DiamondBack Nozzles
DiamondBack Nozzles is a product brand of US Synthetic (a ChampionX company) that manufactures solid Polycrystalline Diamond (PCD) tip nozzles for FDM 3D printers, enabling universal filament compatibility—including abrasive carbon fiber, glass, metal, and ceramic-filled materials—without nozzle replacement.
- CEO / Founder
- Rod Guerrero
- Team Size
- 1-10
- Stage
- Commercial
- Total Funding
- $38,224
- Latest Round
- Crowdfunding
- Key Investors
- LongRange Capital (private equity, Stamford CT) acquired US Synthetic Corporation from ChampionX (NASDAQ: CHX) in July 2025; prior owner ChampionX was formed in 2020 via merger of Apergy and Ecolab's Nalco Champion business. LongRange Capital manages >$1.8B AUM with investment range $50M–$400M.
Technology & Products
Key Products
DiamondBack MK8-compatible PCD nozzle; DiamondBack V6-compatible PCD nozzle; DiamondBack Revo (E3D collaboration) nozzle; DiamondBack Prusa Nextruder nozzle (E3D collaboration); DiamondBack FlowTech nozzle (Micro Swiss collaboration); DiamondBack Bambu Lab P1 Series Complete HotEnd; DiamondBack AnkerMake M5/M5C-compatible nozzle; DiamondBack Creality K1/K1 Max/CR-M4-compatible nozzle
Technological Advantage
CLAIMED (from marketing): solid PCD tip provides unmatched wear resistance, prints any filament, lowers required operating temperature, improves extrusion efficiency, easier to clean. VERIFIED (third-party): Reddit/Voron community confirms superior thermal conductivity vs. brass and hardened steel (NozzleX); E3D and Prusa formal OEM partnerships validate product performance for brand-endorsed SKUs. DEFENSIBLE: patented PCD synthesis process (specific patent numbers not publicly disclosed in available sources); 40+ year trade-secret knowhow in diamond sintering under extreme heat and pressure. REPLICABLE aspect: nozzle geometry is commodity—moat lies solely in PCD material process.
Differentiation
Value Proposition
Eliminates nozzle change-outs entirely for professional and prosumer FDM users—one nozzle prints every filament type (PLA through abrasive carbon fiber, metal-fill, ceramic-fill) with superior thermal conductivity versus hardened steel, reducing consumable cost and downtime for high-throughput print farms and engineering shops.
How They Differentiate
vs. Olsson Ruby: solid PCD tip vs. single-crystal ruby insert—PCD provides higher thermal conductivity and is less brittle; vs. ObXidian (E3D DLC coating): actual polycrystalline diamond substrate vs. DLC surface coating—community notes coating eventually wears through while solid PCD does not; vs. NozzleX hardened steel: Reddit/Voron users confirm DiamondBack matches or exceeds brass-level thermal conductivity while NozzleX does not, reducing temperature delta required for consistent extrusion; pricing ~$100/nozzle vs. $5–$15 for brass, justified by indefinite lifespan for abrasive filaments.
Market & Competition
Target Customers
Professional FDM print farms and prosumer desktop 3D printer operators running high-wear abrasive filaments (carbon fiber, glass fiber, metal-filled, ceramic-filled); engineering teams seeking a single nozzle SKU compatible across all filament types on popular printer platforms (Bambu, Prusa, E3D, Creality, Raise3D).
Industry Verticals
Industrial 3D Printing; Consumer/Prosumer 3D Printing; Oil & Gas (parent US Synthetic)
Competitors
Olsson Ruby (ruby-tip FDM nozzle, same PCD-alternative wear-resistant nozzle segment); Dyze Design (TC insert nozzle, tungsten carbide sintered-insert approach, same abrasive-filament FDM nozzle segment); ObXidian by E3D (DLC-coated hardened steel nozzle, same wear-resistant FDM nozzle segment)
Growth & Milestones
Growth Metrics
Kickstarter raised $38,224 at 382% of goal (2021); sold across multiple major 3D printing distributors (Amazon, Slice Engineering, 3DXTech, Printed Solid, Prusa store, E3D store, Micro Swiss store); Facebook page 217 likes (small community footprint); no revenue or unit-volume figures publicly disclosed.
Major Milestones
1978: US Synthetic (parent company) founded; 2021-07: DiamondBack Nozzles Kickstarter launched, raised $38,224 (382% of $10,000 goal) by September 2021; 2022: Amazon product listings live for MK8 and V6 formats; Partnership with E3D for Revo and Prusa Nextruder nozzles; Partnership with Micro Swiss for FlowTech ecosystem; Official listing on Prusa Research store; Acquired/operated under ChampionX (parent of US Synthetic)