Framework of standards
ISO/ASTM 52900 specifies the terminology[30]. For the purchase of AM parts, ISO/ASTM 52901 is the applicable standard[31]. This standard applies to companies that buy AM parts. It specifies the data that the purchaser and the supplier must agree. ISO/ASTM 52920 applies to the process and the production site, not to the individual part[32].
Difference between ISO/ASTM 52930 and ISO/ASTM 52920. ISO/ASTM 52930 is a Technical Specification and not a standard. It applies only to the qualification of PBF-LB machines for installation, operation and performance[33]. ISO/ASTM 52920 qualifies the production site, not the part[32]. Neither of the 2 documents specifies a part release.
For the mechanical evaluation of metal AM materials, ASTM F3122 is available as a guide[34]. DNV-ST-B203, edition 2025-11, is the most complete basis that is publicly available for a continuous qualification path from material through process to part[41]. NASA-STD-6030[35] and MSFC-STD-3716[36] are freely accessible. Although they are for spaceflight, they are usable for part classification.
Pressure retention to ASME
ASME PTB-13-2021 is a criteria document and not a code. It describes the items that a future standard for metal pressure components from powder bed fusion must include[37]. The criteria apply only to low-temperature applications. This means: the design temperature is at least 25 K below the temperature at which time-dependent material properties become decisive[38].
Publications frequently give ASME Code Case 3020 as evidence. But Argonne National Laboratory states that it does not apply to laser powder bed fusion. It applies to the procedure qualification for metal deposition with gas metal arc welding, with approval in 2021-05[38]. The same source states that there is no formal ASME qualification for L-PBF in 316L. A related code case waits for additional fatigue tests on machined and printed specimens[38].
At the research status of August 2026, there is no ASME code path for a pressure component from L-PBF. There is a criteria document and a code case for a different process.
Pressure Equipment Directive
For the European market, Directive 2014/68/EU applies[39]. For test bench construction, Article 4(3) is decisive. It applies to pressure equipment and assemblies that are at or below the limits in Article 4(1) and (2). This equipment “shall be designed and manufactured in accordance with the sound engineering practice of a Member State”[39]. It is not in a category. Thus no conformity assessment procedure to Article 14 applies to it, and it must not bear the CE marking to Article 18[39].
The manufacturer gives the evidence of safe use. An additively manufactured component is acceptable if this evidence is sufficient.
Above the thresholds, Annex I point 4.2 applies. No harmonised material standard includes AM materials. Thus 2 paths remain: a European approval for materials to Article 15 or a particular material appraisal[39]. The manufacturer gives the particular material appraisal in the technical documentation. In categories III and IV, the notified body also assesses the particular material appraisal[39].
For the particular material appraisal, an inspection body describes a certification programme that applies EN 13445-4 section 3.1 by analogy. The inspection body reports a pilot audit for laser powder bed fusion at a pump manufacturer[40]. In the assessment of Profectronics, the work for each path is usually more than the benefit for single parts in test bench construction.
Media contact and drinking water
Some AM materials have documented approvals. But they do not apply to the application that plant engineering most frequently asks for. Documented approvals include:
- ULTEM 1010 in certified grade: NSF 51 and ISO 10993 or USP Class VI[3]
- a PEEK filament: USP Class VI compliant, tested to ISO 10993-1[9]
- PA 12 for multi jet fusion: USP Class I to VI[15]
For drinking water, the situation is different. The German evaluation basis for plastics and other organic materials in contact with drinking water (KTW-BWGL) is available in the 6th amendment of 2025-11-20[42]. In the United Kingdom, material approval is through the Water Regulations Approval Scheme (WRAS) on the basis of BS 6920[43]. The research found no evidence of KTW-BWGL conformity, WRAS approval or certification to NSF/ANSI 61 for any additively manufactured material. The NSF listings in the polymer data sheets apply to injection-moulded grades of specific base resins[11], [12]. They do not apply to the printed form of these resins.
Assessment by Profectronics, not a statement of the sources. This result is technically plausible. Drinking water approvals evaluate migration and extractability for a defined ratio of surface to volume. A printed component has a layer structure, residual porosity and roughness in the range of some tens of micrometres. Thus its real surface is considerably larger and more accessible than the surface of an injection-moulded component.