ASTM International’s additive manufacturing committee (F42) has developed two new standards that cover powder quality and aviation parts, respectively.
In case you do not know, the committee was formed in 2009, meets twice a year, usually in the Spring and Fall (US & non-US, respectively) and has a current membership in excess of 725. All standards developed by F42 are published in the Annual Book of ASTM Standards, Volume 10.04
The first standard developed by the committee (F3571) is a guide for metal powder feedstock, intended to help manufacturers with quality control and assessing whether powder batches are within specification limits.
Particle characterization, especially particle size distribution, has been an important parameter for quality control (QC) and research and development (R&D). It is of paramount importance anywhere a particulate system is a final product or an intermediate constituent somewhere in the process. But size alone is not a sufficient morphological measurement to use to understand many factors of the complete particle morphology of particulate systems and their effects on other properties.
ASTM member Terry Stauffer explains that the guide will cover how to characterize the quality of the feedstock by measuring the quantity of its irregularly-shaped powder particles. “The proportion of these detrimental non-spherical particles will affect the flowability and spreadability of the feedstock, as well as the mechanical properties of the finished metal powder parts,” says Stauffer.
The second standard (F3572) provides a part classification scheme that can serve as a consistent risk metric for additive manufactured parts in aviation. According to ASTM International member and F42 Vice-Chair Chul Park, this could serve processes such as inspection, testing, and qualification of these parts.
“It is important to understand the risk associated with AM usage by understanding its consequence of failure, including the loss of intended function,” says Park. “The information can be beneficial in establishing consistent processes relative to a defined risk scale.”
Park notes that further development and participation following this standard can help to accelerate the adoption of AM technology.
Both standards relate to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal #9 on resilient infrastructure, sustainable industrialization, and innovation.
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