S. Scott Crump – The inventor of the FDM process
The story of Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) began with a private affair at the Crump home. Steven Scott Crump (called S. Scott Crump)wanted to make a toy frog for his two-year-old daughter. As a mechanical engineer, he also wanted to experiment on a machine that automatically creates 3D objects.
In the Crump family kitchen, he began mixing wax with plastic. He was able to create 3D objects with a hot glue gun. The first frog for his daughter looked more like melted plastic than a real frog.
His wife Lisa made him continue the experiments in the garage rather than in the kitchen. There, he figured he could automate the frog-making process by attaching the hot glue gun to an XYZ-axis apparatus. This was the birth of Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM).
Give up hobby or start a company
Thrilled with her husband's idea, she presented him with a decision: either build a business from the idea or bury it completely.
In 1989, he and his wife Lisa patented FDM technology. It would take until 1992 for him to release the first fully functional FDM printer. He and his wife Lisa then founded the Stratasys company, for which he still serves on the board of directors.
Scott Crump's patents
- Apparatus and method for creating three-dimensional objects (09.06.1989 – US5121329A)
- Modeling apparatus for three-dimensional objects (23.08.1994 – US5340433A)
- Process of support removal for fused deposition modeling (02.04.1996 – US5503785A)
- Method for rapid prototyping of solid models (02.02.1999 – US5866058A)
- Rapid prototype injection molding (10/24/2006 – US7125512B2)
- Layered deposition bridge tooling (08/14/2007 – US7255821B2)
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