Technologies

Supercharge Your 3D Printer With This Must-Have Upgrade

The new Revo Six hot end from E3D is an easy way to swap in different nozzles on your 3D printer.

Almost all the best 3D Printers can be upgraded in some way with new parts and accessories. One of the most important potential upgrades is to the machine’s hot end assembly, which controls the temperature your printer prints at, and houses the nozzle that helps determine the filament flow.

The Rapidchange Revo Six is a replacement hot end for your 3D printer. It’s from E3D, a company that’s been making parts for 3D printers for years and is one of the gold standards, especially for nozzles and hot ends. This new model has really changed how I use my 3D printers and how I think about the models I’m making.

With the Revo Six, you can swap out the nozzle part of a printer’s hot end easily, which allows for lots of variation in the materials and line thickness for your project. Normally you need to remove the filament from your nozzle, heat the nozzle to loosen the threads, undo it with a socket wrench while it’s hot, then let it cool. After that, you can install your new nozzle, but you need to install it cold, then retighten it once it’s hot.

The $93 Revo Six (£77 GBP) takes out a lot of steps by making the nozzle and other parts of the printing assembly one piece and fully removable by hand. Take out your filament, immediately unscrew the nozzle, and swap it out. This saves a lot of time when replacing nozzles that’ve worn out, but the real magic is swapping different-sized nozzles for different models.

Why you want different nozzle sizes

Revo nozzles in a little mount connected to a Prusa MK3 — James Bricknell/CNET

Often the purpose of your 3D model dictates the settings you’ll use to print it. When printing something delicate with a lot of details, you need a smaller nozzle diameter. With something structural that requires strength, you need a larger diameter. Most 3D printers come with a 0.4mm nozzle as standard, which is fine as a happy medium but won’t always be enough in either direction.

The genius of the Revo Six is the ability to change nozzle sizes almost on the fly. Each nozzle size is color-coded and available from 0.15mm all the way up to 0.8mm and can be replaced in less than a minute. The $89 kit comes with a 0.4mm nozzle but the $139 fully loaded kit has four nozzles ranging from 0.25 to 0.8mm.

I’ve printed a set of brackets for a machine I needed to mount to the wall. The mount is completely hidden and layer lines don’t matter, so I used the 0.8mm nozzle to print extra thick, extra strong parts as quickly as possible (larger layer lines mean faster printing too). As soon as I’d finished the brackets, I immediately swapped the nozzles on the Revo Six to the 0.25mm one and started printing a Flower Dragon with tiny details from Fotis Mint. Having that flexibility in a single machine is fantastic. It saves money on different printers and, more importantly, saves me time, something I have very little of day-to-day.

Upgrade the upgrade with the E3D Obxidian

Two long stemmed 3D printer nozzles — James Bricknell/CNET

Like all good 3D printing accessories, even the Rapidchange Revo V6 can be upgraded. Not only did E3D produce low-cost replacement nozzles for all the different sizes you might want, they made a specialty nozzle for the exotic filaments too.

The Obxidian (pronounced obsidian, like the rock) is a nozzle from E3D that’s specially designed to help combat the wear and tear you get from using abrasive materials infused with other mediums, such as wood or carbon fiber. It’s made from copper, rather than a brass alloy, and has a special coating that helps move the fibers through the nozzle without sticking. It’s also designed to work with the Revo system for quick changing.

Buzz phrases like «the last nozzle you’ll ever need» feel hyperbolic, but at the same time, the longevity of the $59 Obxidian compared with standard nozzles — it can last indefinitely as long as you aren’t using glow-in-the-dark filament at high speed — makes me wonder if it’s even worth buying a standard Revo nozzle again. Actually, the Obxidian comes only in 0.4mm and 0.6mm diameters, so it’s worth having the other nozzle sizes around for other print jobs. Filaments with other materials in them — wood or carbon-infused PLA for example — benefit from a high flow rate, so larger nozzle sizes work better for the Obxidan. For standard prints, though, the Obxidian has everything covered.

An accessory that elevates your entire machine

E3D Revo Six Obxidian Nozzle

$59 at Matterhackers

All the best 3D printing accessories improve your experience in some way, but the Revo Six coupled with an Obxidian nozzle will fundamentally change how you print. Because so many manufacturers have used the E3D V6 hot end in some fashion, the company was able to create Revo Six systems that are easy to replace on a huge variety of 3D printers. From Creality to Prusa, E3D has Revo to help you convert.

