China-based HORI produces some very interesting 3D printer equipment.
HORI is one of those very well-established Asian producers that is not well known in the west, but they aim to change that in the near future.
Beijing Huitianwei Technology Co.,Ltd, a Beijing-based company, has been in operation for 13 years now, and produces a large variety of equipment. Recently they’ve been marketing 3D printers under the HORI brand name.
We saw several different units in their product line, which currently includes no less than five different models. All are filament-based machines that address different market segments. They include:
- H1 – Their smallest machine, with a basic 240 x 190 x 255mm build volume, is capable of 3D printing in PLA, ABS, HIPS, PETG, PVA and similar materials
- Z300 – Is a much larger machine at 300 x 260 x 305mm, and can get more heat at the build surface, up to 120C
- Z500 – Is similar in function to the Z300, but offers a much taller build volume of 360 x 350 x 560mm for larger objects
- X500 – Is again similar to the X300, but offers a build volume in a wider aspect ratio of 550 x 260 x x 250mm
- Z1000 – HORI’s flagship machine with a staggering build volume of 1000 x 1000 x 1000mm (and 460kg weight), a full cubic meter of 3D printing!
What’s interesting is the standard features you find on each of these machines, including color touch screens, filament out detection, filament out alarm for real-time notification of problems, power out detection / controlled shutdown and resume printing, and an optional second extruder & hot end (hence the Z100D model, for example).
The HORI machines are entirely self-designed and built and they say they update the design every few months to continue improving its performance. Apparently they ship around 7,000 machines per month, which is pretty significant.
Their sales are mostly in China and Russia at this point. We were told Russians in particular like their equipment because it “works in cold machine rooms like tanks”.
I get the impression these are very solid machines that can be used in a variety of industrial scenarios.
The company hopes to begin expanding their market to new regions this year, and they seem to be starting in Europe. Perhaps at some point they will also add North America.
Via HORI
