Beijing Huitianwei Technology Co. Upgrades HORI 3D Printer Line With New and Improved Extruder

We’ve covered a lot of promising Chinese 3D printing companies this year, a sure sign that the 3D printing industry in the country is really picking up. One of those companies is Beijing Huitianwei Technology Co., Ltd., probably more commonly known by the name of their successful 3D printer line, HORI. A couple of months ago, we took a look at the HORI line, which includes a variety of both industrial and desktop 3D printers. Over the past year, their business has really taken off, accompanied by the opening of a new factory and skyrocketing sales figures.

HORI 3D printers, which are especially popular among students, may be high quality, as their sales suggest, but Beijing Huitianwei hasn’t used their success as an excuse to slack off. There’s always room for improvement, even in the best-performing printers, and anyone who has ever 3D printed anything knows that a printer is only as good as its extruder. A new extruder is, in some cases, almost as good as a new printer, so HORI fans will be excited to learn that the company has developed a new extruder that should improve their 3D printing experiences even more.

The new FLOW extruder (L) boasts several improvements over its predecessor (R).

The newly designed FLOW extruder is aptly named, as its design reduces the occurrence of filament clogs, letting it flow smoothly without the headache of under-extrusion. The throat of the extruder is designed with a groove that guides the filament smoothly through, preventing jamming or bending. In addition, it extends the material capabilities of HORI 3D printers, which were already versatile, capable of printing with PLA, ABS, HIPS, PVA, PE, PP, PETG, wood, carbon fiber, nylon and more. With the FLOW extruder, however, the printers are now also able to easily print with soft, flexible materials such as TPU.

The FLOW extruder not only prints better but is overall easier to use. Unlike many conventional extruders, the FLOW has a modular design that makes it easy to install and uninstall, as well as to assemble and disassemble for cleaning. A square throatchoke module ensures perfect integration and prevents issues such as looseness or poor positioning. According to Beijing Huitianwei, the FLOW is essentially a “plug and play” extruder – once it’s mounted, which can be easily done without a professional, it’s ready to start printing flawlessly. Another selling point is an external heat dissipation structure that prevents heat conduction, keeping materials from overly softening as they are extruded.

The design of the new extruder reflects Beijing Huitianwei’s commitment to making 3D printing easy. Home 3D printer users shouldn’t need professionals for setup, maintenance and troubleshooting, the company believes, so one of their philosophies is to design everything so that the average user can easily maintain their equipment without frustration and stressed-out calls to customer service or technical support.

Recently, Beijing Huitianwei made their official debut in the European market, showing off several of their HORI 3D printers at IFA Berlin, Europe’s largest consumer electronics show, in September. The show attracted 240,000 visitors, giving Beijing Huitanwei a huge audience for their technology – and, the company says, that audience was very impressed, giving a lot of positive feedback that bodes well for Beijing Huitanwei’s entry into the European market.

They’ve certainly caught our interest, anyway. We’ll continue to follow this exciting, fast-moving company as they reveal their new technology and additional plans for expansion into foreign markets. If you have questions about the FLOW extruder or Beijing Huitianwei’s other products and services, you can contact the company here. Take a look at the video below to get a closer look at the design and performance of the FLOW extruder:

Discuss in the FLOW Extruder forum at 3DPB.com.