Inside3DP Exclusive: ESUN – Filament Innovations from China
2014/06/26
Inside3DP Exclusive: ESUN – Filament Innovations from China
Sincethe beginning of the desktop 3D printing roll-out, people have beensourcing boards and stepper motors from China. There are now many Chinese companies selling parts, doing contract manufacturing and developing their own 3D printers.
Whereas Western companies have no problem getting media attention, there have been very few interviews and articles on all of these Chinese suppliers. Therefore, I’m going to be contacting Chinese companies to provide readers of Inside3DP more information about3D printing developments China.
In my opinion,Chinese companies play a big rolein desktop 3D printing. Especially on the consumables side. For example, Chinese companies and the AliBaba portal have been crucial in lowering the price of filament.
I wanted tobegin with a company that many of you may be familiar with,ESUN. They were one of the first companies I noticed in China and they sell PLA filament. ESUN has also done a lot of innovation with luminous, nylon, wood, PVA and conductive filaments. I interviewed ESUN CEO Yang Yihu to find out more.
Joris Peels: How did you get started with 3D printing?
Yang Yihu: In 2007,one of our European customers consulted us online whether we can provide a 3mm welding rod. At first, we thought it was a customer who wanted to produce welding rods. But then more and more customers required this welding rod material. These customers told us about desktop 3D printing and offered us feedback and advice. I then came to Europe to visit these customers in order to find out more.
Joris Peels:When did you first notice the 3Dprinting business opportunity?
Yang Yihu: Our company is at the intersection of two industrial revolutions—Bioplastics and 3D Printing. It is bound to create new business opportunities, Using non-toxic and environmentally friendly biomaterial to produce 3D printing filament will have a bright future because 3D Printing is in the midst of being transformed from industrial use to home applications. People also surely cannot bear the penetrating smell of ABS filament at home.
Joris Peels: What do you want to achieve as a company?
Yang Yihu: The goal of Esun is to be top three globally in the field of 3D printing materials.
Joris Peels: How many employees does your company have?
Yang Yihu: Esun has around 150 employees in total. It has several domestic branches, such as Guangzhou Representative Office, Shanghai Representative Office and Wuhan Representative Office. Additionally, Esun plans to establish branches in America and Europe soon.
Joris Peels: What activities do you do as a company?
Yang Yihu: Established in 2002 and located in Shenzhen Special Economic Zone, Shenzhen Esun Industrial Co., Ltd. is a high-tech enterprise specializing in researching, developing, producing and operating degradable polymer materials, such as PLA and PCL , together with green solvent—Lactate esters.
Joris Peels: What are your best selling products?
Yang Yihu:.The best-selling products we have are PLA and PVA filament. We mainly sell to the European & American Market
Joris Peels: Was it difficult for you to find overseas customers?
Yang Yihu: No, most of them come to us because we have been selling 3D printing filament since 2007 and have a good reputation. We also actively take part in global exhibitions and make speeches. Inside 3D Printing Conference and Expo,the leading B2B trade show for 3D Printing industry, has 10 global tours in different countries this year and Esun will take part in all of them.
Joris Peels: Do you mainly sell through AliBaba?
Yang Yihu: Except Alibaba platform, Esun also sells filament through distributors. In the near future, we will sell Esun 3D filament on Amazon.
Joris Peels: Why did you develop a conductive filament?
Yang Yihu: This is because of customer-oriented requirement. We develop conductive filament to satisfy market demand.The main purpose of conductive filament is for electronic circuits and electromagnetic shielding. We have a German customer, who supplies customized medical devices and they printed an electromotor cover for electromagnetic shielding.
Joris Peels: What kind of things have people done with the luminous filament?
Yang Yihu: Luminous filament has been used for road traffic signs, stars in children’s bedrooms and other interesting items. An American customer of ESUN made a Halloween pumpkin 410mm by 410mm by 410mm,which takes 36 hours to print.
Halloween pumpkin
A customer 3D printed Lobster with Esun PLA filament, which attracted the attention of numerous visitors during Inside 3D Printing South Korea show.
A customer 3D printed Lobster with Esun PLA filament
Joris Peels: What is your cleaning filament and what does it do?
Yang Yihu: It’s the first one filament in the world that has been designed to let the 3D printer clean its nozzle conveniently. The filament directly removes residual material inside the printer and it can be used for regular maintenance of print head. It can used to aid in the switching of high and low temperature materials. Its melting temperature range is 160℃ to 280 ℃.
Joris Peels: Do you do all of your own production of the filaments?
Yang Yihu: Yes, our company owns 10 production lines. Esun also has three different R&D centers,which are specialized in material syntheses, modification and application.
Joris Peels: What makes Esun better than other filament companies?
Yang Yihu: We have a powerful integration ability; Esun can offer a full range of good quality products related to 3D Printing at a reasonable price. Sustainable R&D Capacity to offer new products and control quality; Professional production lines and 10 years of experience with the materials.
http://www.inside3dp.com/inside3dp-exclusive-esun-filament-innovations-china/