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2.4. Obstacles and barriers for the adoption of Additive publications of standard developing organizations, professional
Manufacturing standards associations, etc.). Based on this, the dataset was built, listing the
identified and evaluated important events and activities in
Though the foundational technologies and inventions in AM root chronological order. Special emphasis in this step was given to
in the 1980s and early 1990s it was not before 2009 that with the milestones related to standardization. Finally, the events were
ASTM F42 the first dedicated official technical committee within categorized and clustered according to the framework proposed by
a formal standards body was established [28]. Due to the lack of Featherston et al. (2016), adapting the framework categories
formal standards, many of the AM standards in use today are according to the particularities of AM. The events and sequences
proprietary, with single companies developing their own of events were then mapped over time to identify the interrelations
individual guidelines [27]. Standardization faces multiple und dependencies between them along the trajectory of the
challenges associated with the number of diverse applications, technology. This was the basis for the following analysis of the
variety of materials used, differences in processes and dynamics.
technologies [6, 24]. This diversity even increases with the rapid
proliferation of AM technologies. Besides this, Gao et al. (2015) 4. ANALYSIS - THE CASE OF ADDITIVE
also point out that producers of machines have a financial interest MANUFACTURING
in offering their individual consumables and spares similar to the
document printing industry which might compete against the need 4.1. Development phases of Additive Manufacturing
for standardization [26]. Nonetheless, the need for standards to
drive the adoption of AM is commonly acknowledged with The foundations of modern AM lie in the 1980s with the
initiatives by stakeholders worldwide. Already in the 1990s early inventions of the major AM technologies. These heavily built
advocates and pioneers of standardization in AM pointed out the upon research done in the decades before, including advancements
need for formalized consensus standards especially with regard to in computer technology, laser, Computer Aided Design (CAD)
the growing number of applications, technologies and users [23]. and Computer Numeric Control (CNC). Research efforts in the
However, it took more than a decade for the first formal standards 1970s provided proof of concept for modern AM processes that
to be published. have successively been developed and patented since the mid-
1980s [20, 30]. The adoption process of AM can be classified into
three overlapping phases determined by different end usages of
3. RESEARCH METHOD the technology. Originally used for Rapid Prototyping (RP) the
technology was progressively applied to create molds and tools
An empirical case study on AM was conducted, gathering data on (Rapid Tooling), and end-products (Rapid or Direct
important events for the development of the technology. An event Manufacturing). Being adopted by end-users at home 3D printing
in the context of a technological innovation system (TIS) “can be has recently entered the next evolutionary phase (Home
defined as an instance of change with respect to actors, institutions Fabrication). The transition into new phases is influenced by
and/or technology which is the work of one or more actors and improvements in technology, including processes and use of
which carries some public importance with respect to the TIS materials, and the associated costs [4, 31]. The remainder of this
under investigation. Examples of such events are studies carried section explores the complex dynamics of innovation and
out, conferences organised, plants constructed, policy measures standardization over the historical development of AM. Various
issued etc.” [29]. significant activities and events that influenced the evolution are
Many different events and stakeholders have influenced the tracked and causal relationships drawn. Focus lies on
development and diffusion of AM over the last 30 years. Starting standardization, with undertakings by different stakeholders and
with the emergence of the technology along the innovation achievements identifying the role of standards in the diffusion of
journey until today the standards and innovation structure in AM AM.
is analyzed by aggregating different events, indicators, milestones
and activities in the TIS. This empirical approach includes data 4.1.1. Rapid Prototyping
regarding standardization, technological development, the
industrial environment (market and applications), and others such The first AM technologies were developed in parallel in Japan,
as policy and society. An empirical analysis is conducted on the France and the USA in the early 1980s. Having similar concepts
different types of standards developed in the different phases of of adding materials layer by layer to produce an object, it was
the technological evolution. The analysis is aimed at identifying Charles Hull who was the first inventor to successfully apply for a
possible patterns and trends regarding different functions and patent in 1984. He then started commercialization of his
kinds of standards along the technology innovation journey and “Stereolithography” printer, establishing the company 3D Systems
their interaction with other innovation activities. two years later and introducing the first available AM machine in
The investigation is embedded into the framework of industrial 1987. Carl Deckard invented and commercialized the second
emergence adapted from previous work of Featherston et al. important AM process “Selective Laser Sintering” in 1986. In
(2016) as described above. This framework helps to map the 1989 Scott Crump filed for a patent on his invention of “Fused
different types of standards and standardization activities together Deposition Modelling” and founded Stratasys, still one of the
with important dimensions of emerging technologies related to major players in the market today [20, 30]. Several other
market, products and technology development, showing how processes were invented and launched to the market in the late
standards and related activities can support the overall innovation 1980s and early 1990s that have been the core technologies in use
system. Following Ho & O’Sullivan (2016), standardization in until today, such as 3D Printing, Electron Beam Melting, or
AM is analyzed by investigating the technology elements to be Selective Laser Melting. The various approaches differ with
standardized, the reasons for standard needs, the timing and regard to the deposition technique, the type of materials used or
sequence, as well as the stakeholders involved. the way they are fused [5].
The first steps in this case study was to gather the data through an The first machines were used by architects, artists and product
extensive systematic desk research and literature review (including designers to rapidly build models and prototypes. The new
peer reviewed journal databases, newspaper articles, websites and
machines offered a real benefit by speeding up and facilitating this

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