Reservoir Heads

Reservoir Heads is how we print (also known as Direct Ink Writing or Robocasting) with fluid or emulsified (non-filament-based) materials which are deposited at, above, or below room temperature, with or without UV Crosslinking.

Nordson and ViscoTec Heads

Some customers have requested that we configure our equipment in such a way that heads from other companies like the Nordson Ultimus V heads or one of the Viscotec Vipro heads.

Yes, Hyrel equipment can accommodate these and other print heads with just a little custom code and a special tool holder. Please contact us if you have any questions at all.

Click image for a larger image.

Materials for Reservoir Heads

Reservoir Heads heads are for printing as follows:

• With pastes, gels, emulsifiables or waxes.
• At room or elevated temperatures.
• With or without UV Crosslining.
• With Hyrel Nozzles (1.5mm, 2mm) or Luer Tips.

The following materials can be printed from Cold Flow heads. Note that more viscous materials may not be suitable for plastic syringes or smaller luer tips.

• 3P Quick Cure Clay
• Adhesives
• Clay, Generic
• Epoxy, Two-part
• Fimo
• Glue
• Kato
• Metal Clay, including Precious Metal Clay (PMC)
• Modeling Clay
• PEG PolyEthylene Glycol
• Porcelain
• Plasticine
• Play-Doh
• Resins
• RTV Silicone
• Sculpey
• Sugru

The following materials can be printed from Warm Flow heads. Note that more viscous materials may not be suitable for plastic syringes or smaller luer tips, or may print more easily at higher temperatures.

• Adhesives
• Fimo
• Kato
• Glue
• PCL
• Plasticine
• Resins
• Sculpey
• Wax

Reservoir Heads

Ambient or sub-ambient deposition is available through the following Reservoir-based heads:

• 

  EMO-25

• 

  EMO-25 with UV array

• 

  SDS-5, SDS-10,
  SDS-30, SDS-60

• 

  SDS-5, SDS-10,
  SDS-30, SDS-60 with UV array

• 

  SMH-2 Static Mixing Head

Heated deposition is available through the following Reservoir-based heads:

• 

  VOL-25

• 

  VOL-25 with UV array

• 

  KRA-15

• 

  KRA-15 with UV array

• Overview of the EMO Heads
• Overview of the SDS Heads
• Overview of the VOL Heads
• Overview of the KRA Heads
• Overview of the SMH-2 Head
• Please see our Manuals as well.

EMO-Type Head Comparison

Temperature >	20°C < Ambient	Ambient	Up to 50°C	Up to 90°C	Up to 180°C	Up to 270°C
Crosslinking Optional	RSD-30	EMO-25 SDS-5, -10, SDS-30, -60 SMH-2	HSD-30	HSD-10 VOL-25	KRA-15 KR2-15	TAM-15

Note, RSD-30 will take you about 20C below ambient.

So, what do these goofy designations actually stand for?

EMO: Emulsifiables at Room Temperature - Low to Medium Viscosity

COD: Emulsifiables T Room Temperature with Crosslink On Demand - Low to Medium Viscosity

VOL: Volcano: Heated (up to 100°C) Emulsifiables - Low to Medium Viscosity

KR2: Krakatoa v2: a more robust KRA head with a double gasketed plunger hotter, more viscous Emulsifiables - Very High Viscosity

TAM: Tambora: Heated (up to 300°C) Emulsifiables - High Viscosity

SDS: Syringe Dispensing System (uses disposable plastic syringes at room temperature) - Low Viscosity

HSD: Heated (formerly Volcanic) Syringe Dispensing System - Low to Medium Viscosity

RSD: Refrigerated Syringe Dispensing System - Low to Medium Viscosity

DSD: Dual Syringe Dispenser, dispensing two-part mixtures at a fixed ratio - Low to Medium Viscosity

SMH: Static Mixing Head, blending your ratio of material through a baffled nozzle - Low to Medium Viscosity

Research Papers Citing Hyrel Reservoir Heads

These are now listed by year here.

Firmware Versions for Reservoir Heads

Firmware information is listed on our Firmware page.

Reservoirs for Reservoir Heads

We've used different reservoirs over the years. Here are the details.

