ASTM International Committee F42 on Additive Manufacturing Technologies continues to develop and approve standards for the growing additive manufacturing community. The committee’s most recently approved standards include a practice on test specimen data reporting and two specifications on nickel alloy powder bed fusion.

ASTM F2971, Test Specimen Data Reporting
ASTM F2971, Practice for Reporting Data for Test Specimens Prepared by Additive Manufacturing, will provide the additive manufacturing industry with the means to consistently document the materials and processing history associated with specimens undergoing test or evaluation. F2971, developed by Subcommittee F42.01 on Test Methods, establishes minimum data requirements for reporting material and process data for the following purposes:

• To standardize test specimen descriptions and test reports;
• To assist designers by standardizing additive manufacturing materials databases;
• To aid material traceability through testing and evaluation; and
• To capture property-parameter-performance relationships of additive manufacturing specimens to enable predictive modeling and other computation approaches.

“The industry is expanding with more additive manufacturing being performed in collaborative efforts,” says Kenneth Sargent, staff mechanical engineer, Lockheed Martin Corp., and an F42 member. “As we emerge from laboratories into commercialization of additive manufacturing, we need a standard way to communicate performance information.”

Sargent further notes that ASTM F2971 will help to speed up the completion of computerized databases. This will allow for better maintenance of legacy information, which will provide easier confirmation that materials and processes can be controlled from time to time and from site to site.

“ASTM F2971 will be used as a basic foundation for communicating results of testing to establish performance goals and product design,” says Sargent. “Issuing a report would be a means to show compliance with a specification or to an industry standard. Academic institutions will use ASTM F2971 to present the results of research that the industry can more easily relate to other testing.”

ASTM F3055/ASTM F3056, Powder Bed Fusion
Many companies may be interested in exploring the use of additive manufacturing alloys in their work process, but don’t have existing company proprietary specifications to cover the materials and process aspects required to produce additive manufactured components. ASTM International Committee F42 on Additive Manufacturing Technologies has now approved new standards intended for the use of purchasers or producers of two additively manufactured UNS components for defining the requirements and ensuring component properties.

The new standards, developed by Subcommittee F42.05 on Materials and Processes, are:

• ASTM F3055, Specification for Additive Manufacturing Nickel Alloy (UNS N07718) with Powder Bed Fusion, and
• ASTM F3056, Specification for Additive Manufacturing Nickel Alloy (UNS N06625) with Powder Bed Fusion.

Components produced by such powder bed fusion processes as electron beam melting and laser melting are typically used in applications that require mechanical properties similar to machined forging and wrought products. These components are sometimes post processed via machining, grinding, electrical discharge machining, or polishing to achieve desired surface finish and critical dimensions.

According to Hank Phelps, senior staff engineer, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, and chairman of the task group that developed ASTM F3056, the new F42 standards will allow suppliers with limited internal materials and processes support to order additive manufacturing components for evaluation purposes.

“If a vendor wants to evaluate a new design, the part can be ordered with just the part model and either ASTM F3055 or ASTM F3056,” says Phelps. “These specifications have the latitude to allow additional requirements to be implemented to increase the control of critical process parameters or additional test requirements if warranted by the end application.” F3055 was developed by an F42.05 task group led by Karl D’Ambrosio, director, research and development, Exotic Metals Forming Co. LLC, and F42 member.

The alloys covered by ASTM F3055 and ASTM F3056 are typically used for extreme temperature applications such as jet engine or airframe applications.

All interested parties are invited to join F42. “We are always looking for individuals interested in potential additive manufacturing specifications,” says Phelps. “Those companies and individuals who come forward with specific needs and offers to help generate new standards allow us to establish priorities and keep the process going forward.”

To purchase ASTM standards, visit www.astm.org and search by the standard designation, or contact ASTM Customer Relations (phone: 877-909-ASTM; sales@astm.org). ASTM International welcomes participation in the development of its standards. For more information on becoming an ASTM member, visit www.astm.org/JOIN.

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ASTM Committee F42 Next Meeting: July 9-10, 2014, The Nottingham Belfry, Nottingham, England
Technical Contact: (ASTM F2971) Kenneth R. Sargent, Lockheed Martin, Montverde, Fla., Phone: 407-469-2024; kenneth.sargent@lmco.com; (ASTM F3055) Karl D’Ambrosio, Exotic Metals Forming Co. LLC, Kent, Wash, Phone: 253-395-3710; karld@exoticmetals.com; (ASTM F3056) Hank Phelps, Lockheed Martin, Marietta, Ga., Phone: 770-793-0014; henry.phelps@lmco.com 
ASTM Staff Contact: Pat Picariello, Phone: 610-832-9720; ppicariello@astm.org
ASTM PR Contact: Barbara Schindler, Phone: 610-832-9603; bschindl@astm.org

Release #9647