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needed to ensure repeatability and reliability – particularly
important for industrial metal applications where failures in the
printing process are especially expensive. Ongoing standardization
projects reflect the need for more standards on testing and quality
which is typical for the broad diffusion of a new technology.
Furthermore, new application areas with distinct requirements that
emerge, such as medicine or aerospace, are increasingly addressed
with dedicated standardization projects. Trying to align the
development of new standards with the strategic exercises
conducted by cooperating stakeholders such as gap analyses,
roadmaps, and standards structures, progressively more standards
are developed, with more than 50 projects currently running.
Learning from the experiences in AM, but also in the cases of
nanotechnology or photovoltaic [10, 17], a systematic,
comprehensive standardization strategy from the very beginning
of an emerging technology, supports its diffusion. The
Fig. 5. Illustration of AM evolution, based on the framework development of standards is, however, not uncoupled from the
by Featherston et al. (2016). general evolution of the innovation system, but rather has
interrelations and dependencies with other activities by various
developments and activities of innovation and standardization as stakeholders. This requires an intensive and targeted collaboration
well as the interrelations between them are visualized, depicting of stakeholders and alignment with all relevant dimensions of the
their complex dynamics. Though limited to terminology, innovation system of the emerging technology.
compatibility, process and material standards only for better Since AM represents a very diverse technology covering multiple
readability, the framework shows well how standards support applications and technological approaches with different levels of
innovation activities and the diffusion of the technology along its maturity, future research could focus more on a specific area, e.g.
evolution by facilitating knowledge transfer and communication. metals in industrial settings such as aerospace industry, in order to
gain deeper insights into the interrelations of standardization and
the overall innovation system of an emerging technology. This can
5. CONCLUSIONS allow for the identification and analysis of clearer patterns and
developments. AM can furthermore possibly contribute an
Considering different frameworks on standardization and interesting case to investigate the relation of standards and patents
innovation [10, 11, 13-15], the overall innovation ecosystem of since it has been observed in this case study that standardization
AM and the linkages to standardization were systematically took off once first patents expired. These expirations clearly
assessed and analyzed. The analysis of standardization activities triggered the diffusion of AM, making standards become more
comprised the technology elements to be standardized, the reasons necessary. Considering not only the growing number of standards
for standard needs, the timing and sequence, as well as the but also the vastly increasing number of patents for AM, an
stakeholders involved. Considering the complexity of the analysis of standard essential patents in AM constitutes an
technology due to diverse processes and applications at different interesting field of research. Finally, AM is a nice case to look at
levels of maturity, the standards mapping is not trivial. Still, for an analysis of the role of standards consortia and which of the
several lessons for standardization in emerging technologies can different file format standards, covering de facto, formal and lately
be learned. consortia standards (.stl, .amf, 3mf.), will finally become widely
Actors and events from politics, market, society, research and accepted for which reasons.
technology along the innovation trajectories have shaped the
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