Stuart Nathan

Ten minutes with the inventor of 3D printing

In-Depth

Charles (Chuck) W Hull is the co-founder, executive vice-president and chief technology office of 3D Systems, whose business is based on the stereolithography process Hull invented in 1986. This was the first ‘solid imaging’ or 3D-printing process. Stuart Nathan spoke to him (and his wife) at the recent European Inventors’ Award ceremony in Berlin, where he won the Industrial Award

Chuck Hull invented 3D printing on Wednesday 9th March 1983 at 8.39pm. His wife, Anntoinette, remembers it distinctly; ‘and she has a much better memory than I do,’ he says.

The invention was aimed at speeding up the prototyping of plastic parts, he says. ‘Back in those days it was very difficult between when you had the idea and the blueprints to get the first part: It could take six weeks to two months; it was very slow,’ he says. ‘And when you got the prototype it was usually wrong; but you couldn’t start iterating and improving until you got it.’

At the time, Hull was working for a company which made ultraviolet lamps which were used for curing coatings on tabletops. ‘I saw those coatings as thin pieces of plastic,’ Hull says, ‘and I thought that if I could stack those up to make a solid shape, it might be a way of solving the prototyping problem.’

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