Would You Pay $1,000 For This Hot End?

Slice Engineering has a new hot end, and it’s asking a whopping $999.99 for it.

The Mosquito Prime boasts the “world’s highest volumetric flow rate” of up to 116 mm³/s with PLA and 64 mm³/s with TPU, achieving the ostensible numbers by leveraging a dual heater configuration of up to 150 W, plus a 61 mm melt zone, in which filament makes direct contact with the hot block.

The hot block is comprised of a copper alloy and rated to 500 °C, bolstering material compatibility. Inside the hot end, a die splits molten filament into three streams in an effort to create a consistent flow that “enhances extrusion efficiency and delivers high-quality prints”.

A “Bimetallic Heat Break”, meanwhile, works to reduce or prevent filament clogging via thermal isolation of the cold block and is protected by a “roll cage”. Additionally, there are three temperature sensors, plus compatibility with RepRap style nozzles and the Mosquito Magnum+ Convection Shield.

Now, whether the Mosquito Prime’s specs justify its price is up in the air. You can purchase Slice Engineering’s Mosquito, for example – which All3DP found to deliver “top of the line performance” – for around $150. Of course, different use cases and applications require different hardware but, still – a nearly seven-fold jump is quite the bite to swallow.

You can find more details on the Mosquito Prime product page, including full specs and a free white paper that takes a deep dive into the hot end’s maximum flow rate.

Along with the Mosquito Prime, Slice Engineering has also recently released the GammaMaster nozzle. According to its product page, it “features thermal performance similar to that of a standard brass nozzle”; abrasion resistance (“with a Rockwell C hardness level of 63”); and a “Low Gamma coating,” which is rated to 380 °C and acts as an anti-adhesive. The nozzle is also available in both RepRap and AP3X geometries.

For full specs or to make a purchase at an MSRP of $24.99, visit the GammaMaster product page on Slice Engineering’s website.

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