The History of Printing and 3D Printing
The history of the 3D printer and printing is rather extensive, with the date ranging as far back as perhaps the years of 1800-1400 BC with the heavily disputed Phaistos Disc. Below is a timeline detailing the history of 3D printers and of the various methods of printing leading up to the 3D printer. The first timeline will detail the printing methods leading up to 3D printing and the second will detail the process of the creation of the 3D printing.
History of Printing
1800-1400 BC – Phaistos Disc
200 AD – Woodblock Printing
1040 – Intaglio
1454 – Printing Press
Around 1500 – Etching
1642 – Mezzotint
1768 – Aquatint
1796 – Lithography
1837 – Chromolithography
1843 – Rotary Press
1875 – Offset Printing
19th century – Hectograph
1886 – Hot metal Typesetting
1890 – Mimeograph
1907 – Screen Printing
1923 – Spirit Duplicator
1957 – Dye-Sublimation
1960 – Phototypesetting
1964 – Dot Matrix Printer
1969 – Laser Printing
1972 – Thermal Printing
1976 – Inkjet Printing
1986 – Stereolithography
1993 – Digital press
1998 – Frescography
History of 3D printing
1984 – Inventor Charles Hull develops the technology to create 3D models into physical form from digitally designed data. This becomes the first rapid prototyping method.
1986 – Charles Hull coins this technology as “Stereolithography”. He then goes onto founding 3D systems and develops the first commercial “3D printer” which becomes known as the “Stereolithography apparatus”.
1988 – 3D Systems creates the first publicly available Stereolithography machine, model SLA-250. During the same year, the second method of rapid prototyping, the Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) is invented by Scott Crump.
1989 – Scott Crumps founds the company Stratasys.
1991 – Helisys, another rapid prototyping company whose present day successor “Cubic technologies”, releases and sells its first Laminated Object Manufacturing (LOM) system. This then becomes the third method of rapid prototyping.
1992 – Scott Crump’s Stratasys sells its first FDM-based machine “3D Modeler”. The same year, DTM, a competing company, sells its first Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) system.
1993 – A new company, Solidscape, is founded with its purpose being that of producing an inkjet-based machine that is capable of creating small parts with excellent surface finish at a relatively slow rate. The same year, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) patents “3 Dimensional Printing techniques”. It is similar to the inkjet system of regular 2D printers.
1995 – Z Corporation (Z Corp), a rising company in rapid prototyping, obtains an exclusive license from MIT to use the 3D technology and begins developing actual 3D printers based upon 3DP technology.
1996 – Stratasys introduces “Genisys”, Z Corp introduces “Z402” and the 3D Systems introduces “Actua 2100”, all of which are the first real 3D printers. It is also during this year that the term “3D printer” is applied to all rapid prototyping machines.
1997 – EOS sells its Stereolithography business to 3D Systems but continues to remain the largest European producer
2003 – 3D printers begin to gain more recognition and the sales of 3D printers increase.
2005 – Z Corp launches the first high definition color 3D printer to the market, the “Spectrum Z510”.
2006 – An open source project is initiated –Reprap – which is aimed at developing the first self-replicating 3D printer. It allows the user to redistribute it and/or modify the printer under the terms of the GNU General Public License.
2008 – Reprap is capable of manufacturing 50% of its own parts after the first version is released. During this time, Objet Geometries Ltd, an Israeli based company , announces the revolutionary Connex500 rapid prototyping (a 3D printer) system to be the first-ever system to use several different materials at the same time to manufacture 3D parts. This, and previous Connex models, allows the printer to print soft, hard or mixed objects.
Nov, 2010 – The first prototype car, Urbee, is presented. Having the entire body of the car being printed on a giant 3D printer makes it the first 3D printed car. Dimension 3D printers and Fortus 3D production systems at Stratasys’ digital manufacturing service created all the exterior components of the car, including the glass panel prototypes.
Dec. 8, 2010 – A regenerative medicine company focused on the prospect of bioprinting technology, Organovo, Inc., announces the creation of fully developed bioprinted blood vessels.
June 6, 2011 – Shapeways (a 3D printed product online shop) and Continuum Fashion (a 3D printed fashion online shop) announce the first 3D printed bikini.
Jul, 2011 – Researchers in the UK present the world’s first 3D chocolate printer.
Aug, 2011 – The engineers at the University of Southampton develop the world’s first 3D printed aircraft. The aircraft is measured at a wingspan length of two meters and has a built in auto-pilot system.
Sep, 2011 – The Vienna University of Technology develops a smaller, lighter and cheaper 3D printer. This 3D printer weighs 1.5 kg and costs around 1,200 Euros.
October 5, 2011 – Roland DG Corporation introduces the new iModela iM-01, a small, inexpensive 3D printer which is used in craft and hobby projects, such as creating little monsters. The iModela mills wax, foam, balsa wood and plastic materials to create its small products and apparently are an easy-to-use desktop device.
