• 1. Introduced in: 1986 http://www.3dsystems.com/company/index.asp
  2. Developed by: 3D Systems http://www.3dsystems.com/company/index.asp
  3. Price range: $10,000 to $500,000 http://www.scommerce.com/falling-prices-for-high-end-3d-printing-3d-printing-has-been-around-for-a-number-of-years-since-the-early-1990%E2%80%99s-in-fact-the-biggest-problem-for-companies-is-that-back-then-they-cost-a-phen/
  4. Common use: 3-dimensional printing
  5. Technologies: Stereolithography (SLA), Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM), Selective laser sintering and ink-jet, Three Dimensional Printing (3DP) http://www.packagingdigest.com/article/342392-3D_printing_is_reshaping_package_design_and_prototyping.php
  6. Forecast: The market for 3D printers is expected to reach $782.6 million by 2013 http://www.packagingdigest.com/article/342392-3D_printing_is_reshaping_package_design_and_prototyping.php

• A 3D Printer is a machine that produces physical model of 3 dimensional objects by printing layer by layer. It can make physical models of objects designed through a CAD program or objects scanned on a 3D Scanner. 3D printers were first developed in mid 80s to assist developers in producing prototypes and are now used in broad range of industries including architecture, medical, automotive, education and consumer products. 3D Printers are also known as rapid prototyping machines.

  
  On August 31, 2009, 3D Systems announced that they have acquired Desktop Factory, a company that promised to build a sub-$5000 3D Printer.http://www.fabbaloo.com/2009/11/desktop-factory-3d-systems-update.htmlhttp://www.3dsystems.com/newsevents/newsreleases/08_31_2009_3D_Systems_Acquires_Key_Desktop_Factory_Assets.asp

• History

  3D Printing emerged in 1984 with the invention of Stereolithography by Charles Hull. In 1986, Charles Hull founded 3D Systems and developed the first commercial 3D Printer based on stereolithography.http://www.explainingthefuture.com/3dprinting.html

  
  During early 90s, several other technologies were invented, including Fused Deposition Method (FDS) and Selective Layer Sintering (SLS). 3D printers based on Fused Deposition Method were introduced by Stratasys in 1990 and 3D Printers based on Selective Layer Sintering were introduced by DTM in 1992.http://www.admarketreview.com/public_html/air/ai200102.html

  
  In 1993, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) developed and patented another technology called 3 Dimensional Printing (3DP). It was then licensed to six companies including Z Corporation.http://web.mit.edu/tdp/www/licensees.html In 1996, Z Corporation launched its first 3D Printer based on 3DP Technology. Since 1996, Z Corp. has been the market leader in 3D Printing industry. In 2005, Z Corp. launched Spectrum Z510, the first High-Definition Color 3D Printer.http://www.zcorp.com/en/Company/At-a-Glance/spage.aspx

  
  A major breakthrough in 3D Printing occurred in 2006 with the advent of RepRap. RepRap (Replicating Rapid-prototyper) is an open-source, self-replicating 3D Printer that can manufacture its own parts. The first version of RepRap, called RepRap 1.0 Darwin, was released in 2008 which can manufacture about 65 percent of its own parts. The second version, called RepRap 2.0 Mendel, is expected to be released soon.http://www.techworld.com.au/article/207614/reprap_an_open_source_3d_printer_masseshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RepRap_Project

• Top Brands

  1. 3D Systems
  2. Desktop Factory
  3. Z Corporation
  4. Objet
  5. Geomagic

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