Smile! Beautiful teeth for everyone

Item date:

7 June 2021

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Praktijkverhalen

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"That puts a smile on your face, doesn't it?"

Petra Doelman, COO of Lake3D

LIOF helps this entrepreneur with:

LIOF helps this entrepreneur with:

Lake3D contacted LIOF for this project. Petra: "Without the support of LIOF this project would not have gotten off the ground. With the loan from LIOF we were able to finance the project to a large extent. We also received useful feedback on our business and project plan, which undoubtedly improved our plans. In addition, LIOF opens doors for us. We benefit fully from valuable access to networks and we were able to give presentations at important conferences, for example. Such as Medica on the Move.

LIOF and Lake3D

What exactly is that, 'material jetting'? 

"Material jetting uses print heads in the same way as in the printing industry. This allows us to print objects layer by layer with enormous precision. If we use several print heads at the same time, we can combine materials. Then we can combine materials. And add color and gloss, for example. This is how we make that unique smile possible, also for people who don't have a large budget for this, such as the elderly. Like the elderly."

Strong and durable

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Petra Doelman is enormously excited about the possibilities of this new way of printing. "With the existing additive manufacturing techniques it is not possible to develop for example dentures. The material is simply not strong enough for that. With material jetting we can realize these properties. In this way we can have proper prostheses with high wear resistance rolling out of the printer."

"With this technology, we can make strong teeth roll out of the 3D printer"
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From temporary use ...

Petra explains that while 3D printers are currently used in the dental market, they only print models and teeth for temporary use. "Our project focuses on printing dental elements for permanent use, such as crowns."

... toward permanent solutions

"This means that we are not only building a material jetting printer. We are also developing a new material as well as software to convert the cad cam design into instructions for the printer. This will allow us to print prototypes at the end of the project. And then present them to experts in the dental market."

Material jetting isn't just for the jetsetters

Not only is Lake3D happy with LIOF's input, LIOF in turn is just as enthusiastic about Lake3D's added value. René Kessen, business developer at LIOF is happy to explain why: "In our eyes, this smart project contributes to a healthy society. Many people, especially the elderly, suffer from dental problems. But for the elderly and people with lower incomes, the replacement of dental elements is often very expensive. Material jetting is then a really nice solution. With this, Lake3D can realize high quality crowns for many people at low cost, for example. That puts a smile on your face, doesn't it?

This smart entrepreneur is not only working with LIOF, but also with other companies. Such as ChemStream in Antwerp. This company does research into the composition of the material. Chill at Chemelot carries out the tests on the material and the prototypes. Lake3D also works closely with a laboratory and a dental practice in Maastricht.

In Limburg and the rest of the world

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"From Limburg to the rest of the world!"

A good balance is half the battle

Good plans for the future, then! Finally, do the entrepreneurs have any smart tips for other entrepreneurs? "Make sure you have diversity in your team. And the right balance. Our three founders each have very different qualities and complement each other perfectly. In addition, our team fifty consists of women and men, different nationalities and age groups. It's great to see how well that works out!" 

More information: www.lake3d.com