Earlyadditivemanufacturingequipmentandmaterialsweredevelopedinthe1980s.

[6]In1981,HideoKodamaof
NagoyaMunicipalIndustrialResearchInstituteinventedtwoAMfabricatingmethodsofathreedimensional
plasticmodelwithphotohardeningthermosetpolymer,wheretheUVexposureareaiscontrolledbyamask
patternorthescanningfibertransmitter.[7][8]ButonJuly16,1984AlainLeMhaut,OlivierdeWitteandJean
ClaudeAndrfiledtheirpatentforthestereolithographyprocess.[9]ItwasthreeweeksbeforeChuckHullfiledhis
ownpatentforstereolithography.TheapplicationofFrenchinventorswereabandonedbytheFrenchGeneral
ElectricCompany(nowAlcatelAlsthom)andCILAS(TheLaserConsortium).[10]Theclaimedreasonwas"for
lackofbusinessperspective".[11]Thenin1984,ChuckHullof3DSystemsCorporation[12]developedaprototype
systembasedonaprocessknownasstereolithography,inwhichlayersareaddedbycuringphotopolymerswith
ultravioletlightlasers.Hulldefinedtheprocessasa"systemforgeneratingthreedimensionalobjectsbycreatinga
crosssectionalpatternoftheobjecttobeformed,"[13][14]butthishadbeenalreadyinventedbyKodama.Hull's
contributionisthedesignoftheSTL(Stereolithography)fileformatwidelyacceptedby3Dprintingsoftwareas
wellasthedigitalslicingandinfillstrategiescommontomanyprocessestoday.Theterm3Dprintingoriginally
referredtoaprocessemployingstandardandcustominkjetprintheads.Thetechnologyusedbymost3Dprinters
todateespeciallyhobbyistandconsumerorientedmodelsisfuseddepositionmodeling,aspecialapplication
ofplasticextrusion.

AMprocessesformetalsinteringormelting(suchasselectivelasersintering,directmetallasersintering,and
selectivelasermelting)usuallywentbytheirownindividualnamesinthe1980sand1990s.Atthetime,nearlyall
metalworkingwasproducedbycasting,fabrication,stamping,andmachiningalthoughplentyofautomationwas
appliedtothosetechnologies(suchasbyrobotweldingandCNC),theideaofatoolorheadmovingthrougha3D
workenvelopetransformingamassofrawmaterialintoadesiredshapelayerbylayerwasassociatedbymost
peopleonlywithprocessesthatremovedmetal(ratherthanaddingit),suchasCNCmilling,CNCEDM,andmany
others.ButAMtypesinteringwasbeginningtochallengethatassumption.Bythemid1990s,newtechniquesfor
materialdepositionweredevelopedatStanfordandCarnegieMellonUniversity,includingmicrocasting[15]and
sprayedmaterials.[16]Sacrificialandsupportmaterialshadalsobecomemorecommon,enablingnewobject
geometries.[17]

Theumbrellatermadditivemanufacturinggainedwidercurrencyinthedecadeofthe2000s.[18]Asthevarious
additiveprocessesmatured,itbecameclearthatsoonmetalremovalwouldnolongerbetheonlymetalworking
processdoneunderthattypeofcontrol(atoolorheadmovingthrougha3Dworkenvelopetransformingamassof
rawmaterialintoadesiredshapelayerbylayer).Itwasduringthisdecadethatthetermsubtractivemanufacturing
appearedasaretronymforthelargefamilyofmachiningprocesseswithmetalremovalastheircommontheme.At
thistime,theterm3Dprintingstillreferredonlytothepolymertechnologiesinmostminds,andthetermAMwas
likeliertobeusedinmetalworkingandendusepartproductioncontextsthanamongpolymer,inkjet,and
stereolithographyenthusiasts.Thetermsubtractivehasnotreplacedthetermmachining,insteadcomplementingit
whenatermthatcoversanyremovalmethodisneeded.

Bytheearly2010s,theterms3Dprintingandadditivemanufacturingevolvedsensesinwhichtheywerealternate
umbrellatermsforAMtechnologies,onebeingusedinpopularvernacularbyconsumermakercommunitiesand
themedia,andtheotherusedofficiallybyindustrialAMendusepartproducers,AMmachinemanufacturers,and
globaltechnicalstandardsorganizations.

Bothtermsreflectthesimplefactthatthetechnologiesallsharethecommonthemeofsequentiallayermaterial
addition/joiningthroughouta3Dworkenvelopeunderautomatedcontrol.

(OthertermsthathadbeenusedasAMsynonyms(althoughsometimesashypernyms),includedesktop
manufacturing,rapidmanufacturing,agiletooling[asthelogicalproductionlevelsuccessortorapidprototyping],
andondemandmanufacturing[whichechoesondemandprintinginthe2Dsenseofprinting].)The2010swere