Meet Grand Junction’s Chuck Hull, Inventor of the 3D Printer

It isn't often someone in the Grand Valley can say they invented something the entire world can use, but Chuck Hull can.

You see, Chuck Hull is a Grand Junction native, a graduate of Central High School and the University of Colorado.Chuck was instrumental in the creation of the 3D printer used so much today.

According to Wikipedia, Chuck got the idea in 1983 but was not the first to file for a patent on it. The trio of Frenchman who was first to file for a patent was denied. Chuck, who coined the term "stereolithography", the 3d printing process,  was successful.

The process to print 3D items is fairly simple in its application. Using an ultraviolet light, it is directed to a storage device filled with a photopolymer, which is then sliced and layered, building the item one layer at a time.

The applications for this technology are many. From toys and candy to prosthetics, like the one pictured above, people everywhere are finding uses for it.

None of it, however, would have been possible without the brilliance of a Grand Junction native, Chuck Hull.