Hotend upgrade kit for Prusa i3 (MK2.5/3/3S/3S+)

Famous for designing upgrade kits that drastically improve 3D printer performance, Slice Engineering has yet again come up with an upgrade kit consisting of premium engineering-grade components. This time, Slice Engineering has tackled the Prusa 3D printers from the i3 MK serie - MK2.5, MK3, MK3S, and MK3S+.

The result of upgrading the i3 3D printers with a Slice Engineering Prusa i3 Upgrade Kit is less downtime, less wasted filament on failed prints, less tinkering, increased throughput, and higher resolution. The Prusa i3 Upgrade Kit is available in two versions - with the Copperhead hotend (for MK2.5/3/3S/3S+) or with the Mosquito hotend (only for the MK3S+ printer).

Upgrade Kit with Copperhead hotend

The Copperhead is an open source all-metal hotend that combines ease of use and a plug-and-play design with exceptional performance. Thanks to the innovative bimetal heat break technology (a low-wall thickness inner tube made of surgical stainless steel with two copper alloy outer elements for excellent thermal conductivity), a better differentiation between the cold and hot zones is achieved, leading to a decreased likelihood of heat creep.

Image 1: The Copperhead hotend mounted on an i3 series printer. Source: Slice Engineering.

Furthermore, as a result of the excellent internal machining the risk of jamming is also significantly reduced. To further boost the Copperhead hotend's performance, a nickel coating was added to prevent corrosion and plastic from sticking to the hotend.

The Prusa i3D Upgrade Kit with the Copperhead hotend includes the following elements:

• Copperhead Hot Block.
• Copperhead heat break - RepRap 1.75.
• BridgeMaster nozzle - 0.4 mm.
• Copperhead silicone sock.
• Capricorn Premium PTFE tube (pre-cut).
• Boron nitride paste.
• Dowel pin (for filling in the extra space in the thermistor slot on the hotend).

This upgrade kit is compatible with the Prusa MK2.5, MK3, MK3S and MK3S+ printers.

Upgrade Kit with Mosquito hotend

The Mosquito hotend one of the fastest hotends on the market in terms of material flow, designed to work in direct extrusion mode but also compatible with Bowden systems. The Mosquito can reach a maximum temperature of 350 ºC in printers without heated chamber and up to 450 ºC in heated camera printers, allowing the user to work with virtually any FDM material, including technical polymers such as PEKK or PEI.

Image 2: The Mosquito hotend mounted on an i3 series Prusa printer. Source: Slice Engineering.

Mosquito includes a heating block made entirely of high quality copper, the metal with the highest thermal conductivity along with silver. In addition, the heating block has been coated with a nickel layer that protects it from oxidation while preventing the debris from molten plastic from sticking to its surface, as well as reducing heat loss from irradiation. A bimetal heat break design (surgical steel and copper alloy) helps minimize the thermal transition zone, separating and better defining the cold zone from the hot or melting zone.

The Prusa i3D Upgrade Kit with the Mosquito hotend includes the following elements:

• Mosquito Hotend.
• BridgeMaster Nozzle - 0.4 mm.
• Mosquito silicone sock.
• 3D printed mounting enclosure (black ASA).
• Capricorn Premium PTFE tube (pre-cut).
• Boron nitride paste.
• Dowel pin (for filling in the extra space in the thermistor slot on the hot block).
• Hotend wrench set.

This upgrade kit is only compatible with the Prusa MK3S+ printer.

It is important to note that in order for the Mosquito upgrade kit to work on an MK3S printer, the following parts must be 3D printed by the user: printer adapter, FS lever, extruder idler, print fan support, and FS cover. The STL files for these parts are available in the Downloads section.

Furthermore, to use this kit on an MK3S printer, it must have the red PCB IR-Sensor (the black PCB IR-Sensor may not function properly with this kit).

Print more efficiently with your Prusa i3 printers

With the Prusa i3 Upgrade Kit the user can improve the performance of the i3 3D printers by eliminating heat creep, preventing clogging, and reducing print time. The Prusa i3 Upgrade Kit is more than just a streamlined all-in-one solution to the most common obstacles in working with the Prusa i3 printers. It's also the next step in the additive manufacturing evolution of every user's workflow thanks to the poweful capabilities and the plug-and-play design.

Complete installation guides for the Prusa i3 Upgrade Kit is provided on the Slice Engineering website for the Copperhead hotend and the Mosquito hotend. It is highly recommended to read the guides thoroughly before installing the upgrade kits.