Chuck Hull

This article is about the inventor of stereolithography. 3 Commercial rapid prototyping

For the military award winner, see Charles Hull.
Chuck Hull (Charles W. Hull; born May 12, 1939) is
the co-founder, executive vice president and chief tech-
nology officer of 3D Systems.[1][2] He is the inventor of
the solid imaging process known as stereolithography (3D
Printing), the first commercial rapid prototyping tech-
nology, and the STL file format. He is named on more
than 60 U.S. patents as well as other patents around the
world in the fields of ion optics and rapid prototyping. He
was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in
2014.[3]
1 Early life
In 1986, commercial rapid prototyping was started by
Hull when he founded 3D Systems in Valencia, Califor-
nia.[9] Hull realized that his concept was not limited to liq-
uids and therefore gave it the generic name “stereolithog-
raphy” (3D printing),[10] and filed broad patent claims
covering any “material capable of solidification” or “ma-
terial capable of altering its physical state.”
Hull built up a patent portfolio covering many fundamen-
tal aspects of today’s additive manufacturing technologies
such as data preparation via triangulated models (STL file
format) and slicing, and exposure strategies such as alter-
nating hatch directions. [11]
The salary for his role as 3D Systems CTO was $307,500
in 2011.[12]

Chuck Hull was born on May 12, 1939 in Clifton, Col- 4 Recognition
orado, the son of Lester and Esther Hull. His early life
was spent in Clifton and Gateway, Colorado. He gradu-
• 2014 winner of the European Inventor Award in the
ated from Central High School in Grand Junction, Col-
Non-European countries category [13] awarded by
orado. Chuck received a BS in engineering physics from
the European Patent Office
the University of Colorado in 1961.[4]

5 References
2 Beginnings of stereolithography
[1] “Forbes Profile”. Forbes.

Hull first came up with the idea in 1983 when he [2]
was using UV light to harden tabletop coatings.[5]
[3]
Hull coined the term “stereolithography” in his U.S.
[6]
Patent 4,575,330, entitled “Apparatus for Production
of Three-Dimensional Objects by Stereolithography” is-
sued on March 11, 1986.[7] He defined stereolithogra- [4]
phy as a method and apparatus for making solid ob-
jects by successively “printing” thin layers of the ultra-
[5]
violet curable material one on top of the other. In Hull’s
patent, a concentrated beam of ultraviolet light is focused
onto the surface of a vat filled with liquid photopolymer.
The light beam, moving under computer control, draws [6]
each layer of the object onto the surface of the liquid.
[7]
Wherever the beam strikes the surface, the photopolymer
polymerizes/crosslinks and changes to a solid. An ad-
vanced CAD/CAM/CAE software mathematically slices [8]
the computer model of the object into a large number of
[9]
thin layers. The process then builds the object layer by
layer starting with the bottom layer, on an elevator that is
lowered slightly after solidification of each layer. [8] [10]
Businessweek Executive Profile
“Charles Hull: Stereolithography (3D Printing)". In-
ductees. National Inventors Hall of Fame. Retrieved 4
March 2014.
3DSYSTEMS. “Charles W. Hull Co-Founder and Chief
Technology Officer”. Retrieved 17 May 2014.
Ponsford, Matthew (14 February 2014). “The night I in-
vented 3D printing'\". Cable News Network. Retrieved 14
February 2014.
U.S. Patent 4,575,330 (“Apparatus for Production of
Three-Dimensional Objects by Stereolithography”)
Stereolithography
pg 4-1997 NSF JTEC/WTEC Panel Report-RPA http://
www.wtec.org/pdf/rp_vi.pdf
History of 3D

1
2 6 EXTERNAL LINKS

[11] Microsoft Word – LANE-2004-EOS-DMLS.doc

[12] “Charles W. Hull Profile”. Forbes.com (Forbes). Re-

trieved 28 October 2011.

[13] Invention: 3D printing (stereolithography)

6 External links
• 3D Systems Web site: http://www.3dsystems.com
• Forbes Magazine Profile, Charles W. Hull http://
www.forbes.com
• Executive Profile: Charles W. Hull, http://www.
businessweek.com
 3

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