KliTek™ Nozzle Changer for Multi-Material 3D Printing

FDM 3D printing is moving beyond simple single-material printing. Makers, studios and technical users now expect faster colour printing, more reliable material switching, lower waste and better support for flexible materials.

For product teams, the challenge is clear: should a printer rely on one nozzle and purge between colours, change the full toolhead, or build a lighter system focused only on the parts that need to change?

Creality’s answer is KliTek™ , a next-generation nozzle-changing technology designed to make multicolour and multi-material 3D printing faster, cleaner and more flexible.

Instead of treating filament switching as the only solution, KliTek™ explores a more efficient architecture: changing a compact nozzle assembly to improve speed, reduce waste and expand material possibilities.

The Limits of Single-Nozzle Colour Printing For years, most consumer multicolour FDM printers have relied on single-nozzle filament switching. One nozzle prints multiple colours by repeatedly loading, unloading and purging filament.

This method helped bring colour printing to more users, but it also created familiar drawbacks:

Longer print times Purge towers and extra filament waste Colour bleeding between materials More complex print preparation Limited compatibility with flexible or specialised filaments For simple colour changes, it may be acceptable. For advanced models, flexible materials or multi-material combinations, the workflow quickly becomes less efficient.

From Toolhead Changing to Nozzle Changing

Dual-nozzle and tool-changing systems have already shown the value of separating functions. One nozzle can handle the model, another can print support material, and different toolheads can be prepared for different processes.

However, changing a large toolhead can increase mechanical complexity. It adds moving mass, calibration requirements and more parts that need to stay precisely aligned.

KliTek™ takes a more focused approach. It changes only the compact nozzle assembly, including the hotend elements needed for fast switching and pre-heating.

This helps keep the changing part lighter, more modular and easier to manage.

A Lightweight Modular Architecture The core idea behind KliTek™ is simple: change less, achieve more.

By reducing the size and weight of the switching unit, Creality aims to keep the system fast and precise while maintaining long-term serviceability. The filament path remains visible for easier troubleshooting, and the nozzle assembly can be replaced more conveniently than a full toolhead.

The nozzle assembly weighs around one-fifth of a full toolhead and supports a nozzle change in approximately 5 seconds .

This lightweight structure is important because every gram matters in high-speed FDM printing. A smaller switching unit helps balance speed, motion control and repeatable positioning.

How Nozzle Changing Improves Multicolour Printing In traditional single-nozzle systems, colour switching usually requires purging the old filament before the new colour can be used. This can waste material and increase the total print time.

With nozzle changing, the workflow can be optimised around prepared nozzle assemblies, reducing repeated purging and improving the transition between colours or materials.

For users, that means faster multicolour production, lower purge waste and cleaner colour separation.

Solving the TPU Printing Problem TPU is valuable because it is flexible, elastic and useful for functional parts. It is also difficult to print.

As a hygroscopic material, TPU can absorb moisture, so drying before printing is often important. Its flexibility can also cause feeding problems, especially in long or poorly constrained filament paths.

Typical TPU challenges include:

Filament deformation during feeding Friction inside the tube Extrusion instability Poor retraction performance Stringing and surface defects Because of this, many systems print TPU slowly, and some are mainly comfortable with harder TPU 95A materials. Printing softer TPU, or combining TPU with other materials in the same model, can be much harder.

S-Drive™: A Dual-Power Feeding System To improve TPU extrusion, Creality rethought the feeding system.

Traditional Bowden systems are not ideal for very flexible materials, while standard direct drive systems can still struggle when the filament is soft and easily deformed.

KliTek™ introduces the patent-pending S-Drive™ feed system , which combines the pulling force of the main extruder with assistance from a secondary rear extruder unit.

By synchronising the push and pull forces, the filament moves through the path more consistently. This helps reduce buckling, friction and unpredictable extrusion behaviour.

The result is stable printing of TPU as soft as 80A Shore hardness .

Higher Flow for Flexible and Standard Materials With improved TPU feeding, KliTek™ can reach a stable flow of around 3 mm³/s for soft TPU, compared with systems that may need to slow down to around 1 mm³/s .

For TPU 95A, KliTek™ can achieve up to 15 mm³/s , while many consumer 3D printers remain around 2–3 mm³/s .

This makes flexible printing more practical not only for test pieces, but also for functional models, custom parts and mixed-material applications.

The same feed efficiency can also benefit standard materials such as PLA by supporting more consistent extrusion under higher-flow conditions.

Mixing Nozzle Sizes in One Print Another advantage of a multi-nozzle architecture is the ability to combine different nozzle diameters within one print.

Instead of choosing one nozzle size for the entire model, users can assign different nozzle sizes to different tasks. A 0.4 mm nozzle can handle outer walls and fine details, while a 0.8 mm nozzle can print infill or large internal sections more quickly.

This workflow offers a better balance between surface quality and print speed, especially for larger models where infill can take a significant amount of time.

Speed, Precision and Material Freedom KliTek™ is not only about changing nozzles. It is about changing how FDM printers handle complex prints.

With a lightweight nozzle-changing system, stable TPU feeding, high-flow performance and mixed-nozzle workflows, Creality aims to make advanced printing more accessible for everyday users and professional creators.

Speed matters because it helps finish models faster. Precision matters because the final part still needs to look and function as intended. Multi-material capability matters because it opens new design possibilities, from rigid-flexible combinations to more expressive colour models.

KliTek™ brings these ideas together in a compact nozzle-changing system designed for the next generation of FDM 3D printing.

Meet KliTek™ — Creality’s next-generation nozzle changer.

Meet KliTek™ — Creality's Next-gen Nozzle Changer Coming

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Meet KliTek™ — Creality's Next-gen Nozzle Changer Coming

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