CHARLES HULL

Charles Hull (born May 12, 1939) is the co-founder, executive vice president and
chief technology officer of 3D Systems, a company that specializes in 3D printing. He
is one of the inventors of the SLA 3D printer, the first commercial rapid prototyping
technology, and the widely used 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 and in
2017 was one of the first inductees into the TCT Hall of Fame.

Hull came up with the idea of stereolithography, or 3D printing, in 1983 when he was
using UV light to harden tabletop coatings. He patented the idea in 1986 and defined
stereolithography as a method and apparatus for making solid objects by successively
“printing” thin layers of the ultraviolet 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. Wherever the beam strikes the surface, the
photopolymer polymerizes/crosslinks and changes to a solid. An advanced
CAD/CAM/CAE software mathematically slices the computer model of the object
into a large number of 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.

Hull’s invention revolutionized the fields of engineering, design, manufacturing, and

medicine. His 3D printers were used to create prototypes, models, and parts for
various industries, such as automotive, aerospace, and medical. Some of the
applications of his technology include creating models for surgery, printing organs
and tissues, designing custom-made prosthetics and implants, and producing
personalized jewelry and art. Hull’s invention also enabled the democratization of
manufacturing, as anyone with a 3D printer and a digital design could create their own
objects at home or in a local workshop.

Written By: Zuraiz Ahmed

Class/Sec: VII-C

Charles Hull with his 1st

3D printers.