Hotend max volumetric flow rates
The hotend, not the motion system, sets your real print speed. PLA, 0.4 mm nozzle, 0.42 mm line width. The speed columns show the fastest you can go at each layer height before under-extrusion.
| Hotend / printer | Max flow | Range | 0.12 mm | 0.20 mm | 0.28 mm | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FLSUN T1 / T1 Pro delta (stock 300 °C hotend, 0.4 mm) FLSUN advertises 90 mm³/s but its own gravimetric test gives 65 mm³/s with FLSUN PLA-HS at 230 °C; 40-50 is realistic for ordinary PLA. source | 50 mm³/s | 40–65 | 992 mm/s | 595 mm/s | 425 mm/s | manufacturer |
| Bambu Lab H2D / P2S High Flow hotend (0.4 mm HF nozzle) Bambu rates the High Flow hotend at 65 mm³/s with ABS at 280 °C; the wiki gives ~35 mm³/s for PLA Basic, which is the realistic PLA ceiling. source | 35 mm³/s | 30–45 | 694 mm/s | 417 mm/s | 298 mm/s | manufacturer |
| Micro Swiss FlowTech hotend with CHT nozzle (K1 / Ender 3 V3 / K2 Plus, 0.4 mm) Micro Swiss rates the FlowTech + Bondtech CHT nozzle at 50 mm³/s; owner flow tests go from ~29 (standard nozzle) to ~49 on high-speed PLA. source | 35 mm³/s | 28–50 | 694 mm/s | 417 mm/s | 298 mm/s | manufacturer |
| Bambu Lab H2D / H2S (standard hotend, 0.4 mm) Bambu specifies 40 mm³/s (ABS, 280 °C); the H2-series PLA Basic profile is 25 mm³/s and ~35 with the optional 0.4 mm High Flow nozzle. source | 30 mm³/s | 25–40 | 595 mm/s | 357 mm/s | 255 mm/s | manufacturer |
| Creality K2 Plus (stock 40 mm³/s hotend, 0.4 mm) Creality's 40 mm³/s figure was measured with ABS at 280 °C; PLA at ~220 °C realistically peaks near 30 (Micro Swiss FlowTech upgrade claims 50). source | 30 mm³/s | 25–40 | 595 mm/s | 357 mm/s | 255 mm/s | manufacturer |
| E3D Volcano (0.4 mm Volcano nozzle) The long melt zone roughly triples V6 flow; community tables and E3D's '3x V6' claim converge on 25-35 mm³/s for PLA. source | 30 mm³/s | 25–35 | 595 mm/s | 357 mm/s | 255 mm/s | community |
| Slice Engineering Mosquito Magnum (0.4 mm) Ellis lists 30 mm³/s with a plain brass nozzle; Slice's Magnum+ marketing figures (80-90) are for ABS at 300 °C and not PLA-relevant. source | 30 mm³/s | 26–35 | 595 mm/s | 357 mm/s | 255 mm/s | community |
| Phaetus Rapido UHF (0.4 mm) Ellis gives ~30 mm³/s with a standard 0.4 nozzle; Phaetus advertises 75 mm³/s, which needs CHT or large nozzles and hot ABS. source | 30 mm³/s | 28–40 | 595 mm/s | 357 mm/s | 255 mm/s | community |
| Bambu Lab P2S (standard hotend, 0.4 mm) Shares the H2 hotend: 40 mm³/s rated (ABS, 280 °C); retailer spec tables list PLA Basic at 24 mm³/s for the 0.4 mm hardened nozzle. source | 28 mm³/s | 24–40 | 556 mm/s | 333 mm/s | 238 mm/s | manufacturer |
| Creality K1 / K1C / K1 Max (stock ceramic hotend, 0.4 mm) Creality rates the K1-series hotend at 32 mm³/s; the Hyper PLA profile and user tests give 24-30 mm³/s on PLA before under-extrusion. source | 28 mm³/s | 22–32 | 556 mm/s | 333 mm/s | 238 mm/s | manufacturer |
| Elegoo Centauri Carbon (stock hotend, 0.4 mm) Elegoo and retailers list 32 mm³/s; reviewers running Rapid PLA+ report 24-30 before extruder slip. source | 28 mm³/s | 22–32 | 556 mm/s | 333 mm/s | 238 mm/s | manufacturer |
