Interview with Matais Kossen, Founder and General Manager, Leapfrog BV
Today, Fabbers offers you an interview with the general manager of Leapfrog BV, Matais Kossen. Mathijs Kossen is the founder and General Manager of Leapfrog BV, one of the successful manufacturers of desktop 3D printers in the 3D industry. The company successfully installed more than 180 3D printers in schools in the Moscow region at the beginning of 2014, and Matais is a frequent guest in Russia. Since its founding in 2012, Mr. Cossen has been responsible for actively expanding the company in the EU and the CIS countries and, most recently, in the United States. In addition to his role in Leapfrog in the company, Mr. Kossen is an avid skier and sailor. He also likes to travel. He studied the future founder of the company Leapfrog BV at the Technical University of Delft in the Netherlands, he graduated from the Faculty of Nuclear Chemistry with a master's degree.
For more convenience, we left both the video conversation and
Here is a picture of the engine spoken of in the interview.
And this is the new 3d printer Leapfrog Xeed which was mentioned in the interview. Fast, very accurate, with automatic platform calibration and thread tracking sensors. A detailed description and specifications can be found here .
A detailed review of the new 3d printer Leapfrog Xeed and examples of its work, you can read and see in our next publications.
Thank you for being with us.
Especially for 3D printer shop
For more convenience, we left both the video conversation and
text of the interview under the spoiler.
“I want to ask you some questions.” What has become the history of your company?
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- Leapfrog was founded in 2012, in March 2012. So 2.5 years ago.
During this period I trained at AV Flexilogic, this is our company - a partner that manufactures large devices for 2D printing. They needed a 3D printer for their research and development department. I had an internship there. And we bought a kit for building a 3D printer. But we saw that the print quality was very low and it was very difficult to use. That is why we decided to develop our own printer, mainly because of the need for AV Flexilogic use 3D printing. We decided to develop our own printer - it was Creatr, we use it now. This is in a nutshell how Leapfrog was founded.
- Now on the market a sufficient number of 3D printers. How is your brand different from others?
- OK, yes, there are actually a lot of printers. When we started in March 2012, we had about 20 competitors. Last time, I think, a month ago, when I checked the information, there were more than 1000 competitors in the field of 3D printing. Fortunately, Leapfrog has an advantage - we started when this business just started to develop, and we differ from others in three clear things. First, we have a very large construction area, the client has the ability to print large objects. The workflow and machine are set up to make the printing process easy. For example, we still remain, I think, although I do not know the products of all 1000 competitors, practically the only machine that is assembled and calibrated right out of the box. When we started, there were few cars that were assembled when you received them. And then we were special, because we had already been assembled, and now we are special, because we are calibrated when the car arrives at your door. And third, we have a dual extruder version, and basically, 95% of what we sell is a double extruder. So, we have one nozzle for the main material and one nozzle for the support material, and this allows you to print any overhanging elements, which gives the designer complete design freedom. As for the overhanging elements, for example, if you want to build a bridge, you need to build support structures so that the first layer does not fall. And the support structure can be printed with a second nozzle, for which we use a water-soluble plastic called PVA. These are the three key sales benefits. And what else really matters is the affordable price. So, our starting model is relevant cheap, the price for it is from 1250 euros.
- Matais, can you tell us about the Leapfrog team?
- OK, we have a team here in the Netherlands, we are fifteen. Fifteen people work here, they are engaged in marketing, sales, research and development, there are also some related work, of course ... Our team is engaged in research and development, and we recently hired a new chief engineer, his name is Ado, he recently defended his PhD in mechanical engineering and already did a lot of good things on our team and this is a big plus to take us to the next level. We have 3 other engineers, one of them is a 3D printing guru, we have a great electrical engineer, and we have a deputy chief engineer who also designs our products and checks that our products look good and look good. good in the future. Of course, we have a marketing and sales department that speak for itself, because marketing and sales are what really matters for this emerging market. We also do some sales in the States, we have one person there now, and we intend to expand there soon.
