The field of modern manufacturing is being transformed by a revolutionary new technology known as three-dimensional printing. As it develops, this technology is only likely to have a greater transformative impact on production. In recent years, 3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, has gained more attention due to the proliferation of 3D printing businesses and the rise in demand for 3D-printed goods. Despite the fact that 3D printing has been around for several decades, it may appear as though it has only recently emerged on the scene.
The beginning of three-dimensional printing The 1970s, if not earlier, saw the first mention of additive layering as a method for creating three-dimensional objects. However, Hideo Kodama of Japan was granted the initial patent for 3D printing in 1981. Kodama had developed a method for hardening photoreactive polymers with ultraviolet light.
The concept was the same as that of other early forms of additive manufacturing: that the technology would be useful for making models and prototypes. Since then, rapid prototyping with additive manufacturing technologies has significantly accelerated the product development process. A group of French inventors led by Alain Le Mehaute applied for the first patents on the stereolithography technique, which is still widely used today, just three years later, in 1984.
Similar to Kodama’s invention, stereolithography (SLA) uses UV light to harden photopolymers. Amazingly, General Electric rejected their patent application. Why is this? They didn’t think the idea would have any significant business potential. Le Mehaute and his coworkers were harmed by this lack of foresight, but Chuck Hull, who is now widely regarded as the inventor of 3D printing, benefited from it. Three weeks after the French team submitted their patent application, Hull would submit his patent application for a stereolithography machine. However, Hull’s application was not to be rejected. Hull dubbed stereolithography one of the most widely used 3D printing methods in 1986.
Even though Kodama came up with this system before Hull invented his machine and invented the term, he did make another significant and one-of-a-kind contribution to 3D printing’s history. The STL file format was created as a result of this. These digital files can be read by 3D printers, which are still widely used today. Additive manufacturing was made possible by the development of the STL file format. It became possible to design a 3D model on a computer and automatically reproduce it with a 3D printer with this combination of hardware and software. The field grows quickly. Despite the fact that stereolithography was the first system to be granted a patent, other technologies were also being developed at the same time. Sintering and extrusion-based methods for additive layering of 3D objects were being developed by other researchers in addition to Kodama, Le Mehaute, and Hull, who were working on SLA.
Carl Deckard obtained a patent for Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) in 1987. The idea for the invention came to Deckard while he was a student, and he continued to work on it throughout his Masters and Ph.D. degrees. Deckard had visited the Henry Ford Museum as a child and always wanted to be an inventor. His fantasies were significantly realized. The most widely used 3D printing method is laser sintering, which is used in a wide range of industries to produce models and final products. The German company known as EOS GmbH started doing additive manufacturing in 1989. Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS) would soon be developed as a result of their primary focus on laser sintering technology. Laser sintering would become the only 3D printing method that could make parts entirely of metal with DMLS. Because complex parts could now be made from real, long-lasting metals, this greatly expanded the range of applications for 3D printers. The current method of 3D printing, which is the most widely used, was first developed during this time. S invented Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM).
The technology was created and patented in 1989 by Scott Crump. In the same year, Crump and his wife Lisa established Stratasys, which has remained a leading manufacturer of 3D printers. FMD took a completely different approach than SLA, which uses a C02 laser to fuse powders and SLA, which uses a UV light to harden polymers. In FDM, the part that is being printed is made by feeding a thermoplastic cable through a heated nozzle that extrudes the liquefied material in layers. Interestingly, Scott Crump came up with the concept for FDM while gluing a toy frog for his daughter together with polyethylene and wax in a glue gun. ZCorporation, Objet Geometries, and a number of others emerged as additional 3D printing businesses in the 1990s. Each would contribute to the technology’s growth.
The technology advances and returns home. SLA, LS, and FDM have remained the three most widely used additive manufacturing methods, and each has its own set of advantages. FDM, which is the technology used in consumer-grade 3D printers, or “desktop 3D printers,” has become the most well-known method for the general public, whereas LS is the most widely used method in manufacturing. The RepRap project gave birth to the idea of bringing additive manufacturing into the home. The project known as RepRap was started in 2005 with the goal of developing a low-cost 3D printer that could replicate itself. The acronym “Replicated Rapid Prototyper” is “RepRap.” Put differently, a RepRap printer is capable of printing other RepRap printers. The RepRap project is an open-source endeavor in which participants from all over the world contribute to the production of inexpensive, efficient 3D printers, bringing 3D printing into the home. Many desktop 3D printers that use an extrusion process have been inspired by the RepRap project, which used FDM technology.
The additive manufacturing sector experienced two significant shifts in the 1990s that have persisted to the present day. The first is that high-end 3D printers are getting better and better, and the second is that consumer-grade 3D printers that can be used at home are getting cheaper and cheaper. The price of 3D printers dropped significantly by the 2000s. RepRap units were free for home DIYers and hobbyists, and commercial units became available for less than $10,000. In response to the rising demand for desktop printers, additional businesses emerged.
The quality and cost of 3D printers were improving, and they have continued to do so. Additive manufacturing is becoming a common practice despite the fact that it once seemed like science fiction. Even though 3D printing is still a relatively new technology, it has already had a significant impact on the manufacturing industry and altered the game. However, the most significant modifications have yet to occur. We are beginning to see a return of manufacturing to the United States with additive and digital manufacturing technology in general. In comparison to labor-intensive manual labor, manufacturing that is automated places a greater emphasis on design and computer science. Because it lessens the need for businesses to outsource manufacturing, this could be beneficial to the economies of local communities. Additionally, it indicates that we may not ship as many products internationally as we do now. Moving away from fossil fuels and lowering global emissions of greenhouse gases may require this. The Past, Present, and Future