Metal Reservoirs

Metal Reservoirs

Tube Material	Plunger O-Rings	Nominal Volume	ID mm	OD mm	Default Heads	Also Compatible	Notes
Aluminum	1	25 cc	16.9 mm	20.2 mm	EMO, VOL	EMO-XT	Modified "Makin"
Stainless	1	15 cc	17.7 mm	20 mm	KRA*	none	Modified "Makin"
Stainless	1	25 cc	17.7 mm	20 mm	none	EMO, VOL, EMO-XT	Modified "Makin"
Stainless	2	15 cc	18 mm	20 mm	KR2, TAM, EMO-XT	none	Custom

Plastic Reservoirs

Plastic Reservoirs

Default Heads	Tube Material	Manufacturer	Part Number	Nominal Volume	Notes	Hyrel Part	Quantity
SDS-1	Polypropylene	MHC Easy-Touch	802010	1 cc	none	AN.SYR-01/100-MHC	100
SDS-5	Polypropylene	BD	309646	5 cc	none	AN.SYR-05/125-BD	125
SDS-10	Polypropylene	BD	309604	10 cc	none	AN.SYR-10/100-BD	100
SDS-30	Polypropylene	BD	302832	30 cc	none	AN.SYR-30/54-BD	54
SDS-60	Polypropylene	BD	309653	60 cc	none	AN.SYR-60/40-BD	40
SDS-150	Polypropylene	-	-	150 cc	none	AN.SYR-150/10	10
HSD-10	Polyamide	Ardes*		10 cc	*modified	AN.SYR-10-Ardes	1

Settings for Reservoir Heads

All printers and heads shipping after 1 Jan 2020 have shipped with some release of version 4, and these values are shown below.

Older settings are listed here.

Some settings for the EMO-Type heads (like temperature, prime/unprime values) will vary, depending on what material you are printing with. Nozzle diameter should accurately reflect what nozzle you have loaded (1.6mm is default) AND what path width you sliced for. Temperature commands will be ignored by heads with no temperature control. Having said that, below are our default shipping settings:

METAL Reservoir Heads

Default Settings for Reservoir Heads with METAL Reservoirs

Settings	EMO, VOL 27:1 Ratio	VOL 51:1 Ratio	EMO-XT, KR2, TAM 100:1	Super Torque! Coming soon!	EMO-300XT Coming soon!
Material
Type	Custom	Custom	Custom	Custom	Custom
Color	(any)	(any)	(any)	(any)	(any)
Nozzle	1.600	1.600	1.600	1.600	1.600
Layer	(any)	(any)	(any)	(any)	(any)
Temp Info
Print Temp	0	0, 35	35	(varies)	0
Power Factor	100	100	100	100	100
Minimum	0	0	0	0	0
Maximum	0	90	0 / 180 / 270	0	0
Overrides
Pulses / µL	271.9	517	1297	?	?
	Note: Values above in BOLD have been validated through multiple sample testing, July 2020.
Multiplier	1	1	1	?	?
Prime
Steps	6000	1000	6000	?	?
Rate	10,000	10,000	10,000	?	?
Dwell Time (ms)	600	100	600	?
Unprime
Steps	6000	1000	6000	?	?
Rate	10,000	10,000	10,000	?	?
Dwell Time	-600	-100	-600	?	?
Offsets
X	0,000	0,000	0,000	0,000	0,000
Y	0,000	0,000	0,000	0,000	0,000
Z	0,000	0,000	0,000	0,000	0,000
Head Info
Model	EMO-25	VOL-25	KR2-15 or TAM-15	(varies)	EMO-300XT
PCB Type	4988/160J	4988/160J	4988/160J	4988/160J	4988/160J
RTD Type	1k PLAT_RTD	1k PLAT_RTD	1k PLAT_RTD	1k PLAT_RTD	1k PLAT_RTD
Plot Settings	(any)	(any)	(any)	(any)	(any)
Motor Settings
Step Mode	16th	16th	16th	16th	?
Motor Current	Normal	Normal	Normal	Normal	?
Max Jog Rate	5,000	10,000	15,000	?	?
Rot Speed	1,500	1,500	10,000	?	?
Settings	EMO, VOL 27:1 Ratio	VOL 51:1 Ratio	EMO-XT, KR2, TAM 100:1	Super Torque! Coming soon!	EMO-300XT Coming soon!

