Video by Influence Media
It wasn’t that long ago that 3D printing was the stuff of science fiction.
But it’s here now, and it’s changing manufacturing around the world.
That’s what makes NFire Labs, a C4DI based startup, such an exciting prospect. The company has grown from strength to strength over the last 6 years and now works with the likes of Nestlé, Siemens, and Reckitt to help them solve problems.
In this month’s interview we chatted to the founder and CEO Alex Youden. We talked about where 3D printing is heading, how this young entrepreneur started and why not everyone should go to university.
Do they print money? Not quite but there’s money in printing.
We spoke at one of the two NFire Labs locations in Hull, the place where it all started, C4DI.
Alex’s office looks a bit like what you’d imagine an inventor’s workshop would look like. A warren of screens and machines with various colourful knick-knacks and curiosities scattered throughout.
It’s clear that 3D printing can make pretty much anything you want, from detailed figurines and interactive toys to complex models and prototypes.
From the sublime to the ridiculous, a large 3D printed T-Rex skeleton looms over us as we speak. There’s even a couple of, shall we say, questionable items on display, that we can’t mention here.
Part of the NFire business manufactures consumer items such as name tags, bottle openers, desk tidy’s and more. This B2C side of the business is run through marketplaces such as Etsy and Amazon, providing them with a large reach and a handy bit of revenue.
And whilst Alex has fun showing off this side of 3D printing, they’re dedicated to B2B too.
He talks about how they’re ‘using 3D printers and digital technology to problem solve.’ If a factory needs to streamline a process, NFire ‘can go in with CAD design services and product design to come up with a completely bespoke solution for this particular problem.’
In fact, they did that recently with a company in Barton-upon-Humber.
To streamline production, they created a mechanism which reduced a particular process from 2 days to 2 hours. If the factory needs to adjust the shape of this mechanism for a different product, they can do so quickly and easily and get it back up and running in no time.
As Alex goes on to explain, this is just the tip of the iceberg for what 3D printing can achieve.
You’re going to see a lot more of 3D printing
To some, 3D printing may seem like a fun gimmick, but the potential for businesses is huge. Alex jokes that it could take us to the moon and beyond, but the truth is not far off.
‘The fact there are printers now printing Martian homes somewhere in the desert, is absolutely mind blowing.’
A little closer to home, 3D printing simply makes it easier to get things manufactured. ‘We don’t need to get tooling made. We don’t need hideous amounts of setups; we can push a button and off we go. We can start manufacturing.’
It’s also a game changer for international trade and logistics.
‘We’ve got clients that used to get stuff printed elsewhere in the world, but why ship halfway across the world when you can have it printed on your doorstep? It saves on fuel, logistics, it’s a lot greener and we produce the same result because the machines are the same. It’s just printed in a different location.’
‘International trade could now be a digital file rather than an actual physical product.’ Imagine that. No shipping. Just data transfer.
This is perhaps a long way off for large scale manufacturing but for small B2C items like the ones NFire is producing on a weekly basis, it could change the game.
‘At the moment, we send big boxes off to America with all the products and things. But maybe in a year or so’s time, you could say ‘well, why don’t we just set up a load of 3D printers in America and when we create the files here in the UK, just send them out on an instant download. So, we don’t have to ship God knows how much across the pond every time.’
This also has huge implications for the environment.
Improving sustainability through 3D printing
Sustainability is a collective goal for most companies, but 3D printing has the potential to change things for the better when it comes to the environment.
Alex admits that at the moment the most common materials used for printing are ABS and PLA. ABS is an oil-based plastic and therefore not the most environmentally friendly but can be recycled. PLA is made from plant based oils, but isn’t easily recycled.
In fact, the real innovation happening in 3D printing is around the materials used in the manufacturing.
‘There’s probably more development now into green materials than into the machines themselves. Some are now grown using bacteria in a lab rather than oil or plant oil and things like that, or [the material] biodegrades in a matter of months once it’s been done with. So, 3D printing is becoming greener as every week passes.’
