3D printing is a method of creating a threedimensional object , layer-by-layer , using a computer-generated design . It ’ s an additive process , with layers of material built up to create a 3D part . It ’ s sometimes known as ‘ additive manufacturing ’.

The technology started out as a way to produce prototypes with no machine tooling , but over the past 10 years 3D printing has evolved rapidly , and has now been widely embraced .

3D printing is a disruptive technology because it has the power to shorten supply chains at a time when disruption is rife .

The following are a few key events in the evolution of this technology .

3D printing first documented in Japan

1980s Japan saw a transformation in the economy , with computers becoming mainstream and a place for Hideo Kodama ’ s rapid prototyping system , which used UV light to polymerise a photosensitive resin . Though Kodama was unable to create a patent for 3D printing , he is generally regarded as the de facto inventor .

First 3D printing patent

For American builder Charles Hull , necessity really was the mother of invention . He needed tiny custom parts made quickly for the furniture he manufactured , so he built a 3D printer that printed photosensitive resin layer by layer . Hull filed the first patent for Stereolithography , also known as the ‘ SLA ’, in 1986 .

18 April 2023