BIQU Hermit Crab Rapid Hotend Tool Changer

The Makerhood is a hobby full of exciting interests. Many Makers find that 3D Printing, laser engraving, and CNC machines can combine into a powerhouse of making potential! We are seeing these three fields side by side in many new developments, like the Snapmaker which offers all three functionalities on one machine. While not everyone could afford or have access to all three wonderous machines as these, we Makers are rarely stopped so easily. Brands such as BIQU and Creality have developed print head tools that upgrade your printer with superior hotends like the BIQU H2 Direct Extruder and other fantastic modules like the Creality Laser Upgrade Kit. However, swapping your print tools from one to another is time-consuming and frustrating at times. The BIQU Hermit Crab Tool Changer tackles that exact problem and we believe it is the ultimate efficiency upgrade with three interchangeable tool plates that slide into a fixed plate on your machine within seconds.

The BIQU Hermit Crab allows you to rapidly exchange one print head for another. This upgrade kit includes one fixed plate which attaches to your 3D Printer and three interchangeable tool plates that hold your hotend, CNC cutter or laser engraver print heads. The greatest benefit of the BIQU Hermit Crab is the ease with which you could remove your hotend and replace it with another to continue printing straight away. This means if your hotend clogs, a spare hotend can easily slide into place so your Making is not delayed for hours while you clean it. The BIQU Hermit Crab Tool Changer is more than just a modular mount. Both fixed and tool plates have multi-interfaces that integrate into your 3D Printer’s electrical connections and even cater for additional functions like auto-levelling and filament sensors.

The BIQU Hermit Crab’s fixed plate connects directly to your 3D Printer’s Motherboard while each tool plate contains its own PCB with convenient wire-to-board connectors. After setting the permanent connections for the essentials into your fixed plate, you can also enjoy the BIQU Hermit Crab’s additional interfaces that include the BL Touch, filament sensor and cooling fan ports. By customising the connections of each of your three interchangeable tool plates in advance, you will save even more time when changing between tool heads. The fixing holes in the BIQU Hermit Crab’s tool plates correspond to the BIQU H2, MK8, and Ender 3 extruders for easily installing these hotends. So, if you are tired of getting slowed down by a clogged hotend or excited to expand your 3D Printer’s capability with a quick swap of tool head, then the BIQU Hermit Crab Rapid Tool Changer is the efficient quick-changing toolset you’ve been looking for!

Please Note: the BIQU Hermit Crab Kit provides adapters for both linear rails and V-slot rails, allowing you to install this awesome upgrade on a wider range of 3D Printers.

Typical Applications for the BIQU Hermit Crab Tool Changer Kit:

The BIQU Hermit Crab is an ingenious quick-changing toolset for your 3D printer. The convenience of switching out whole print head assemblies with a click of a button and no wiring required is absolutely beautiful. We believe the BIQU Hermit Crab brings another level of efficiency to your 3D Printing if you have multiple print heads to use on one machine. The fixing holes in the three BIQU Hermit Crab’s tool plates correspond to the BIQU H2, MK8, and Ender 3 extruders for easily installing these hotends. However, the applications of the BIQU Hermit Crab don’t stop there. You could install many different tool types onto these tool plates for quick-changing, including a laser engraver, pen plotter, CNC cutter, and any other tool compatible with your 3D printer. While the BIQU Hermit Crab was made for the purpose of attaching to compatible 3D Printers, it does include adapters for both linear and v-slot rails which means you could install this upgrade onto your CNC machine as well. The BIQU Hermit Crab is a versatile tool for quality-of-life Making.

To see the BIQU Hermit Crab in action, take a look at BIQU’s introduction video which shows the use of multiple tools on interchangeable tool plates:

Although many people may not quite recognise the name, BIQU is a fantastic brand that originated as BigTreeTech, and began their journey in the 3D Printing world by creating motherboards and other electronics that were made to enhance the functionality, ease of use and overall capabilities of other 3D Printers. However, after gaining a firm popularity as some the leaders in 3D Upgrades, they have also now branched off and created BIQU, a brand dedicated to creating entire 3D Printers for hobbyists like us.

Compared to many of the brands on the market, what we particularly love about BIQU is the way that their models come fully equipped with all of the exciting BigTreeTech controller boards, stepper drivers and other awesome components that are typically installed into other 3D Printers as powerful upgrades. These include the popular SKR motherboards, the BTT TMC Drivers, BTT TFT displays and other minor (but still valuable) upgrades that are often installed on Creality 3D Printers, but since these “upgrades” come stock on BIQU 3D Printers, you can enjoy even more reliable operations and functionality due to the fact that their machines are built specifically with their own boards and components in mind. This has resulted in BIQU creating some of the leading 3D Printers on the market, which don’t need any upgrades or improvements to match the quality of leading brands, and with many of the BIQU models actually surpassing the quality and capabilities of most other Hobbyist 3D Printers on the market.

If you love the idea of upgrading 3D Printers with all kinds of fun and functional upgrades, but aren’t too interested in getting a basic model that you have to actually upgrade yourself, the BIQU range of 3D Printers is the answer, bringing excellent quality coupled with all of the current best features available to 3D Makers.