Carl Deckard
Leading industry figures, friends and former colleagues have paid tribute to Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) inventor Dr Carl Deckard, who passed away at the age of 58 on December 23rd, 2019.
Deckard has been described as a pioneer, a visionary and a genius by industry peers and associates.
The University of Texas (UT) alumnus began to develop the SLS 3D printing process during his studies, eventually commercialising the technology through DTM Corp which was the first student/faculty-owned business to be spun out from UT and was acquired by 3D Systems in a $45m deal in 2001. He would later co-found Structured Polymers, which focused on the development of powders for SLS and was bought out by Evonik a year ago. Deckard has long been heralded as one of the most influential figures in the additive space and was duly recognised in recent years through his induction into the TCT Hall of Fame (2018), and his receiving of the RAPID + TCT Industry Achievement Award (2018) and AMUG innovator Award (2017).
Born in Houston and schooled in Michigan, Ohio and Texas, Carl harboured ambitions of becoming an inventor, a goal fuelled by his childhood visit to the Henry Ford Museum. Through his efforts as an undergraduate, masters and PhD student at the University of Texas, Carl pursued the idea of producing functional parts using a laser to fuse powders together under the stewardship of Dr Joe Beaman, a young assistant professor in Mechanical Engineering at UT. Within three years between May 1986 and February 1989, Deckard would receive his Master’s, file his first patent, develop the first SLS machine and show it to investors, complete his PhD using said machine, and commercialise the technology through the establishment of Nova Automation, which would later become DTM. In the 1990s, with DTM up and running, he would return to academia as a professor, and later embark on a project to build a hybrid rotary reciprocating internal combustion engine. He returned to the additive manufacturing industry in 2012 by founding Structured Polymers where he held a role as Chief Technical Officer.
'I couldn’t tell my story without Carl. Many of us in the world of additive manufacturing could probably say the same.'
Carl’s passing was announced on Twitter by one of his Structured Polymers co-founders, Dr James Mikulak, now a Technical Director at parent company Evonik. Meanwhile, Dr Vikram Devarajan, also a co-founder in Deckard’s most recent venture, described Carl as a good friend, a mentor and a true genius.
“Structured Polymers and Evonik Corporation mourns the passing of Dr Carl Deckard, a visionary, genius and, most importantly, the inventor of Selective Laser Sintering,” Devaraj commented. “He taught the world a new way of manufacturing objects efficiently and effectively; his process has revolutionised aerospace, medicine, defence, to name a few. Dr Deckard's enthusiasm and out of the box thinking will be missed by his family, friends and the entire manufacturing community.”
Dr Beaman was witness to much of this 'out of the box thinking' as he worked side by side with Deckard to develop and refine the SLS process, ultimately lifting the technology from the UT lab into the commercial world. The mentorship began when Beaman convinced a graduate advisor to let Deckard study at UT despite his 'okay but not terrific' grades - “Let this guy in, he's got potential”, Beaman remembers saying - and it continued at DTM where Carl was 'not always very politic' and at times struggled to settle into corporate culture. The two remained close, Beaman visiting Deckard shortly before his passing last month, which he described as like losing a son.
“It's a very sad time for me,” Beaman told TCT. “Certainly, Carl was a creative genius. There was another patent, by the way, [filed by an R.F. Householder in 1979] that actually described [a similar] process [to SLS]. We didn't know about it at the time, we knew about it later. But Carl's real emphasis and significance was he was the one that actually made it work. He was down the lab doing the processing and building the equipment. I really give attribution to someone who actually manages to make the thing and make some parts.”
LISTEN: Dr Carl Deckard talks to TCT
Such was Deckard's influence on those he worked with, many can still remember their first meeting. David Leigh is a fellow UT graduate and the SLS process has been in his life now for 30 years. He is the Chief Operating Officer at EOS North America, having been CEO at Vulcan Labs, had a role at Stratasys and founded service provider Harvest Technologies. But Leigh started out at DTM in 1990 and it was here where Leigh came across a man who 'dressed like a hippy' and was known to nap on a pallet in one of the labs. It turned out not to be a janitor as he originally assumed but, instead, one of the most pivotal figures in his career.
“It truly saddened me when I found of Carl’s passing on Christmas Eve,” Leigh told TCT. “I realise that I’ve gotten older and my perception of age may be tainted, but at 58, Carl was too young with so much more to contribute. He was a complicated soul and I couldn’t tell my story without him. Many of us in the world of additive manufacturing or 3D printing could probably say the same thing, but for me it is much more personal. The things that I learned in those early days have significantly shaped the path of my life. The way Carl approached technical problems was always unique, which led to some unconventional solutions. That mindset definitely shaped the way I look at problem solving and has served me well in my technical and personal life.”
Through the last 30 years EOS has remained one of the leading additive manufacturing companies and is today the biggest supplier of SLS machinery, with more than 3,600 system installations. An EOS statement added that the global organisation is 'saddened about the news of Carl's passing and extend our condolences to his family. Truly an industry pioneer.'
While his invention has been packaged into thousands of machines and applied by companies around the world, Deckard's expert advice has also gone a long way. Neil Hopkinson, Director of Technology at Xaar 3D, is a fellow inventor of a now-commercialised powder-based 3D printing process. Over the last 15 years, the two had become friends, often enjoying discussions about the benefits of their respective inventions.
“Carl’s impact on our industry has been substantial and is difficult to overstate,” Hopkinson said. “I was privileged to get to know him as we were respective inventors of two different polymer powder bed fusion technologies. On many occasions we discussed the relative merits of Selective Laser Sintering and High Speed Sintering (HSS) and Carl, who had led the way in inventing and developing his technology, was always very complimentary to me about HSS. I will always remember his generosity in the respect that he, as a pioneer of our industry, afforded me; this was, and still is, very important to me personally. I am truly sad to know that I will never get to speak with Carl again.”
A celebration of Dr Carl Deckard's life is set to be held this month. His family ask that, in lieu of flowers, donations can be instead sent to Austin Pets Alive at austinpetsalive.org/donate.
