ASTM International's additive manufacturing technologies committee (F42) is developing four standards that aim to help aircraft parts makers meet safety and performance requirements.
ASTM International member Shane Collins, general manager at Additive Industries North America, said the use of additive manufacturing in aerospace has grown quickly as new advances in areas such as metal powder bed fusion have emerged. The sector includes commercial aviation, military and space.
The ASTM standards cover feedstock materials, finished part properties, system performance and reliability, and qualification principles. The new applications subcommittee is developing three of the four proposed standards. the subcommittee hopes to work on a wide array of standards for other industries, ranging from building materials to organ regeneration.
“The [aviation] industry uses standards to ensure that public safety, quality and readiness levels are maintained,” Collins said. “Once approved, these standards could be used to certify that parts are manufactured to the highest quality levels required by the U.S. Federal Administration through the part and process qualification procedures.”
ASTM is in West Conshohocken, Pa.