3D Systems

3D Systems Corporation

Manufacturing Innovation
Type	Public
Traded as	: DDD S&P 400 Component
Founded	Valencia, California, U.S. (1986 (1986))
Headquarters	Rock Hill, South Carolina, U.S.
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Vyomesh "VJ" Joshi (President & CEO) Chuck Hull (CTO) Andrew Johnson (Chief Legal Officer)
Products	3D Printers Stereolithography Systems Sintering Systems Engineered Materials
Revenue	US$666.2 million (2015)
Operating income	US$641.9 million (2015)
Net income	US$655.492 million (2015)
Total assets	US$893.3 million (2015)
Total equity	US$654.6 million(2015)
Number of employees	2,100
Website	www.3dsystems.com

3D Systems, headquartered in Rock Hill, South Carolina, is a company that engineers, manufactures and sells 3D printers. Chuck Hull, currently the CTO and former president, invented stereolithography in 1986. 3D Systems creates product concept models, precision and functional prototypes, master patterns for tooling, as well as production parts for direct digital manufacturing. 3D Systems uses proprietary processes to fabricate physical objects using input from computer-aided design and manufacturing software, or 3D scanning and 3D sculpting devices.

3D Systems' technologies and services are used in the design, development and production stages of many industries, including aerospace, automotive, architecture, health care, dental, entertainment, recreation and consumer goods. 3D Systems offers professional- and production-grade 3D printers, in addition to a line of personal 3D printers and 3D-printed consumer products, supported by the affiliated online forum Cubify. 3D Systems is notable within the 3D printing industry for developing stereolithography and the STL file format.

3D Systems was founded in Valencia, California, by Chuck Hull, the inventor and patent-holder of the first stereolithography (SLA) rapid prototyping system. Prior to Hull's introduction of SLA rapid prototyping, concept models required extensive time and money to produce. The innovation of SLA to reduce these resource expenditures while increasing the quality and accuracy of the resulting model. Early SLA systems were complex and costly, however, and required extensive redesign before achieving commercial viability. Primary issues concerned hydrodynamic and chemical complications. In 1996 the introduction of solid-state lasers permitted Hull and his team to reformulate their materials. Engineers in transportation, health care and consumer products helped fuel early phases of 3D Systems' rapid prototyping research and development. These industries remain key followers of 3D Systems' technology.