3D Printing Industry reviews the Slice Engineering Mosquito hotend.
总部位于佛罗里达Slice Engineeringspecializes not in the development of 3D printers, but upgrades designed to boost the performance of existing systems.
迄今为止，该公司已经推出了一系列热台，挤出机和喷嘴，每个公司都可以用来增强公司制造的流行融合灯丝制造（FFF）机器的功能普鲁萨Research,rish3d， 和Craftbot.
这些配件之一，蚊子热台，在高温下表现出了3D打印的特殊潜力。由于热台的热量比标准螺纹炎热量少85％，因此在高达500°C的温度下，它能够处理常见的热塑性塑料，例如PLA，ABS，臀部，TPU和PETG。
根据Slice Engineering的说法，这项双金属临时技术还使蚊子热台的用户可以消除热蠕变，减少干扰并改善其3D打印分辨率。为了对这些大胆的主张进行测试，3D印刷行业工程师将蚊子热台安装普鲁萨i3 mk3系统。
Though the kit is designed for the Mk3s+, it can be adapted for use with the Mk3s and Mk3. In fact, we found subjecting the latter, which already comes with high-end parts, to several challenging prints to be an interesting test of its capabilities.
请继续阅读以下关于下面热门的全部印象和判决。
拆开蚊子热台
与我们的评论一样，我们从拆箱开始。雷竞技在线登录蚊子热台在一个小纸板箱中得到了很好的保护，零件分开并用小自封袋标记。尽管我们的Hotend配备了ASA打印的适配器，用于将其安装到底盘上，但Slice Engineering表示，客户可以使用包装说明和STL文件选择自己选择3D打印一个。
为了测试这有多容易，我们选择从PA6-CF上创建坐骑马克·马克·二3D printer. Although it’s possible to produce the mount on a stock Prusa, we took our approach to ensure optimal results, while spending the least time possible on this step.
切片工程的拆箱热台。由3D打印行业摄。
Elsewhere, the device also came with smaller bags, including boron nitride paste, a BridgeMaster nozzle, Vanadium nozzle, nozzle torque wrench, plastic repellent paint, and tools to create the parts, (plus some on-brand orange lollipops).
In practice, the device is designed to be fitted to a 3D printer’s printhead, which feeds mounted filaments onto a hotend rather than through the printer’s chassis. Once installed, Slice Engineering’s Mosquito is then said to yield improved retraction, material accessibility, and flow rate, as well as reduced heat creep.
我们的蚊子升级的Prusa 3D打印喷嘴。由3D打印行业摄。
To assess this for ourselves, we opted to upgrade our Prusa i3 mk3. After some initial trial and error around nozzle assembly, we managed to fit the device, before using the machine’s auto-calibration wizard to tune its nozzle and tweak settings like Z-offset and first layer height – important parameters to ensuring the Mosquito hotend functioned perfectly.
还值得指出的是，我们遇到的一些问题围绕螺丝走的位置，后来纠正了Slice Engineering的修订套件，后者带有更新的安装说明。很快，该公司还计划引入特定于打印机的设置指南和热门打印配置文件，这应该使事情变得更容易。
The Mosquito: let’s get benchmarking
We began our benchmarking tests with a classic ‘Benchy,’ a well-known accuracy testing model. Both the samples created on the stock Prusa and our Mosquito-enhanced system came out to a high standard. However, the former did not handle overhangs as well as the latter. Hull overhang and bridging above the windows were noticeably worse, and layer lines were also more visible on the stock Benchy.
Accuracy-wise, the difference between prints produced by the Mosquito hotend and the dimensions of the Benchy’s 3D model turned out to be 0.182 mm. Overall, this is a good (albeit not perfect) result. Ideally, the device would have enabled an average score of less than 0.15mm, but its performance was solid compared to similar previous tests.
Benchys 3D printed a Mosquito-enhanced Prusa i3 mk3. Photo by 3D Printing Industry.
然后，我们从良性测试中移动，然后将蚊子热台部署到3D打印我们的3DPI基准测试，该测试旨在从Diamond PLA中扩展机器，从而将机器扩展到极限。事实证明，每个热台的3DPI测试的执行方式都非常不同。
The Mosquito 3DPI test was much more refined, and it didn’t cause any of the stringing or artifacts left behind by the stock hotend. As a result, the latter scored a three for accuracy, whereas the Mosquito scored a seven. Similar results were seen in the other tests, with the Mosquito hotend performing significantly better.
