As manufacturing continues to evolve, the creator of 3D printing\u2014otherwise known as additive manufacturing\u2014has seen how\u00a0the technology\u00a0has shifted over the years and\u00a0advised manufacturers to\u00a0recognize its cost-effective qualities,\u00a0the industries where it has the most impact,\u00a0and the future of\u00a0additive.\u00a0<\/p>\n
See also:\u00a0A path forward for legacy distributed control systems<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n Chuck Hull in 1986 patented a 3D printing technique called stereolithography, or\u00a0SLA,\u00a0which uses UV light to harden liquid polymers in layers to print a shape.\u00a0<\/p>\n Hull\u00a0then co-founded 3D Systems, focused on rapid prototyping. The company has since grown into a juggernaut of the additive industry, with a focus on application development and success in the dental sector.<\/p>\n Technology editor Dennis Scimeca had an opportunity to speak with Hull about his broad view of the additive sector and where he thinks the technology is going.\u00a0<\/p>\n DS:\u00a0You filed for your SLA patent in 1984. It was granted in 1986. When you were doing this, did you have a vision of where additive manufacturing might grow in the future? What\u00a0was\u00a0your vision for the future?\u00a0<\/p>\n Chuck Hull:\u00a0My vision was I had a particular application in mind, which was basically rapid prototyping for plastic parts:\u00a0Verify the design, maybe use it a little bit for prototyping and maybe iterate, get it just right, and then take it off to production tooling.\u00a0That’s\u00a0what I had in mind. I\u00a0had maybe, vaguely\u00a0some thoughts about other things you could do, but I was just focused on that [application].\u00a0<\/p>\n DS:\u00a0I imagine you had your doubters back then, with\u00a0a brand-new technology. Were there common, critical sentiments you could think of?\u00a0<\/p>\n CH:\u00a0We\u00a0started\u00a0a company [3D Systems] in ’86 and raised capital. I touted it as \u201cthe thing to help manufacturers,\u201d and manufacturing back then was rapidly being offshored and\u00a0\u2026\u00a0in the venture capital world there was\u00a0very little interest in anything about manufacturing. So, that was kind\u00a0of the doubt\u00a0about whether it would work or not.\u00a0<\/p>\n My wife\u00a0tells\u00a0a story. She was in college and told one of her professors what I was up to, and he goes, “What a stupid idea! You know, people have milling machines that can do this. They\u00a0don’t\u00a0need anything else. And besides, if you do this,\u00a0you’re\u00a0going to put people out of work.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n See also:\u00a0Physical AI in the industrial metaverse: From connected digital twins to real-world validation<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n DS:\u00a0Where would you say additive manufacturing has found its strongest role in the manufacturing industry?\u00a0<\/p>\n CH:\u00a0The applications are spread all over industry, and each one\u00a0has to have some advantage: It’s more cost-effective. Manufacturing tooling is a big example. You can crank out tooling at a much lower price [with additive] than other ways.\u00a0<\/p>\n The cost-effective time [for additive] is what I call the tails, the very front\u00a0end\u00a0and the very back end of manufacturing. At the front end you\u00a0don’t\u00a0have all the startup costs of tooling and so forth.\u00a0It’s\u00a0more cost effective to start a product with\u00a0additive.\u00a0<\/p>\n There are times when that tail end is more cost effective to use\u00a0additive. A typical thing\u00a0I’m\u00a0thinking of is electrical connectors. \u2026\u00a0There are all kinds of volumes, all kinds of connectors, but those two ends, the tails, are where\u00a0additive is\u00a0very cost effective.\u00a0<\/p>\n DS:\u00a0Did you ever think\u00a0additive\u00a0would replace traditional methods of mass production?\u00a0<\/p>\n CH:\u00a0Probably not. Getting back to connectors, you can\u00a0probably more cost effectively manufacture [with additive] than the traditional way, but there’s\u00a0very few applications like that because obviously size is an issue. The bigger a part, the longer it takes, and the less cost-effective it is.\u00a0<\/p>\n We hope a lot of aerospace will eventually\u00a0use\u00a0[additive] in the production method for metal parts for spacecraft and\u00a0aircraft\u00a0and on and on.\u00a0<\/p>\n DS:\u00a0If a manufacturer wanted to take their first steps into additive, any thoughts on where they might want to begin?\u00a0<\/p>\n CH:\u00a0You start with a good application engineering department at an additive company.\u00a0These are really smart, really skilled guys.\u00a0They have all the experience of what works and what\u00a0doesn’t\u00a0work in in additive \u2026 the additive manufacturing\u00a0salesman\u00a0shows up and says, “Hey, buy my machine.” You might do that, but to successfully get into [additive] manufacturing, you need some wise counseling.\u00a0<\/p>\n See also:\u00a0Physical AI: Where opportunity really sits\u2014now, today\u2014for manufacturers<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n DS:\u00a0How important do you think it is for manufacturers to have in-house talent in terms of working with\u00a0additive?\u00a0<\/p>\n CH:\u00a0It depends on how much volume you have, but you certainly need somebody with a good background in additive who can help guide it and keep it going.\u00a0<\/p>\n DS:\u00a0Have you heard of\u00a0Thingiverse? (Editor’s note: Thingiverse\u00a0is an open-source online repository of 3D printing files.)\u00a0<\/p>\n CH:\u00a0Sure.\u00a0Yeah.\u00a0<\/p>\n DS:\u00a0Thingiverse\u00a0represents\u00a0additive manufacturing growing way past its roots in traditional manufacturing. Now\u00a0it’s\u00a0become\u00a0a household\u00a0technology. You have people with 3D printers in their garages just for fun. Did you ever foresee that happening when you invented this technology?\u00a0<\/p>\n CH:\u00a0I\u00a0don’t\u00a0think so. When the maker movement started\u00a0\u2026\u00a0I quickly understood it, and to me the good thing about it is that people\u00a0didn’t\u00a0used to know what 3D printing was or additive manufacturing was, and that whole movement changed that.\u00a0<\/p>\n So,\u00a0now everybody understands. You know, 3D printer, \u201cThat’s the thing my kid has in the garage.\u201d They\u00a0don’t\u00a0necessarily know [about] those rooms full of these [industrial 3D printers] around Detroit making things, but at least now\u00a0it’s\u00a0a common understanding\u00a0of what 3D printing is. I\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0have a premonition\u00a0of\u00a0it.\u00a0<\/p>\n