{"id":6144,"date":"2018-01-01T00:01:17","date_gmt":"2018-01-01T00:01:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/?p=6144"},"modified":"2017-12-20T11:48:55","modified_gmt":"2017-12-20T11:48:55","slug":"3d-printing-personalities-151220174","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/3d-printing-personalities-151220174\/","title":{"rendered":"Top 8 3D Printing Personalities in 2017"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Most 3D printing news revolves around <a href=\"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/3D-compare\">3D printers<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/top-10-low-cost-3d-scanners280320174\/\">scanners,<\/a>\u00a0rather than people. This can mean that the people behind these innovative products don&#8217;t receive the limelight. Therefore, we have created our Top 10 3D printing personalities of 2017, with descriptions of why they deserve their position. We included big names from companies such as HP, Markforged, GE Additive, and more. These personalities are responsible for ventures into metal 3D printing, incredible <a href=\"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/top-10-3d-printing-art-141020174\/\">art<\/a>, and other achievements.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">1. Dion Weisler, HP Inc.<\/span><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">If there is a manufacturer that has regularly made headlines this year, it is HP. CEO Dion Weisler aims to &#8220;revolutionize&#8221; the estimated $12 trillion industrial production market.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Dion Weisler has been CEO since 2015,\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">the new developments and partnerships<\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"> of the firm this year, inclduing their new HP 4210 3D printer. In addition, HP announced <a href=\"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/hp-printer-jet-fusion-4210-131120174\/\">full-color 3D printing<\/a>, and an estimated 2019 launch of their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/3D-compare\/metal-3d-printer\">metal 3D printers<\/a>.<\/span><\/p><div class=\"dnati-inside-article-leaderboard\" style=\"text-align: center;\" id=\"dnati-175507994\"><a data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/app.swapcard.com\/login\/event\/additiv-defense-2026\/ticket\/VGlja2V0VHlwZV83MDM4MQ==\/page\/UmVnaXN0cmF0aW9uRm9ybV81NjE4Ng==\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"a2t-link\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"LB (4)\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/LB-4.gif\" alt=\"\"  width=\"850\" height=\"150\"   \/><\/a><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_33718\" style=\"width: 710px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-33718\" class=\"wp-image-33718 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/personalite2017-hp.jpg\" alt=\"3D printing personalities\" width=\"700\" height=\"400\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-33718\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Dion Weisler, CEO of HP Inc.<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">2. Ric Fulop, Desktop Metal<\/span><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">After a career in finance which lead him to meet some names such as Dassault Syst\u00e8mes, Protolabs and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/3D-compare\/markforged\">Markforged<\/a>, Ric Fulop founded Desktop Metal in 2015. After 2 years of development the Boston-based firm officially announced its entry into the 3D metal printing market with a base price of only $68,000 for <\/span><a href=\"\/3D-compare\/imprimante\/studio-system\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">its Studio System solution<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">This is very reasonable in a market where metal 3D printers generally start around $300,000.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Since its launch, the CEO has managed to convince investors to invest in the development of Desktop Metal. The firm has received over $210 million so far from companies such as Stratasys, General Electric, Google and BMW. They were our startup of the moth for July, which you can read <a href=\"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/startup-month-desktop-metal110720174\/\">here<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_33717\" style=\"width: 710px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-33717\" class=\"wp-image-33717 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/personalite2017-desktopmetal.jpg\" alt=\"3D printing personalities\" width=\"700\" height=\"400\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-33717\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Ric Fulop, CEO of Desktop Metal (right)<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">3. Mohammad Ehteshami, GE Additive<\/span><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Former head of General Electric&#8217;s aviation branch, Mohammad Ehteshami has taken over the new additive manufacturing division called GE Additive. In his former position,\u00a0Ehteshami was notably involved in the establishment\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">of a General Electric 3D printing center<\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"> dedicated to aeronautics, supported by $50 million financing and based in Auburn, USA.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Among his first assignments at the helm of <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">GE Additive<\/span> were<span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">\u00a0the integration of Arcam and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/general-electric-investment280420174\/\">Concept Laser<\/a> into the company. The goal is to create a giant of the metal additive manufacturing industry, able to meet the production needs of aeronautics, energy and more generally industry.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_33716\" style=\"width: 710px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-33716\" class=\"wp-image-33716 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/personalite2017-geadditive.jpg\" alt=\"3D printing personalities\" width=\"700\" height=\"400\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-33716\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Mohammad Ehteshami, CEO of the new entity GE Additive<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">4. Greg Mark, Markforged<\/span><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Historically specialized in 3D printing of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/plastics-used-3d-printing110420174\/\">polymers<\/a> reinforced with carbon fibers, the American firm has evolved to be one of the first to enter the low-cost metal additive manufacturing market (below $100,000). This transition was made possible by its founder, Greg Mark.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">With the launch of the Metal X, this former aeronautical engineer from MIT attracted investors such as Siemens, Microsoft oand Porsche, who\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">invested more than 30 million dollars<\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/3D-compare\/markforged\">Markforged<\/a> is a fast-growing manufacturer to watch closely in the future.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_33715\" style=\"width: 710px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-33715\" class=\"wp-image-33715 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/personalite2017-markforged.jpg\" alt=\"3D printing personalities\" width=\"700\" height=\"400\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-33715\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Greg Mark, CEO and founder of Markforged.<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">5. Dinara Kasko<\/span><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">With more than 535,000 fans on Instagram, Dinara Kasko became a social media star in 2017. This 28-year-old pastry chef graduated in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/3d-printed-architecture030520174\/\">Architecture<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/3d-printing-fashion-designs150620174\/\">Design<\/a> from Kharkov University in Ukraine and became known to the general public. for his unique and gourmet creations.