- We would be interested to know how you see the development of 3D technologies.
- I think that development is international development, that there will not be many differences between development in the States and Europe, for example. Many say that the mechanical design is already “understandable”, but I think that there are still many details that can become smoother and much more multifunctional, for example, nozzles. The next generation of materials, that is, materials that have a melting point above 300 degrees, will enter the market in the second half of 2015. And they require structural changes that will allow working at melting temperatures above 300 degrees. Thus, the basic mechanics of 3D printers are “understandable,” but the next generation of materials (you can see that many developers are working on this) will evolve, and evolve. And most of these materials will require, as we call, for example, a “Fonz-nozzle”, which can heat up to more than 300 degrees. This is what really matters. And, as I think, 3D printers will get more different sensors. So at present, this is a system without feedback: just a machine prints and prints, but I expect, in the future, to see a feedback system to actually get feedback on the quality of the printed models and maybe even adjust something to it. basis.
- Today, Russian schoolchildren are actively using 3D-printers, downloading simple models, what do you think, when the level of 3D printing skills grows, people and children, in particular, will be able to create models themselves?
- Well, well, I think we are almost there. I think that technology can make things easier, but the main thing is that the foundation has already been laid. I think what really matters is how to teach children, how to work with it, as well as to teach professors and teachers how to work with 3D printers. And to fill these gaps, Leapfrog created a program of lessons.
So we worked together with teachers from different schools, from primary schools and technical schools to universities, and we created classes with them that can explain how 3D printing works and how it can be used in classrooms. Now teachers really know what they can do with a 3D printer. They know what lessons they can do with it and what students and children can learn.
- How do you think, how soon can ordinary people afford to have a 3D printer at home?
- I think, in personal 3D printing, features of the local market play a big role. Here in the Netherlands, in order to put your printers at home, you need to change the design to a more consumer one. And the price should fall to about 800 euros in order, for example, here in the Netherlands, many people buy printers for personal use.
- Thank you, Matais, tell me, you, as manufacturers of 3D printers, what is the most incredible, extraordinary print?
“Extraordinary printouts?” Ok, I need to think between two types of printed things that we did. There is one thing, really, a cool engine that we built, in fact, a 6-cylinder engine, it performs mechanical movements, but it is plastic, so, of course, it only moves when you spin the wheels. And yet, we work well with a medical center near Amsterdam, and there they use a printer to print scans of any part of your body — it could be your ear or, for example, your jaw, and they actually use it to look at an object before starting an operation, for example.
- Cool! Cool stuff! Tell me, are you planning to release mini-printers?
- Well, we do not officially announce what kind of printer we are going to make. Therefore, I cannot give specific information about our plans, but I think the consumer market is very interesting, because it will explode soon.
- You have released a new Leapfrog Xeed printer for the global market, for the Russian market, Matais, could you tell about the main advantages of the new 3D printer with respect to others?
- I would say - most importantly, ease of use. So you can control XEED from a PC, tablet or phone, everything works. You can access XEED from any browser that is connected to the Internet via a phone or something else ... And this makes it possible for your designer to sit at his desk, create models, and when the model is created, send it directly to a printer that located somewhere in the building. So ease of use is an extremely important part of XEED. Then, it has an even larger print area than Creatr, you can create objects up to 35 cm in length. XEED is created more for professionals and it is all you need to print more than once a week. For example, if you are going to print every day, you are doing everyday 3D printing, then there are certain features that make this machine very simple and easy to use, for example, we have a thread detection system that will alert you when the thread is in your printer. is over. We see many 3D printers that, in the absence of a thread, continue to simply print in the air, but XEED actually pauses and invites you to load a new thread. We have a working surface calibration, there is a probe located on the print head, which measures the distance to the table before printing. So the working surface calibration is automatic, controlled by a set of servo motors, so the working surface is aligned before each print. These are two typical examples of why a printer like the XEED is really suitable for professional use and it is faster than Creatr, it is much more accurate, it can make a layer thickness of up to 10 microns. This is not very reasonable, because your print will take a huge amount of time, but it can be done if you really want it. And it is built so firmly and firmly that it will allow you to print on it for many years.
