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Where did 3D printing come from?

3D printing feels modern, but the core ideas are over 40 years old. What started as an expensive industrial process for making quick prototypes has become a technology you can run on your desk. Understanding that journey helps you appreciate the machine you are about to build.
Timeline of 3D printing milestones from 1981 to the 2010s

Key milestones in the history of 3D printing

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The timeline

1

1981 - The first layer-by-layer patents

Dr. Hideo Kodama in Japan files some of the first patents describing a layer-by-layer photopolymer printing process - the earliest seeds of additive manufacturing.
2

1986 - Chuck Hull patents stereolithography

Charles “Chuck” Hull patents stereolithography (SLA) and founds 3D Systems. SLA uses a UV laser to cure liquid resin layer by layer. Hull also invents the STL file format, still used today.
3

1988 - The first 3D printer is sold

3D Systems ships the SLA-1, the first commercially available 3D printer. It costs hundreds of thousands of dollars and is aimed at industrial prototyping.
4

1989 - FDM is invented

Scott Crump patents Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) and co-founds Stratasys. FDM melts and extrudes plastic filament - the exact technology in your Ender 3.
5

1999 - The first 3D-printed organ

Scientists engineer a lab-grown human bladder using a 3D-printed scaffold, launching the field of bioprinting.
6

2005 - The RepRap Project

Dr. Adrian Bowyer launches RepRap, an open-source project to build self-replicating 3D printers. RepRap made FDM cheap and accessible and sparked the desktop 3D printing revolution.
7

2010s - Affordable desktop printers

As patents expired, companies released low-cost FDM printers. The Creality Ender 3, launched in 2018, became one of the best-selling 3D printers ever - the machine you are about to build.

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Why the RepRap project changed everything

Before 2005, 3D printers were locked behind patents and huge price tags. The RepRap Project released printer designs for free and encouraged people to build and improve them. Because early FDM patents began expiring around 2009, companies could suddenly sell affordable FDM printers.
Almost every hobbyist FDM printer today - including your Ender 3 - traces its lineage back to the open-source RepRap movement. The community spirit of “share and improve” is still alive in 3D printing.

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The main types of 3D printing

Your printer uses FDM, but it helps to know the wider family of technologies. You will explore these in more depth on Day 4.
Comparison of FDM, SLA, and SLS 3D printing technologies

The three most common 3D printing technologies

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From industry to your desk

Then (1988)

A single printer cost as much as a house, filled a room, and required trained operators. Only large companies could afford one.

Now

A capable FDM printer costs a couple hundred dollars, fits on a desk, and is simple enough for a beginner to build and run. You are about to build one.

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Where 3D printing is used today

  • Prototyping: Engineers print and test designs in hours instead of weeks
  • Medicine: Custom prosthetics, dental aligners, surgical models, and bioprinted tissue
  • Aerospace and automotive: Lightweight, complex parts that are hard to machine
  • Construction: Entire houses printed from concrete
  • Education and hobby: Learning design, engineering, and manufacturing hands-on (that’s you)
As you build and use your printer this week, remember you are working with a technology that took the world four decades to make this accessible. You are part of that story now.