The Origins of 3D Printing

3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, began in the early 1980s as a solution to a simple but costly problem: prototyping parts took too long and required expensive molds. In 1983, Chuck Hull invented stereolithography (SLA), the first commercially viable 3D printing process, using ultraviolet light to cure liquid resin layer by layer. This breakthrough became the foundation of modern additive manufacturing and led to the creation of 3D Systems, the first major 3D printing company.