Who Invented 3D Printing? Meet Inductee Chuck Hull

Have you ever used a 3D printer? These days, 3D printers are used in many labs, factories and even classrooms. But back in 1986, when National Inventors Hall of Fame^® Inductee Charles Hull patented stereolithography (the process of 3D printing), he knew it would take years for this technology to make such a wide impact.

Ingenuity and Self-Reliance

Growing up in rural western Colorado, Hull’s childhood experiences on his family’s farm taught him to be confident and self-reliant. In addition to hard work on the farm, he also had quite a bit of freedom in this remote setting.

“This is not downtown Denver, this is a pretty remote area of the state,” Hull explained in an interview with the National Inventors Hall of Fame. “As a kid, that's great. You’ve got your friends, you hike, you bicycle, you explore. It's a pretty free situation and it's really a great life in terms of being a kid.”

As a high-school student, Hull became editor of his school newspaper, and he considered a future career in journalism. However, he also realized his aptitude for science and math, and from an early age, he’d begun to see himself as inventive. As he entered college, he chose to study engineering, earning his bachelor’s degree in engineering physics from the University of Colorado in 1961.

Perseverance and Entrepreneurship

When Hull began developing his idea for 3D printing, he was working for a company that used UV light to add thin layers of plastic veneer on tabletops and other furniture. He’d begun to wonder if he could stack thousands of thin plastic layers on top of each other and use light to shape the layers and form 3D objects.

“It wasn't really easy, when I thought about how I would stack up these layers,” Hull recalled. “But I talked to the president of the company, and I was fairly persistent.” Hull eventually convinced his boss that the idea was worth pursuing, and he gained approval to use the lab to work on his potential invention in his spare time.

“The whole idea was to develop a way to quickly prototype parts that were ultimately going to be injection molded,” explained Hull. “That was the application I had in mind, and all these other groundbreaking applications around the world, I did not have in mind.”

Pursuing this idea for a year, Hull developed a system in which he could shine a light into a vat of photopolymer to shape one level of an object, and subsequent layers could then be printed as needed until the intended object was complete.

As Hull continued improving his 3D printing system, he also studied entrepreneurship so he could successfully bring his invention to market. In 1986, he co-founded 3D Systems to commercialize his technology, including the STL file format that allows CAD software data to be translated for 3D printers. “Once you decide you're going to start a new company like that, it takes a lot of effort,” said Hull. “It's hard work and a lot of time, and you really have to stick to it. You have to persevere.”

The earliest applications of 3D printing were in research and development labs and tool rooms, but now, 3D printing applications are seemingly endless. The technique has been used to create everything from aircraft components and artificial limbs to artwork, musical instruments and clothing. Continuing to innovative, 3D Systems has developed a full line of professional and production 3D printers, advanced software solutions and a broad materials portfolio, as well as consumer-friendly desktop 3D printers for the growing hobby and entrepreneur markets.

Currently, Hull is most interested in 3D printing’s growing biological and medical possibilities. “I've always been probably most impressed with some of the medical applications – and not just because it's another device or another trinket, but because it affects people's lives in a positive way,” he said.

Endless Possibilities

Looking toward the future, Hull sees no end to potential applications for 3D printing technology.

“3D printing accelerates or enables the freedom to invent,” Hull said. “And it's exciting when children print things for the first time – they're inventing their own ideas.”

When considering the question of whether anything and everything might be possible to print with this technology, Hull responded, “The answer could be yes, but also highly qualified, because what you 3D print depends on the material you're printing. To a very large extent, the world of 3D printing is a world of material science, where you have some application in mind, and you're developing materials for it. So, it depends on material science and innovation in 3D printing. A thousand years from now, will everything be 3D printed? Perhaps. But there's a lot of work for a lot of smart people between now and then.”

See More of the Story

To hear Hull tell his story in his own words, watch this video created by the National Inventors Hall of Fame in partnership with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Shot at 3D Systems in San Diego, this video offers a unique look into his life and work.

To discover more stories of inspiring National Inventors Hall of Fame Inductees, keep exploring our website.