- Thank you, Matais, for the interesting answers, a small excursion into the 3D future. We are waiting for your new products, interesting ideas ... Bye!
- Until!
')
- Leapfrog was founded in 2012, in March 2012. So 2.5 years ago.
During this period I trained at AV Flexilogic, this is our company - a partner that manufactures large devices for 2D printing. They needed a 3D printer for their research and development department. I had an internship there. And we bought a kit for building a 3D printer. But we saw that the print quality was very low and it was very difficult to use. That is why we decided to develop our own printer, mainly because of the need for AV Flexilogic use 3D printing. We decided to develop our own printer - it was Creatr, we use it now. This is in a nutshell how Leapfrog was founded.
- Now on the market a sufficient number of 3D printers. How is your brand different from others?
- OK, yes, there are actually a lot of printers. When we started in March 2012, we had about 20 competitors. Last time, I think, a month ago, when I checked the information, there were more than 1000 competitors in the field of 3D printing. Fortunately, Leapfrog has an advantage - we started when this business just started to develop, and we differ from others in three clear things. First, we have a very large construction area, the client has the ability to print large objects. The workflow and machine are set up to make the printing process easy. For example, we still remain, I think, although I do not know the products of all 1000 competitors, practically the only machine that is assembled and calibrated right out of the box. When we started, there were few cars that were assembled when you received them. And then we were special, because we had already been assembled, and now we are special, because we are calibrated when the car arrives at your door. And third, we have a dual extruder version, and basically, 95% of what we sell is a double extruder. So, we have one nozzle for the main material and one nozzle for the support material, and this allows you to print any overhanging elements, which gives the designer complete design freedom. As for the overhanging elements, for example, if you want to build a bridge, you need to build support structures so that the first layer does not fall. And the support structure can be printed with a second nozzle, for which we use a water-soluble plastic called PVA. These are the three key sales benefits. And what else really matters is the affordable price. So, our starting model is relevant cheap, the price for it is from 1250 euros.
- Matais, can you tell us about the Leapfrog team?
- OK, we have a team here in the Netherlands, we are fifteen. Fifteen people work here, they are engaged in marketing, sales, research and development, there are also some related work, of course ... Our team is engaged in research and development, and we recently hired a new chief engineer, his name is Ado, he recently defended his PhD in mechanical engineering and already did a lot of good things on our team and this is a big plus to take us to the next level. We have 3 other engineers, one of them is a 3D printing guru, we have a great electrical engineer, and we have a deputy chief engineer who also designs our products and checks that our products look good and look good. good in the future. Of course, we have a marketing and sales department that speak for itself, because marketing and sales are what really matters for this emerging market. We also do some sales in the States, we have one person there now, and we intend to expand there soon.
- We would be interested to know how you see the development of 3D technologies.
- I think that development is international development, that there will not be many differences between development in the States and Europe, for example. Many say that the mechanical design is already “understandable”, but I think that there are still many details that can become smoother and much more multifunctional, for example, nozzles. The next generation of materials, that is, materials that have a melting point above 300 degrees, will enter the market in the second half of 2015. And they require structural changes that will allow working at melting temperatures above 300 degrees. Thus, the basic mechanics of 3D printers are “understandable,” but the next generation of materials (you can see that many developers are working on this) will evolve, and evolve. And most of these materials will require, as we call, for example, a “Fonz-nozzle”, which can heat up to more than 300 degrees. This is what really matters. And, as I think, 3D printers will get more different sensors. So at present, this is a system without feedback: just a machine prints and prints, but I expect, in the future, to see a feedback system to actually get feedback on the quality of the printed models and maybe even adjust something to it. basis.
