by Abhi3D
This is where it all began. Hideo Kodama of Nagoya Municipal Industrial Research Institute was the first to describe a functional rapid-prototyping system using photopolymers.
Chuck Hull, the co-founder of 3D Systems, invented the Stereolithography Apparatus (SLA). This technology uses a UV laser to solidify layers of photopolymer resin, creating a 3D object.
Carl Deckard, a student at the University of Texas, developed the Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) technology. This process involves using a laser to sinter powdered material, binding it together to create a solid structure.
This technology uses a plastic filament or metal wire which is unwound from a coil, supplying material to produce a part.
EOS, a German company, introduced the Stereos technology, an industrial 3D printing process that builds parts layer-by-layer using a laser to melt and solidify a metal powder.
3D Systems introduced MultiJet Printing (MJP) which is a similar process to SLA, but it uses a jet to spray the photopolymer material onto a build platform.