manufacturers of the steel nozzles to have this different dimensions than the brass nozzles which all seem to be hexagons and usable with nut drivers?

[Geit]

I usually use a wrench and huge pliers normally used for water pumps (they are called "Water Pump Pliers in Germany for that reason).

I grab the heater block with the pliers and hold it in position. Then I take the wrench and tighten the nozzle.

But yeah, I can imagine it is a pain to grab the nozzle depending on the orientation of the flat sides when tightening.

I don't know why they do it, but I assume it is cheaper/faster just to flatten two sides, than doing it three times since steel is harder than brass.

[Phil]

Thank you,
My Ender 5+ has the fan shroud around hot end so i have been able to change the nozzle without removing and replacing the shroud or using 2 hands to hold the block and twist the nozzle out.

I would think the nozzles are manufactured from a mold so as long as the mold has the hexagon in the master the resultant nozzles would too. Since it appears across different Amzon vendors, either they all get their items from the same place or there is an industry rule for some reason.

If I find an answer I'll post it here.
Phil

[Ender5r]

I sincerely doubt the nozzles are cast in a mold. They're usually manufactured from coils of wire that are machined and heat treated to give them the final characteristics.

[KitCarlson]

It should be possible to modify a 1/4" drive socket, by cutting a slot, to fit flat sides. Measure flat distance, might be ~ 6mm. Choose 6 point matching socket, a cheap one from Walmart or similar. Use saw and file, to clearace for round sides.

Here is an example of hand made wrench, for another similar application.

[Phil]

very clever, thank you
Not sure i have a tool strong enough to cut a metal drive socket but a clever way to solve the problem

[KitCarlson]

I used a Taiwan socket to make a 15mm pin spanner to fix an LED flashlight. I drilled two small holes, and put 0.9mm music wire as pins. It worked to remove a nut down inside switch cap. Cleaning switch fixed light. I used a hand drill and band sander.

Soft metal makes red sparks when ground. Hard metal will make white sparks, and it will be too hard to cut with high speed steel.

Most cheap sockets with peeling chrome are soft.

[Phil]

Very interesting suggestion.
What if I use a 6mm nut driver and cut down the 2 sides where the round parts of the nozzle prevent fit.

[KitCarlson]

Yes, that is idea. If possible use a thick wall socket, for strength. Cut only an necessary for clearance with round sides.