| QIDI Plus 4 (stock dual-metal hotend, 0.4 mm) 3DWithUs' flow testing put PLA at 25-30 mm³/s; QIDI's Max4 is rated 40 and the Phaetus Conch M6 upgrade claims 30. source | 28 mm³/s | 25–30 | 556 mm/s | 333 mm/s | 238 mm/s | measured |
| Bambu Lab P1P / P1S (stock hotend, 0.4 mm) Rated 32 mm³/s with ABS at 280 °C; stock PLA Basic profile is 21 mm³/s and users report 25-30 on generic PLA before extruder skipping. source | 26 mm³/s | 21–32 | 516 mm/s | 310 mm/s | 221 mm/s | community |
| Bambu Lab X1C / X1E (stock hotend, 0.4 mm) Same 32 mm³/s (ABS) hotend as the P1 series; the E3D High Flow ObXidian upgrade raises Bambu's PLA Basic profile to 29 mm³/s. source | 26 mm³/s | 21–32 | 516 mm/s | 310 mm/s | 221 mm/s | community |
| Sovol SV08 (stock Voron-style hotend, 0.4 mm) Sovol specifies <= 30 mm³/s; The Next Layer's flow test on PLA landed in the mid-20s (SV08 Max is rated 50). source | 25 mm³/s | 22–30 | 496 mm/s | 298 mm/s | 213 mm/s | measured |
| Bambu Lab A1 / A1 mini (stock hotend, 0.4 mm) Bambu rates the A1 hotend at 28 mm³/s (ABS, 280 °C single-wall test); the PLA Basic profile caps at 21 mm³/s and flow-tower tests land at 24-28. source | 24 mm³/s | 20–28 | 476 mm/s | 286 mm/s | 204 mm/s | community |
| Phaetus Rapido / Rapido 2 HF (0.4 mm) Ellis measures ~24 mm³/s for PLA with a brass nozzle; Phaetus' 45 mm³/s claim is a melt-rate figure with a large nozzle. source | 24 mm³/s | 22–30 | 476 mm/s | 286 mm/s | 204 mm/s | community |
| Phaetus / Trianglelab Dragon HF (0.4 mm) Ellis lists 24 mm³/s (Dragon SF: 15); forum estimates for HF Dragon on PLA span 20-30. source | 24 mm³/s | 20–30 | 476 mm/s | 286 mm/s | 204 mm/s | community |
| Voron 2.4 / Trident with Dragon HF or Rapido HF (0.4 mm) Typical Voron build using Ellis' numbers: 24 mm³/s for either HF hotend with a brass 0.4 nozzle, ~30 with a CHT nozzle. source | 24 mm³/s | 20–30 | 476 mm/s | 286 mm/s | 204 mm/s | community |
| Anycubic Kobra S1 (stock 320 °C hotend, 0.4 mm) Anycubic publishes no mm³/s figure; a 600 mm/s CoreXY of this class with a standard-length melt zone typically tests at 22-28 on PLA. Least certain entry. source | 24 mm³/s | 20–32 | 476 mm/s | 286 mm/s | 204 mm/s | community |
| Prusa Nextruder with High-Flow nozzle (MK4S / XL / Core One L, 0.4 mm HF) E3D's table gives 20 mm³/s for PLA at 220 °C with the 0.4 HF brass nozzle; Prusa's Core One PLA profiles with HF/CHT nozzles are set at 24. source | 22 mm³/s | 20–24 | 437 mm/s | 262 mm/s | 187 mm/s | manufacturer |
| Creality Ender 3 V3 KE / V3 Plus (60 W ceramic hotend, 0.4 mm) Creality quotes 32 mm³/s for the ceramic hotend with the Unicorn nozzle upgrade; stock users typically run Hyper PLA at 18-22 mm³/s. source | 20 mm³/s | 16–32 | 397 mm/s | 238 mm/s | 170 mm/s | community |
| Original Prusa Core One (Nextruder, stock 0.4 mm nozzle) Prusa support quotes 15 mm³/s for PLA on a regular nozzle and 24 with high-flow; stock Prusament PLA profile is 24 and owners have pushed sample prints to 34. source | 20 mm³/s | 15–24 | 397 mm/s | 238 mm/s | 170 mm/s | community |
| Slice Engineering Mosquito (standard, 0.4 mm) Ellis' guide lists 20 mm³/s for the standard Mosquito; the Mosquito Magnum reaches ~30 on PLA. source | 20 mm³/s | 18–24 | 397 mm/s | 238 mm/s | 170 mm/s | community |
