Interview with: Lennart van den Doel
Where is 3D printing heading? What are still the limitations? And what specifically does 3D Next Level do differently from the rest? Meet owner and technical director Lennart van den Doel, who, full of optimism, purchased his first large 3D printer alongside his wife Eline in 2018 and thereby started 3D Next Level. Since then, their company has grown significantly in both personnel and 3D printers, and they are increasingly stepping out to disrupt the industry with their comprehensive range of diverse services.
The world of 3D printing is increasingly taking off. What are your findings from the past five years in this market?
In the past few years, 3D printing has become quite "normal," and the hype has somewhat subsided. This has been beneficial for us because customers are familiar with the basics of 3D printing and are considering it across various markets. In recent years, 3D printing has mainly been used for prototyping and single pieces. While this has been good, I believe that there is much more potential both now and in the future.
Much more is possible. Explain, where is 3D printing heading in the coming years?
A transition is underway where 3D printing is becoming an obvious production method and an integral part of companies' (production) processes. However, often it is currently only part of their process in the prototyping phase. Afterwards, companies often resort to traditional mass production in countries like China. But 3D printing materials are becoming increasingly better. This makes production feasible for more and more applications and products. I believe that technology provides an answer to offer an alternative for regional and Dutch companies. Reshoring, in my opinion, is an important pillar and much needed if we want to start producing responsibly again. In the coming years, companies will really have to overhaul their business models if we want to produce more sustainably in the Netherlands. 3D printing is part of that solution.
Additionally, I believe that we need to further automate the entire production process so that we can handle much larger quantities. If we become a better alternative than China and other manufacturing countries with the help of innovation, the choice for companies to opt for 3D printing becomes even easier. It is our task to make companies realize that there is already much more possible with 3D printing at this moment. Therefore, there needs to be more understanding among companies that the prototyping phase of 3D printing is truly over. There is so much more potential: 3D printing can already increasingly replace current production methods. It's time for mass production with 3D printing!
3D printing can already increasingly replace current production methods. It's time for mass production with 3D printing!
You're essentially preaching the gospel of 3D printing as a mass production methodology. How do you ensure that companies learn to think differently?
We passionately communicate about 3D printing and how it can be a groundbreaking solution for many of their current processes within the company. To reinforce this, we offer Next Level Sessions at companies, where we interactively engage and train their engineering teams. We also specifically assess what can and cannot work for the customer and scrutinize their business. In this way, we enter into an intensive partnership and assist the customer in learning to think differently. When we help the customer think differently, the assignments naturally follow thereafter.
Will technical companies really move away from conventional production methods in the future?
Likely never entirely, but companies that produce in traditional ways will face more competition from 3D printing. 3D printing is a good addition to current production methods that will continue to coexist alongside them.
Back to your company. What sets 3D Next Level apart from other 3D printing companies?
With 3D Next Level, we actually serve a very broad market. We have a team of engineers who collaborate with the customer and do some engineering work for the customer's parts. It's not just a matter of uploading a 3D model and printing it with us. We know what each part that is printed is and what its purpose is, and we actively participate in that process. We truly provide the customer with a complete end product, for example, with additional brackets, bolts, nuts, or metal glued in if necessary. Additionally, we also offer complementary production methods in-house, such as rotocasting, rim-molding, and painting. We also test our products in practice; we conduct tests on our self-developed test benches and continue until we have the most optimal product for the customer. So, we offer a complete process from A to Z and take responsibility for the entire process. We only start mass 3D printing when the product is perfect to the customer's satisfaction.
What is your dream regarding 3D printing within your company?
I think it would be very cool if we could do something with 3D printing for a Formula 1 team.
"The passion for innovation and improvement drives me every day."
In addition to 3D printing for customers, you also do a lot of R&D and innovation in-house. Does innovation and R&D ever stop with you?
Probably not. Innovation flows through my veins, and at base, I am an inventor of sorts. The passion for innovation and improvement is what drives me every day. In the evenings and on weekends, I spend hours watching videos on the latest technologies, which give me new ideas on how to make certain processes possible. I then discuss these ideas with our engineers and in this way we have already implemented many innovations within the 3D printing process. Together we really come up with solutions that the market needs. Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
Finally, what is your goal? What do you want to achieve with 3D printing?
Our goal is to use 3D printing to bring manufacturing back to the Netherlands in a responsible manner, thus contributing to a new global industrial revolution!
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