In my case, it’s a fairly small printer. That’s why I don’t buy a heating element, but “build” one from hot end parts.
I’m still waiting for parts I ordered from Ali for testing. Volcano Block, copper threaded rod and two V5 heatsinks.
I see your point with QGL and meshing.
In my case (V0.1) it only needs to start printing when it’s hot enough.
But demand-driven control during printing makes sense.
I like to give food for thought to get closer to a solution (which I can then use myself later), but unfortunately I don’t have THE solution either.