Original timeline available: http://www.3ders.org/3d-printing/3d-printing-history.html
(This is a redo of sorts)
History of Printing
1800-1400 BC – Phaistos Disc
200 AD – Woodblock Printing
1040 – Intaglio
1454 – Printing Press
Around 1500 – Etching
1642 – Mezzotint
1768 – Aquatint
1796 – Lithography
1837 – Chromolithography
1843 – Rotary Press
1875 – Offset Printing
19th century – Hectograph
1886 – Hot metal Typesetting
1890 – Mimeograph
1907 – Screen Printing
1923 – Spirit Duplicator
1957 – Dye-Sublimation
1960 – Phototypesetting
1964 – Dot Matrix Printer
1969 – Laser Printing
1972 – Thermal Printing
1976 – Inkjet Printing
1986 – Stereolithography
1993 – Digital press
1998 – Frescography
History of 3D printing
1984 – Inventor Charles Hull develops the technology to create 3D models into physical form from digitally designed data. This becomes the first rapid prototyping method.
1986 – Charles Hull coins this technology as “Stereolithography”. He then goes onto founding 3D systems and develops the first commercial “3D printer” which becomes known as the “Stereolithography apparatus”.
1988 – 3D Systems creates the first publicly available Stereolithography machine, model SLA-250. During the same year, the second method of rapid prototyping, the Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) is invented by Scott Crump.
1989 – Scott Crumps founds the company Stratasys.
1991 – Helisys, another rapid prototyping company whose present day successor “Cubic technologies”, releases and sells its first Laminated Object Manufacturing (LOM) system. This then becomes the third method of rapid prototyping.
1992 – Scott Crump’s Stratasys sells its first FDM-based machine “3D Modeler”. The same year, DTM, a competing company, sells its first Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) system.
1993 – A new company, Solidscape, is founded with its purpose being that of producing an inkjet-based machine that is capable of creating small parts with excellent surface finish at a relatively slow rate. The same year, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) patents “3 Dimensional Printing techniques”. It is similar to the inkjet system of regular 2D printers.
1995 – Z Corporation (Z Corp), a rising company in rapid prototyping, obtains an exclusive license from MIT to use the 3D technology and begins developing actual 3D printers based upon 3DP technology.
1996 – Stratasys introduces “Genisys”, Z Corp introduces “Z402” and the 3D Systems introduces “Actua 2100”, all of which are the first real 3D printers. It is also during this year that the term “3D printer” is applied to all rapid prototyping machines.
1997 – EOS sells its Stereolithography business to 3D Systems but continues to remain the largest European producer
2003 – 3D printers begin to gain more recognition and the sales of 3D printers increase.
2005 – Z Corp launches the first high definition color 3D printer to the market, the “Spectrum Z510”.
2006 – An open source project is initiated –Reprap – which is aimed at developing the first self-replicating 3D printer. It allows the user to redistribute it and/or modify the printer under the terms of the GNU General Public License.
2008 – Reprap is capable of manufacturing 50% of its own parts after the first version is released. During this time, Objet Geometries Ltd, an Israeli based company , announces the revolutionary Connex500 rapid prototyping (a 3D printer) system to be the first-ever system to use several different materials at the same time to manufacture 3D parts. This, and previous Connex models, allows the printer to print soft, hard or mixed objects.
Nov, 2010 – The first prototype car, Urbee, is presented. Having the entire body of the car being printed on a giant 3D printer makes it the first 3D printed car. Dimension 3D printers and Fortus 3D production systems at Stratasys’ digital manufacturing service created all the exterior components of the car, including the glass panel prototypes.
Dec. 8, 2010 – A regenerative medicine company focused on the prospect of bioprinting technology, Organovo, Inc., announces the creation of fully developed bioprinted blood vessels.
June 6, 2011 – Shapeways (a 3D printed product online shop) and Continuum Fashion (a 3D printed fashion online shop) announce the first 3D printed bikini.
Jul, 2011 – Researchers in the UK present the world’s first 3D chocolate printer.
Aug, 2011 – The engineers at the University of Southampton develop the world’s first 3D printed aircraft. The aircraft is measured at a wingspan length of two meters and has a built in auto-pilot system.
Sep, 2011 – The Vienna University of Technology develops a smaller, lighter and cheaper 3D printer. This 3D printer weighs 1.5 kg and costs around 1,200 Euros.
October 5, 2011 – Roland DG Corporation introduces the new iModela iM-01, a small, inexpensive 3D printer which is used in craft and hobby projects, such as creating little monsters. The iModela mills wax, foam, balsa wood and plastic materials to create its small products and apparently are an easy-to-use desktop device.
Original timeline available: http://www.3ders.org/3d-printing/3d-printing-history.html
(This is a redo of sorts)