And there are other in-built sustainable benefits. ‘The other thing is it’s additive manufacturing. So, you’re not sat there with a massive slab of material, slowly carving it away and creating waste. From a waste point of view [3D printing] is minimal; probably less than 1% of what we make is actually waste or gets sent for recycling. So it’s a really lean manufacturing method.’
Add to that the potential for reducing a product’s carbon footprint, and you have a sustainable manufacturing method. And it’s only going to become more sustainable with increased innovation.
Which is where it all started for NFire.
How NFire Labs began
Alex Youden founded NFire labs in 2014 whilst doing an internship at C4DI.
‘[C4DI] were looking for someone to come help them for 12 months; make teas and coffees, keep the place tidy… but as part of that they were like ‘have a go and start your own business’
Alex already had an interest in 3D printing, so this seemed an obvious fit. The business began. The challenge was to make something work in 12 months.
‘We said by the end of [12 months] if we have a start-up business going, we’ll keep on doing that. Or I’ll go off to university or do something else from that point. 12 months later, we had a successfully funded Kickstarter and we’ve never really looked back.’
It’s fair to say it was a success. They now ship 3D printers and 3D printed items all over the world as well as manufacturing business solutions like the ones we mentioned above.
‘This year we’ve expanded into a manufacturing setup, to allow us to process more consumer gifts and goods. Obviously around Christmas time that’s needed’ but they’re also ‘developing a load of business-to-business solutions, so we’re expanding on both fronts at the moment.’
It’s been an amazing story which has seen Alex grow the business from just him and his workshop in C4DI to 5 employees and the manufacturing site in Hull.
Opting to continue with the business after his internship seems to have been the right decision. It’s a decision many young people would not have considered.
Why going to Uni isn’t always the answer
It’s clear from talking to Alex that he has not followed the ‘usual’ route. Many young people finish school and go straight onto university. For a lot of career paths this is a good option.
But Alex strongly believes that you don’t have to go to university to succeed.
‘University isn't necessarily the go to for going forward in life. At the school I was at, I think I was the only person in my entire year not to go to university, which was quite something. And I'm now sitting here running a company with a team of five people with two locations and doing stuff for some big global names, which I could never have thought of.’
He's open about the fact that his exams did not go to plan, in many ways presenting the opportunities that led him here, but recognises that for him the academic side of things was not where his strengths lie.
When I ask what it was like starting a business as a young person, he points out that ‘I never set out with the intention of starting my own business or a company. I just enjoyed making stuff. And I then discovered that people will pay you to make stuff for them, which is a match made in heaven.’
It was the business side of things that were more challenging. ‘So I was really good at making stuff but I wasn’t necessarily too good with well, ‘how do you develop a relationship with [business] people? How do you grow? How do you find new people to make stuff for?’ That was the really difficult part.’
And that’s where the expertise and input of C4DI came in handy.
In C4DI things happen incredibly quickly
‘The opportunities within C4DI are totally unique. I don’t think you can get these anywhere else.’
‘The fact that you can have in the same room or the same event small startups, with maybe only a handful of clients and these massive multinational companies and people from those companies are actively engaging with the community... I can't think of anything else where you get that mix or that eagerness to come up with innovative solutions.’
That melting pot has undoubtedly helped NFire succeed. ‘We’ve noticed that in C4DI, things happen incredibly quickly.’
‘It’s allowed us to grow and develop and catch things as and when they come up, which has allowed us to grow even faster. If we didn’t have those opportunities that C4DI gave, we’d probably be done and dusted years ago, and we certainly wouldn’t be in the position that we are, which is amazing.’
There’s no end to the potential for NFire labs. The business innovation and manufacturing potential of 3D printing, means there will be more and more opportunities to come.
It’s a serious and important business. Even if the giant plastic T-Rex would suggest otherwise.
Interview by Tim Goodfellow and Influence Media