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Dinara uses 3D printing to initially create a replica of her tasty treats. Once printed, the part allows to create a silicone mold of the pastry. After this, the ingredients are formed into the dessert, giving us a glimpse into the future of desserts! We interviewed Dinara Kasko in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/dinara-kasko-pastry-chef060420174\/\">this article<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_33712\" style=\"width: 710px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-33712\" class=\"wp-image-33712 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/personalite2017-dinara.jpg\" alt=\"3D printing personalities\" width=\"700\" height=\"400\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-33712\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Dinara Kasko uses 3D printing for unique pastries<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">6. Nikita Chen-yun-tai, Apis Cor<\/span><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">This name may not tell you anything but Nikita Chen-yun-tai is the creator of\u00a0 Apis Cor who created a 3D printer for the<\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">\u00a0construction sector. Last March, the Russian entrepreneur\u00a0 built a 38 sqm building in less than 24 hours, costing just over $10,000.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">The Apis Cor 3D printer can be installed in less than 30 minutes and uses a mechanical arm to deposit successive layers of concrete. Nikita Chen-yun-tai now wants to build buildings around the world and is even considering creating homes on Mars. Full article <a href=\"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/3d-printed-house-220320174\/\">here<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_33711\" style=\"width: 710px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-33711\" class=\"wp-image-33711 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/personalite2017-apiscor.jpg\" alt=\"3D printing personalities\" width=\"700\" height=\"400\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-33711\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Nikita Chen-yun-tai, creator of Apis Cor<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">7. Daniele Cevola and Francesco Belvisi, Livrea Yacht<\/span><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">3D printing personalities Daniele Cevola and his partner Francesco Belvisi are using 3D printing to reinvent the manufacture of sailboats. We interviewed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/interview-livrea-yachts-031020174\/\">Livrea in October as our Startup of the Month<\/a>. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">After the first conclusive tests unveiled during the year, the company is now working on a boat designed entirely through additive manufacturing.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">To do this, Daniele and Francesco collaborate with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/3d-software-beginners100420174\/\">3D software<\/a> company Autodesk and developed a mechanical arm equipped with an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/dual-extruder-3d-printer-171020174\/\">extruder<\/a> in partnership with German Lehmann &amp; Voss. The 3D printed sailboat is expected to participate in a 6400km race from France to South America soon!<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_33710\" style=\"width: 710px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-33710\" class=\"wp-image-33710 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/personalite2017-livrea.jpg\" alt=\"3D printing personalities\" width=\"700\" height=\"400\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-33710\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Daniele Cevola and Francesco Belvisi, founders of Livrea Yacht<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">8. Nneile Nkholise, iMedTech Group<\/span><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Originally from South Africa, Nneile Nkholise decided to focus on 3D printing to fight against breast cancer. Through her company iMedTech Group, the founder uses 3D scanners and 3D printers to design custom-made prostheses for patients who have had a\u00a0 <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">mastectomy.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Last October, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">\u00a0breast cancer awareness month, <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">iMedTech Group launched the challenge<\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">\u00a0of creating 1000 3D printed breast prostheses. This work led to Nneile Nkholise being selected among the most influential African innovators at the World Economic Forum.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_33719\" style=\"width: 710px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-33719\" class=\"wp-image-33719 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/personalite2017-iMedTech.jpg\" alt=\"3D printing personalities\" width=\"700\" height=\"400\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-33719\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">The founder of iMedTech Group, Nneile Nkholise<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Who do you think was the most influential person in 3D printing this year? Let us know in a comment below or on our\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/3Dnatives\/\">Facebook<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/3Dnatives_en\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Twitter<\/a>\u00a0pages! Sign up for our free weekly\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/3d-printing-newsletter\/\">Newsletter here<\/a>, the latest 3D printing news straight to your inbox!<\/p>\n<div class=\"dnati-after-content\" id=\"dnati-657158521\"><a data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/amcoe.org\/event\/design-for-additive-manufacturing-design-at-elevation\/\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"a2t-link\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"DfAM course-850&#215;150\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/DfAM-course-850x150-1.jpg\" alt=\"\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/DfAM-course-850x150-1.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/DfAM-course-850x150-1-600x106.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/DfAM-course-850x150-1-768x136.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/DfAM-course-850x150-1-160x28.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" width=\"850\" height=\"150\"   \/><\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Most 3D printing news revolves around 3D printers\u00a0and\u00a0scanners,\u00a0rather than people. This can mean that the people behind these innovative products don&#8217;t receive the limelight. Therefore, we have created our Top 10 3D printing personalities of 2017, with descriptions of why&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6055,"featured_media":6220,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3,1,26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6144","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-news","category-rankings"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6144","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6055"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6144"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6144\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6267,"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6144\/revisions\/6267"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6220"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6144"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6144"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6144"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}