PLASTIC Reservoir Heads: Table 1

Default Settings for Reservoir Heads with PLASTIC Reservoirs - Table 1: Standard Torque, Single Reservoir

Settings	SDS 1 ET	SDS 5	SDS 10	SDS/HSD/RSD 30	SDS 60
Material
Type	Custom	Custom	Custom	Custom	Custom
Color	(any)	(any)	(any)	(any)	(any)
Nozzle	1.600	1.600	1.600	1.600	1.600
Layer	(any)	(any)	(any)	(any)	(any)
Temp Info
Print Temp	0	0	0	0	0
Power Factor	100	100	100	100	100
Minimum	0	0	0	0	0
Maximum	0	0	0	0 / 75 / -10	0
Overrides
Pulses / µL	270	87.3	58.7	26.8	17.4
	Note: Values above in BOLD have been validated through multiple sample testing, July 2020.
Multiplier	1.000	1.000	1.000	1.000	1.000
Prime
Steps	3000	1500	3000	2250	1500
Rate	10,000	10,000	10,000	10,000	10,000
Dwell Time (ms)	300	150	300	300	300
Unprime
Steps	3000	1500	3000	2250	1500
Rate	10,000	10,000	10,000	10,000	10,000
Dwell Time	-300	-150	-300	-300	-300
Offsets
Clone Head	Off	Off	Off	Off	Off
X	0,000	0,000	0,000	0,000	0,000
Y	0,000	0,000	0,000	0,000	0,000
Z	0,000	0,000	0,000	0,000	0,000
Head Info
Model	SDS	SDS-5	SDS-10	SDS-30 / HSD-30 / RSD-30	SDS-60
PCB Type	4988/160J	4988/160J	4988/160J	4988/160J	4988/160J
RTD Type	None	None	None	None / 1k PLAT_RTD / 1k PLAT_RTD	None
Plot Settings	(any)	(any)	(any)	(any)	(any)
Motor Settings
Step Mode	16th	16th	16th	16th	16th
Motor Current	Normal	Normal	Normal	Normal	Normal
Max Jog Rate	10,000	10,000	10,000	10,000	10,000
Rot Speed	1500	1500	1500	1500	1500
Settings	SDS 1 ET	SDS 5	SDS 10	SDS/HSD/RSD 30	SDS 60

PLASTIC Reservoir Heads: Table 2

Default Settings for Reservoir Heads with PLASTIC Reservoirs - Table 2: Higher Torque and Dual Reservoir

Settings	HSD-10-Ardes	SDS-30-XT	SDS-60-XT	SDS-150-XT	DSD-50
Material
Type	Custom	Custom	Custom	Custom	Custom
Color	(any)	(any)	(any)	(any)	(any)
Nozzle	1.600	1.600	1.600	1.600	4.00
Layer	(any)	(any)	(any)	(any)	(any)
Temp Info
Print Temp	35	0	0	0	0
Power Factor	100	100	100	100	100
Minimum	0	0	0	0	0
Maximum	130	0	0	0	0
Overrides
Pulses / µL	1800	86	29.1	12.8	20
	Note: Values above in BOLD have been validated through multiple sample testing, July 2020.
Multiplier	1.000	1.000	1.000	1.000	1.000
Prime
Steps	9000	1125	1500	1500	1
Rate	10,000	10,000	10,000	10,000	10,000
Dwell Time (ms)	300	300	300	100	900
Unprime
Steps	9000	1125	1500	1500	1
Rate	10,000	10,000	10,000	10,000	10,000
Dwell Time	-900	-300	-300	-300	-100
Offsets
X	0,000	0,000	0,000	0,000	0,000
Y	0,000	0,000	0,000	0,000	0,000
Z	0,000	0,000	0,000	0,000	0,000
Head Info
Model	(varies)	(varies)	(varies)	(varies)	(varies)
PCB Type	4988/160J	4988/160J	4988/160J	4988/160J	4988/160J
RTD Type	1k_PLAT_RTD	None	None	None	None
Plot Settings	(any)	(any)	(any)	(any)	(any)
Motor Settings
Step Mode	16th	16th	16th	16th	16th
Motor Current	Normal	Normal	Normal	Normal	Normal
Max Jog Rate	10,000	10,000	10,000	10,000	10,000
Rot Speed	7,500	1,500	1,500	1,500	1,500
Settings	HSD-10-Ardes	SDS-30-XT	SDS-60-XT	SDS-150-XT	DSD-50