The Mosquito hotend 3DPI test. Photo by 3D Printing Industry.
即使在急性角度悬垂时，热台之间也存在明显的差异。在库存热台的情况下，我们设法在发生不准确的情况下达到了30°的悬垂，但是蚊子达到了60°的印象深刻。
也就是说，可以说，蚊子热台的最佳结果是在负精度测试期间是出现的，在此期间，它可以生产一个样品，在该样品中可以提取九个可移动的圆柱体中的八个。这不仅比使用库存热台制成的部分多了，而且代表了我们有史以来最好的结果之一。
我们3DPI测试的精度部分。由3D打印行业摄。
As a matter of fact, our Mosquito-equipped Prusa even outperformed some “industrial” units, providing conclusively that Slice Engineering’s hotend upgrade can handle printing complex materials better than the stock hotend of the Prusa.
Lastly, to test the Mosquito hotend’s much-heralded ability to improve flow rates, we subjected it to flow testing, in which filament was printed at various speeds and temperatures. Results showed that the Mosquito hotend offered better overall flow in normal flow rate conditions, but when extrusion speed was raised to 24-26mm3/s, it seemed like the stock hotend became the better choice.
As a whole, the Mosquito did score better, and it was closer to 100% accuracy for much of the test, but it did slowly drop off at 18mm3/s regardless of the temperature. As such, the two hotends were more closely aligned in this assessment than some of the others, and the Mosquito’s benefits seemed to be less of a leading factor at higher temperatures.
我们的蚊子悬垂测试结果。由3D打印行业摄。
我用蚊子hotend哪里?
一旦我们确定了蚊子热台如何有助于改善印刷结果，我们就继续将其部署在具有潜在现实应用程序的零件中。通过这些测试，我们3D从PLA，ABS和TPU等材料中打印了几种原型，其中一些出色的印刷品包括由PA-CF制成的Nissan Micra的原型引擎盖，以及尼龙6六叶螺旋桨。
With our automotive accessory, both hotends produced amicable results. The stock hotend then performed slightly better than the Mosquito in propeller testing, but we believe that with further retraction setting tuning, the latter’s performance would improve.
原型引擎盖勺我们为日产Micra打印了3D。由3D打印行业摄。
我们还需要使用蚊子运输的钒喷嘴，因为它旨在与磨料丝一起使用。该喷嘴需要将热度温度提高5-10°C，以补偿喷嘴底物的较低导热率（与黄铜或铜相比），但可能会改善结果。
What we ascertained from these application tests was that the support connection to the nozzle is more volatile on the Mosquito hotend, and will require extra tuning to produce the same result as the stock hotend. However, once users get to grips with Slice Engineering’s device, they should be able to identify use cases that better harness its capabilities.
3D打印的六叶螺旋桨原型。由3D打印行业摄。
判决：值得投资的升级？
So, after all that testing, do we think the Mosquito hotend is worth picking up? If you have prior tinkering experience and a decent 3D printing setup, the device is easy enough to assemble, and the mount should have sufficient quality to ensure there aren’t any hiccups.
通常，我们发现Slice Engineering的热台可以提高库存热台的准确性，尤其是在我们的3DPI测试中。凭借脚步，蚊子允许明显更好的悬垂，尽管其准确性得分略低于平均水平，但印刷型号在印刷型号时不太可能是一个问题，因为它的数量小于一半。
如果我们要脱毛，我们会说有时很难去除支撑，并且由于缺乏指示，安装很棘手。在将零件颜色发送到喷嘴之前选择零件颜色的选项也很不错。也就是说，Slice Engineering已承诺发布很快解决这些问题的文件，因此请注意此空间。
Given that the Mosquito performed especially well during overhang testing, achieving an overhang on the 3DPI test of 60° without any visible artifacts, we consider to be at the top of its class in this area. Material flow from the device was around 10% better than the stock hotend, making it ideal for anyone looking to reliably print faster on their Prusa.
Ultimately, we think the fairest way to score the Mosquito is to judge it against its supposed benefits. When printing at high speeds, our testing showed that the hotend offers users an effective way to improve their accuracy and efficiency. The device also performed significantly better when 3D printing PLA over complex filaments.
As such, current users of the material struggling with heat creep, nozzle clogging, or stringing issues, may find that adopting the Mosquito solves these issues, just as advertised.
A 3DPI Mosquito hotend-3D printed test model. Photo by 3D Printing Industry.
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特色图像显示了配备蚊子的Prusa Printhead。由3D打印行业摄。