- Today, Russian schoolchildren are actively using 3D-printers, downloading simple models, what do you think, when the level of 3D printing skills grows, people and children, in particular, will be able to create models themselves?
- Well, well, I think we are almost there. I think that technology can make things easier, but the main thing is that the foundation has already been laid. I think what really matters is how to teach children, how to work with it, as well as to teach professors and teachers how to work with 3D printers. And to fill these gaps, Leapfrog created a program of lessons.
So we worked together with teachers from different schools, from primary schools and technical schools to universities, and we created classes with them that can explain how 3D printing works and how it can be used in classrooms. Now teachers really know what they can do with a 3D printer. They know what lessons they can do with it and what students and children can learn.
- How do you think, how soon can ordinary people afford to have a 3D printer at home?
- I think, in personal 3D printing, features of the local market play a big role. Here in the Netherlands, in order to put your printers at home, you need to change the design to a more consumer one. And the price should fall to about 800 euros in order, for example, here in the Netherlands, many people buy printers for personal use.
- Thank you, Matais, tell me, you, as manufacturers of 3D printers, what is the most incredible, extraordinary print?
“Extraordinary printouts?” Ok, I need to think between two types of printed things that we did. There is one thing, really, a cool engine that we built, in fact, a 6-cylinder engine, it performs mechanical movements, but it is plastic, so, of course, it only moves when you spin the wheels. And yet, we work well with a medical center near Amsterdam, and there they use a printer to print scans of any part of your body — it could be your ear or, for example, your jaw, and they actually use it to look at an object before starting an operation, for example.
- Cool! Cool stuff! Tell me, are you planning to release mini-printers?
- Well, we do not officially announce what kind of printer we are going to make. Therefore, I cannot give specific information about our plans, but I think the consumer market is very interesting, because it will explode soon.
- You have released a new Leapfrog Xeed printer for the global market, for the Russian market, Matais, could you tell about the main advantages of the new 3D printer with respect to others?
- I would say - most importantly, ease of use. So you can control XEED from a PC, tablet or phone, everything works. You can access XEED from any browser that is connected to the Internet via a phone or something else ... And this makes it possible for your designer to sit at his desk, create models, and when the model is created, send it directly to a printer that located somewhere in the building. So ease of use is an extremely important part of XEED. Then, it has an even larger print area than Creatr, you can create objects up to 35 cm in length. XEED is created more for professionals and it is all you need to print more than once a week. For example, if you are going to print every day, you are doing everyday 3D printing, then there are certain features that make this machine very simple and easy to use, for example, we have a thread detection system that will alert you when the thread is in your printer. is over. We see many 3D printers that, in the absence of a thread, continue to simply print in the air, but XEED actually pauses and invites you to load a new thread. We have a working surface calibration, there is a probe located on the print head, which measures the distance to the table before printing. So the working surface calibration is automatic, controlled by a set of servo motors, so the working surface is aligned before each print. These are two typical examples of why a printer like the XEED is really suitable for professional use and it is faster than Creatr, it is much more accurate, it can make a layer thickness of up to 10 microns. This is not very reasonable, because your print will take a huge amount of time, but it can be done if you really want it. And it is built so firmly and firmly that it will allow you to print on it for many years.
- Thank you, Matais, for the interesting answers, a small excursion into the 3D future. We are waiting for your new products, interesting ideas ... Bye!
- Until!
Here is a picture of the engine spoken of in the interview.
And this is the new 3d printer Leapfrog Xeed which was mentioned in the interview. Fast, very accurate, with automatic platform calibration and thread tracking sensors. A detailed description and specifications can be found here .
A detailed review of the new 3d printer Leapfrog Xeed and examples of its work, you can read and see in our next publications.
Thank you for being with us.
Especially for 3D printer shop
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/239677/
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