In the 90s, many companies and startups began popping up and experimenting with the different additive manufacturing technologies. But, they are the three that serve as the building blocks that would lay the groundwork for the technology to grow and for the industry to be disrupted. These three technologies are not the only types of 3D printing methods that exist. FFF technology has gone on to become the most common form of 3D printing we see today. FDM, also called Fused Filament Fabrication, differs from SLS and SLA in that rather than using light, the filament is directly extruded from a heated nozzle. SLS fabrication machines in the Fundació CIM warehouseįused Deposition Modeling (FDM) was also patented around the same time by Scott Crump. This system fused powders, instead of liquid, using a laser. In 1988, Carl Deckard at the University of Texas filed the patent for Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) technology. The first commercial SLA 3D printer, the SLA-1, was released by his company in 1988.īut SLA wasn’t the only additive manufacturing process being explored during this time. In 1986 he submitted his patent application for the technology, and in 1988 he went on to found the 3D Systems Corporation. An American furniture builder who was frustrated with not being able to easily create small custom parts, Hull developed a system for creating 3D models by curing photosensitive resin layer by layer. That same year, Charles Hull, filed the first patent for Stereolithography (SLA). Similar to Kodama, they were unable to file a patent for this technology, but they are still credited with coming up with the system. Instead of resin, they sought to create a system that cured liquid monomers into solids by using a laser. He came up with a layer-by-layer approach for manufacturing, using a photosensitive resin that was polymerized by UV light.Īlthough Kodama was unable to file the patent requirement of this technology, he is most often credited as being the first inventor of this manufacturing system, which is an early version of the modern SLA machine.Īcross the world a few years later, a trio of French researchers was also seeking to create a rapid prototyping machine. In 1981, Hideo Kodama was trying to find a way to develop a rapid prototyping system. The first documented iterations of 3D printing can be traced back to the early 1980s in Japan.
The History of 3D Printing in 3 Phases The 1980s: When Was 3D Printing Invented? Keep reading to learn about the history of 3D printing, and our BCN3D predictions on where we see this technology going in the future. While the term 3D printing may sound like something you’d expect to hear in a science fiction novel, the history of 3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, is longer than you might think. Evolving 3D printing technology continues to drive improvements in quality and price.When you first heard the words “ 3D printing ” did you imagine a super futuristic technology, like in the movies but, when was it really invented?
Timeline 3d printing software#
Today, 3D CAD software prices are low enough for consumers to use with desktop 3D printers. Slicer software then slices the CAD model into virtual layers for printing.
STL files translate models into a language 3D printers can understand. Designers can view and edit the models on their computer screens. They worked with software companies to improve 3D CAD technology.ģD CAD software generates models using a mesh of geometric shapes. Aerospace and automotive companies were the primary users of early CAD software. First-generation 3D CAD software was very expensive and required high-performance workstations. This all changed with the invention of 3D computer-aided design (CAD) software.ĭesigners could translate their ideas directly into three-dimensional models. Before 3D software, designers and engineers generated flat, two-dimensional designs and artists created 3D models from those designs.
3D printing history would be incomplete without a discussion of the software that powers the printers.
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