A long time ago, the invention of a desktop printer changed how people printed documents from home. This was a major advancement, leading many parents to print high-quality images for their children’s school assignments. Today’s children no longer face issues like paper jams or running out of ink. Instead, they create toys, fidget devices, and building blocks using 3D printers. This new technology is not just for kids; it has also been used to create items such as homes, prosthetic limbs, and even food. Many individuals, both amateurs and professionals, have begun exploring 3D printing, contributing their creative designs online. Bored Panda has looked into several online communities, highlighting some outstanding examples of innovative work.
3D printing might seem new, but it has existed since the 1980s. The first machine was made by Chuck Hull in 1984. Earlier, in 1981, Dr. Hideo Kodama from Japan had published a paper about a quick prototyping system that used UV light to harden photosensitive polymers in layers. However, he did not secure a patent in time, so his idea was not recognized as the first patented 3D printer. Hull successfully patented a technique called Stereolithography (SLA) in 1984. His creation used a UV laser to draw shapes in a vat of liquid photopolymer resin, solidifying it layer by layer. Hull also developed the .stl file format and later founded 3D Systems, a major company in the field.
In 1989, Scott Crump changed the landscape of 3D printing by introducing Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM). Unlike SLA, which used resin, FDM melted thermoplastic filament and pushed it through a heated nozzle to build objects layer by layer. Crump founded Stratasys, and FDM became a popular method of 3D printing.
Today, many people, including students, have access to 3D printers, which were once very expensive and mostly for industrial use.
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Source: Bored Panda, by Bored Panda