Reference for ISO/ASTM standards + a timeline of AM patents
Last updated: 2026
| Standard | Title | Category | Technologies |
|---|---|---|---|
| ISO/ASTM 52900 | Additive manufacturing: Fundamentals and terminology Defines the core principles, concepts and terminology applicable to all AM processes. The foundational document for the industry. | Terminology | All AM |
| ISO/ASTM 52901 | General principles: Requirements for purchased AM parts Requirements for ordering additively manufactured parts: material, process and quality specifications. | General principles | All AM |
| ISO/ASTM 52902 | Test artifacts: Geometric capability Test artifacts and methods to assess the geometric capability of AM systems (accuracy, resolution). | Testing | All AM |
| ISO/ASTM 52903 | Material-extrusion-based additive manufacturing Standard for material-extrusion AM (incl. large-format Contour Crafting, BAAM) for construction/industrial use. | Extrusion | FDM, Pellet, Contour Crafting |
| ISO/ASTM 52904 | PBF process: Practice for critical applications Practice for metal powder-bed fusion (PBF) for critical applications: reliability and consistency. | Process control | SLS, DMLS, SLM, EBM |
| ISO/ASTM 52910 | Design: Requirements, guidelines and recommendations (DfAM) Guidelines for designing parts for additive manufacturing (DfAM): geometry and support optimization. | Design (DfAM) | All AM |
| ISO/ASTM 52911-1 | Design: PBF of metals (laser) Design guidance for metal parts via laser powder-bed fusion (L-PBF): min. thickness, supports, thermal distortion. | Design (DfAM) | DMLS, SLM |
| ISO/ASTM 52911-2 | Design: PBF of metals (electron beam) Design guidance for metal parts via electron-beam powder-bed fusion (EB-PBF). | Design (DfAM) | EBM |
| ISO/ASTM 52915 | AMF file format specification Defines the XML-based AMF file format for AM data exchange: supports color, materials and curved surfaces. | File formats | All AM |
| ISO/ASTM 52941 | Acceptance tests for PBF-LB machines (aerospace) Acceptance tests for laser metal powder-bed fusion (PBF-LB) machines for aerospace applications. | Applications (Aerospace) | DMLS, SLM |
| ISO/ASTM 52950 | General principles: Overview of data processing Describes the AM data workflow: from CAD model to print-ready file, incl. mesh validation and repair. | Data processing | All AM |
| ASTM F3049 | Guide for characterizing metal powders for AM Standard guide for characterizing the properties of metal powders used in additive manufacturing. | Materials | DMLS, SLM, EBM, MBJ |
| ASTM F3604 | Validation of AM process for medical devices (L-PBF) Practice for validating the production process for medical devices made by L-PBF. | Applications (Medical) | DMLS, SLM |
| ISO 17296-2 | General principles: Process categories and feedstock Describes the seven main AM process categories and corresponding materials. | General principles | All AM |
| ISO 17296-3 | General principles: Characteristics and test methods Defines the main characteristics of AM parts and the test methods for them (mechanical, thermal, surface). | Testing | All AM |
| Year | Technology | Inventor | Patent | Assignee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | SLA | Charles Hull | US 4,575,330 | 3D Systems, Inc. |
| 1992 | FDM | S. Scott Crump | US 5,121,329 | Stratasys, Inc. |
| 1993 | Binder Jetting | Emanuel Sachs et al. | US 5,204,055 | MIT |
| 1997 | DLP | Texas Instruments | US 5,597,520 | Texas Instruments |
| 2000 | DMD (DED) | J. Mazumder et al. | US 6,122,564 | Univ. of Michigan |
| 2000 | LENS (DED) | G. K. Lewis et al. | US 6,060,685A | Optomec |
| 2002 | UAM (LOM) | Dawn White | US 6,463,349B2 | Solidica, Inc. |
| 2006 | Bioprinting | Thomas Boland et al. | US 7,051,654B2 | Clemson University |
| 2007 | EBAM (DED) | Sciaky, Inc. | US 7,168,935 | Sciaky, Inc. |
| 2011 | Contour Crafting | Behrokh Khoshnevis | US 7,874,825B2 | Univ. of Southern California |
| 2015 | CLIP | Joseph DeSimone et al. | US 9,211,678B2 | Carbon, Inc. |
| 2016 | MJF | HP Inc. | US 9,523,934 | HP Inc. |
ISO/ASTM 52900: "Fundamentals and terminology". It is the foundational document defining the concepts and terms for all AM processes.
ISO/ASTM 52910 gives the general DfAM guidelines. For metals: ISO/ASTM 52911-1 (laser PBF) and 52911-2 (electron-beam PBF), covering min. thickness, supports and thermal distortion.
S. Scott Crump in 1992 (patent US 5,121,329, Stratasys). FDM is the most widespread 3D printing technology today.
Charles Hull in 1986 (patent US 4,575,330, 3D Systems): the first patented 3D printing technology.
ISO/ASTM 52915 defines the AMF (Additive Manufacturing File) format. In practice STL is the de-facto standard, with 3MF the modern alternative supporting color and materials.
Seven, per ISO 17296-2: material extrusion, vat photopolymerization, powder bed fusion, binder jetting, material jetting, directed energy deposition and sheet lamination.