VDI Guideline 3405 Sheet 5.1 defines legal framework for additive manufacturing processes

With the growing use of additive manufacturing processes, the legal safeguarding of digital production processes is also coming more into focus. The guideline VDI 3405 Sheet 5.1 published in March 2025 addresses precisely this interface between technology and law. It was published by the VDI Society for Production and Logistics (GPL) and analyzes the legal requirements along the entire additive manufacturing process chain in detail.

The guideline is aimed at a wide range of experts – from machine manufacturers and designers to manufacturing service providers and legal advisors. It not only describes the typical processes in the process chain, but also sets out the legal issues that can arise in the individual phases – from data preparation to post-processing. Among other things, it deals with copyright on digital models, product liability, contractual regulations between different players and quality management requirements.

A central concern of the directive is to improve communication between technical and legal disciplines. Lawyers should be able to legally classify the technical significance of individual process steps. Conversely, technical specialists receive a structured overview of liability-relevant aspects of their work and can thus design legally compliant processes and contracts in a targeted manner.

The publication of the guideline provides a practical tool that helps to address the increasingly complex requirements in additive manufacturing with legal certainty. It is available via DIN Media and can serve as a basis for the legal assessment of digital manufacturing projects – regardless of whether prototypes, series production or individualized components are involved.

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