Designers, Makers, Users: 3D Printing The Future
September 20, 2015 - February 14, 2016
3D printing — also known as additive manufacturing — was invented in the mid-1980s by engineer Charles Hull. Like many designers and his fellow engineers, Hull was frustrated that the production of small plastic parts used for prototyping could take several months.
At the time, Hull was working for a company that used UV light to put thin layers of plastic veneers on tabletops and furniture. He had an idea that if he could place thousand of thin layers of plastic on top of each other while etching a shape through the use of light, he would be able to form three-dimensional objects. After a year of tinkering, he developed the world’s first 3D printer. He patented the process in 1986 and then founded the first 3D printing company: 3D Systems. For many years, Hull’s innovation remained out of reach for the general public. 3D printers were large, expensive machines used for prototyping by companies in the automotive and medical equipment industries, where engineers and designers had proficiency in the computer-aided design (CAD) software necessary for designing printable objects.
When MODA presented Designers, Makers, Users: 3D Printing the Future in 2015, 3D printing had only become widely available in recent years. Consequently, it became more affordable, more accessible, and more widely adapted across different industries. Now, 3D printing has re-defined the ways in which we develop, design, build, and manufacture three-dimensional objects of all sizes and scales.
Designers, Makers, Users engaged viewers with the concept of 3D printing and drew attention to the potential of this new technology. It also highlighted a variety of opportunities for its use in fields spanning from fashion to medicine.
