08-08-1984: Chuck Hull has filed a patent application for stereolithography
This changed the face of industrial manufacturing by the technology we now know as "3Dprinting"
On August 8, 1984, Charles Hull filed a patent application for an "Apparatus for Production of Three-Dimensional Objects by Stereolithography," which officially marked the beginning of the development of additive technologies. Although he was not the first person to develop this production method, nor even the first to file a patent application for it, he was the first to commercialize it and, as a result, created an entire market around it. A market that provides a livelihood for many of us today...
I have written a separate article on the origins of Stereolithography and all the nuances (and career tragedies) associated with it, which you can read on the 3DPrint.com portal. So, to avoid repetition, here I will take a completely different approach to the topic…
So, 3D printing was created in 1984—40 years ago. Do you know (or remember?) what the world looked like back then?
Apple introduced the first model of the Macintosh personal computer.
Michael Jackson won 8 Grammy Awards for singles from his album "Thriller," released two years earlier.
Prince released his legendary album "Purple Rain."
Bruce Springsteen released the album "Born in the USA," and Metallica released "Ride the Lightning."
In cinemas, comedies like "Ghostbusters" and "Beverly Hills Cop" were huge hits, and movies like the second Indiana Jones adventure ("Temple of Doom") and the first "Terminator" also premiered.
Michael Jordan played his first game in the NBA.
In December, in Akron, Ohio, the future "successor" to Jordan and currently the biggest star of the NBA, LeBron James, was born.
Six months earlier, Mark Zuckerberg was born.
Eastern Europe was under the yoke of communism, imposed by the Soviet regime. The year before (1983), martial law was lifted in Poland, but most of the opposition at the time was still imprisoned. The Security Service (SB) murdered the famous polish priest - Jerzy Popiełuszko.
It was in such circumstances that 3D printing was born. Over the past 40 years, the 3D printing market has experienced a series of ups and downs, but it continues to develop dynamically.
We owe this to Charles Hull, but also to a whole host of subsequent innovators like:
Carl Deckard - the inventor of SLS technology (and subsequent metal 3D printing)
Steven Scott Crump - the inventor of FDM technology and founder of Stratasys
Emanuel "Ely" Sachs - the inventor of Binder Jetting technology and co-founder of ZCorporation (and later advisor to Desktop Metal)
Wilfried Vancraen - the founder of Materialise and pioneer in the field of 3D printing software (Mimics and Magics)
Dr. Hans J. Langer - the founder of EOS and pioneer in the field of SLS and DMLS technology
Dr. Adrian Bowyer - the inventor of RepRap and godfather of desktop 3D printing
and many others...