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PurposeA main cause of defects within material extrusion (MatEx) additive manufacturing is the nonisothermal condition in the hot end, which causes inconsistent extrusion and polymer welding. This paper aims to validate a custom hot end design intended to heat the thermoplastic to form a melt prior to the nozzle and to reduce variability in melt temperature. A full 3D temperature verification methodology for hot ends is also presented. Design/methodology/approachInfrared (IR) thermography of steady-state extrusion for varying volumetric flow rates, hot end temperature setpoints and nozzle orifice diameters provides data for model validation. A finite-element model is used to predict the temperature of the extrudate. Model tuning demonstrates the effects of different model assumptions on the simulated melt temperature. FindingsThe experimental results show that the measured temperature and variance are functions of volumetric flow rate, temperature setpoint and the nozzle orifice diameter. Convection to the surrounding air is a primary heat transfer mechanism. The custom hot end brings the melt to its setpoint temperature prior to entering the nozzle. Originality/valueThis work provides a full set of steady-state IR thermography data for various parameter settings. It also provides insight into the performance of a custom hot end designed to improve the robustness of melting in MatEx. Finally, it proposes a strategy for modeling such systems that incorporates the metal components and the air around the system.