| E3D Revo High Flow nozzle (0.4 mm, any Revo hotend) E3D publishes 16-18 mm³/s for PLA at 220 °C with the 0.4 HF brass nozzle; owners pushing temperature report up to ~30. source | 17 mm³/s | 16–24 | 337 mm/s | 202 mm/s | 145 mm/s | manufacturer |
| Original Prusa MK4 / MK4S Nextruder (standard 0.4 mm nozzle) Prusa lists the Nextruder at 15-20 mm³/s; the stock MK4 PLA profile uses 16 mm³/s (Prusament PLA on MK4S: 20). source | 16 mm³/s | 15–20 | 317 mm/s | 190 mm/s | 136 mm/s | manufacturer |
| E3D V6 with Bondtech CHT 0.4 mm nozzle CHT's three-channel core adds roughly 30-50 % over a plain brass V6 nozzle (11 mm³/s), so ~15 on PLA; Prusa's MK4 CHT profile uses 24 on the hotter Nextruder. source | 15 mm³/s | 13–18 | 298 mm/s | 179 mm/s | 128 mm/s | community |
| Creality Sprite direct-drive (Ender 3 S1 / S1 Pro / V3 SE, 0.4 mm) All-metal Sprite Pro hotend is quoted at 11-15 mm³/s; the PTFE-lined base Sprite (S1, V3 SE) sits at the low end. source | 12 mm³/s | 10–15 | 238 mm/s | 143 mm/s | 102 mm/s | community |
| E3D Revo Six / Revo Micro (standard brass 0.4 mm) Ellis' tuning guide puts standard Revo at ~11 mm³/s; E3D's HF-nozzle gain of 38 % implies a ~12-13 mm³/s PLA baseline. source | 12 mm³/s | 11–14 | 238 mm/s | 143 mm/s | 102 mm/s | community |
| Original Prusa MK3S / MK3S+ (E3D V6, 0.4 mm) Prusa's knowledge base lists the MK3 stock hotend at 8-12 mm³/s; Prusa's PLA profiles use ~11.5 mm³/s. source | 11 mm³/s | 8–12 | 218 mm/s | 131 mm/s | 94 mm/s | manufacturer |
| Original Prusa MINI / MINI+ (PTFE-lined hotend, 0.4 mm) Same V6-class melt zone as the MK3S with a Bowden feed; Prusa does not publish a MINI figure, owners land at 8-12 mm³/s. source | 10 mm³/s | 8–12 | 198 mm/s | 119 mm/s | 85 mm/s | community |
| Creality Ender 3 / V2 / Pro (stock PTFE-lined MK8 hotend, 0.4 mm) PTFE-lined MK8 with a Bowden extruder; owners measure 5-12 mm³/s depending on temperature, so 8-10 is the safe planning figure. source | 9 mm³/s | 6–12 | 179 mm/s | 107 mm/s | 77 mm/s | community |
Reading the table
- Speed = flow ÷ (line width × layer height). Halving the layer height doubles the achievable speed, which is why "600 mm/s" printers advertise with thin layers.
- PETG manages about 70–80% of the PLA figure, ABS/ASA about 80–90%, TPU 30–50%. Carbon-filled materials are usually limited by the nozzle, not the melt.
- Larger nozzles raise flow somewhat (a 0.6 mm nozzle typically +20–30%), but the melt zone length is the real limit; that is what high-flow hotends change.
Questions people ask
What is volumetric flow in 3D printing?
The volume of plastic the hotend pushes out per second, in mm³/s. It equals line width × layer height × speed. A 0.42 mm line at 0.2 mm layer height and 100 mm/s is 8.4 mm³/s.
What happens if I exceed the max flow?
The plastic does not fully melt: under-extrusion, gaps between lines, weak layers and a clicking or skipping extruder. Modern slicers (OrcaSlicer, Bambu Studio, PrusaSlicer) cap speed automatically if the filament profile has the right max volumetric speed.
How do I find my own limit?
Print OrcaSlicer's max flowrate test (Calibration → Max flowrate) and note where the surface starts to look rough or gappy. Subtract 10% for a safe setting. Different filaments differ: PETG and TPU melt slower than PLA.