I’m convinced that the Rapidchange Revo Six is the next big change to hot ends moving forward, and though I haven’t managed to convert all my 3D printers, if you have just one or two, then investing in a fully loaded kit is well worth it.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Sept. 20 #566

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for Sept. 20, No. 566.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle might be a puzzler. Some of the answers are long and a bit tough to unscramble. If you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: Dire straits.

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Oh no! Get me out of here!

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

PICK, PIED, DIRT, DIRE, MANE, MILE, MAIL, MALE, DAME, FRET, MACE, RENT

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

PICKLE, MESS, MUDDLE, DILEMMA, QUANDRY, PREDICAMENT

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is INAFIX. To find it, look for the I that’s four letters down on the far left, and wind up.

Technologies

Microsoft Is Hiking Xbox Series Console Prices Again. Here’s What You’ll Pay This Fall

Gaming is getting more and more expensive due to tariffs.

Microsoft will increase the prices of its Xbox Series consoles once again in October. This latest increase comes just five months after it raised prices due to tariffs.

An Xbox support page notes the upcoming price increase happening on Oct. 3, as first reported by Windows Central on Friday. Console costs will jump $20 to $70, depending on the version.

The new prices are:

Xbox Series S 512GB: $380 to $400
Xbox Series S 1TB: $430 to $450
Xbox Series X Digital: $550 to $600
Xbox Series X: $600 to $650
Xbox Series X 2TB Galaxy Black Special Edition: $730 to $800

To provide some context on the pricing, the Xbox Series S 512GB was $300 at launch, and the Xbox Series X was $500. In December 2023, the Xbox Series X went for as low as $350.

Microsoft says the price changes are «due to the changes in the macroeconomic environment.» This likely refers to the tariffs instituted by President Donald Trump, which have also caused prices to increase for other video game hardware from Nintendo and Sony.

«We are navigating an incredibly dynamic environment right now,» a company source told Windows Central. «We’ve assessed the changing macroeconomic environment and addressed the applicable impacts.»

When asked for further comment, a Microsoft spokesperson pointed CNET to the Xbox support page.

Where to get an Xbox Series X at its original price

The Xbox price hike won’t take effect until Oct. 3. Until then, you can pick up the Xbox Series consoles for the current pricing at retailers including Amazon, Best Buy and Walmart.

Technologies

The New Meta Ray-Bans Might Be Your Next Disneyland Tour Guide

Disney’s Imagineers are prototyping a virtual assistant to guide you through its theme parks via your own smart glasses.

Walt Disney Imagineering is in the early stages of prototyping a new augmented reality experience at its theme parks. This week, the team released a video showing Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses used as a personal virtual assistant inside Disneyland.

Meta is just one of the companies Disney Imagineering R&D is working with on AR. The Ray-Ban smart glasses allow Disney guests to ask questions out loud and receive real-time responses with information about rides, attractions, merchandise, food and directions.

Disney Imagineering’s R&D team has been working on early prototypes for how our AI glasses can help bring easy to access tips while in the parks, using our new Device Access Toolkit pic.twitter.com/japyanoSEh

— Jake Steinerman (@jasteinerman) September 18, 2025

The video shows a Disney cast member walking through Disneyland wearing Meta Ray-Bans. As she approaches the paddleboat attraction, she asks, «What’s that, and how can I ride it?»

«That’s the Mark Twain River Boat,» the AI-powered glasses respond instantly. «It’s nearby and you can board for a relaxing 14-minute cruise.»

She proceeds to ask, «Where can I get a gluten-free snack?» The answer is, at a snack stand nearby, with the glasses offering to check the full menu for her. She also asks whether a certain ride is appropriate for her 4-year-old, and focuses on a guest’s Porg keychain to inquire, «Where can I get one of those?» It responds by telling her it’s from a store in Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge.

Another part shows the glasses suggesting activities. «Pirates of the Caribbean currently has a short wait time. Want directions?» And «Winnie the Pooh is nearby, want to meet him?»

Meta’s latest Ray-Bans were unveiled on Wednesday. The second-generation Meta smart glasses have received AI upgrades, a better battery life and an improved camera. They are available now for $379.

Augmented reality experiences have become a way for theme parks to distinguish themselves from the competition. Earlier this year, Universal opened its brand new theme park, Epic Universe, featuring a blend of immersive technology.

Disney doesn’t shy away from using the latest technology in its parks and experiences. There are wearables for park and hotel room entry, new Haunted Mansion illusions and apps for checking ride wait times or voting for that evening’s nighttime entertainment. Let’s not forget the latest Walt Disney animatronics or Disney’s groundbreaking holotile floor, either.