3D printing as a modern technology was developed in the early 1980s, with the first working 3D printers emerging in the mid‑1980s. Hideo Kodama proposed an early UV‑cured, layer‑by‑layer “rapid prototyping” system in 1981, and Chuck Hull’s stereolithography patent in 1986 is widely seen as the birth of commercial 3D printing.

Quick Scoop

  • The idea of building objects layer by layer appears in research from the late 1970s and early 1980s.
  • In 1981, Hideo Kodama described one of the first systems that matches what is now called 3D printing, using UV light to harden liquid resin layer by layer.
  • In 1983–1986, Chuck Hull developed and patented stereolithography (SLA) and later commercialized the first widely recognized 3D printer, which is why he is often called “the inventor of 3D printing.”

Mini timeline

  • Late 1970s: Early conceptual and experimental work on additive, layer‑by‑layer manufacturing appears in technical literature.
  • 1981: Kodama’s rapid prototyping system using UV‑cured resin is published, marking a clear technical origin point.
  • 1983–1986: Hull builds his SLA machine and files the stereolithography patent, leading to the first commercial 3D printers.
  • Late 1980s: Other core methods like Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) and Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) are patented, turning 3D printing into a broader ecosystem of technologies.

So, if you are wondering “when was 3D printing invented,” the most common short answer is: early 1980s, with 1986 as the key patent date and Chuck Hull as the central inventor.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.