Metal standards promote understanding and communication between the producers and users of metal, including processors, fabricators, and distributive traders, and in doing so they help facilitate trade throughout the metal industry. This article explains what metal standards are, what information they contain, who develops them, and how they relate to the proprietary names often used in the marketplace.
Standards are documented voluntary agreements that establish important criteria for products, services, and processes. In the context of metals, they help ensure that products and services are fit for their intended purpose and that they remain comparable and compatible across the industry.
What Information Do Metal Standards Contain?
Metal standards typically bring together several types of information in one document. These include the designation system used for metal materials and alloys; the relevant nominal dimensions, dimensional tolerances, and shape tolerances, usually through references to appropriate dimensional standards; and the scope of inspection and testing. The latter covers sampling, test-piece preparation, and the applicable inspection and test methods used to verify specified properties, most often by referring to appropriate test standards. Standards also define how the products should be marked.
Figure 1: Typical information within a metal standard
Metal standards are created by Standards Development Organizations (SDOs). Several systems are especially widely used for metal materials.
The European EN (Euronorm) is a harmonized system shared across European countries. Although it has been accepted and effectively used throughout Europe for nearly two decades, "obsolete" national systems such as the German DIN, British BS, French AFNOR, and Italian UNI still appear in many documents.
The AISI system, named after the American Iron and Steel Institute, has traditionally been used in the United States and abroad. Although it is now obsolete and no longer maintained, and is being replaced by ASTM, SAE, and other standards, it remains widespread in practice.
The Japanese JIS standards are widely used across Asia and the Pacific region. JIS specifications have also frequently served as the basis for other national systems, including the Korean, Chinese, and Taiwanese standards.
In addition to official metal standards, many manufacturers and suppliers use their own proprietary, commercial names to designate materials. Over years and decades, some of these designations have become widely used within the industrial community and are often referred to as "common" or "trade" names, without necessarily indicating the original supplier.
In most cases, these common names are not standardized, and the properties of the materials they describe can vary substantially. For this reason, their use in official technical documents should be avoided wherever possible.
This article covers the frameworks that govern metal materials. The other guides in the Metal series address the related topics you will need alongside it. Metal Composition details the chemical makeup of materials, and Metal Properties covers their mechanical and physical behaviour. Metal Grades explains how materials are classified into families, while Metal Specifications describes the individual documents that apply these standards in practice. Metal Equivalents and Cross-Referencing sets out how a material defined under one standard is matched to its counterpart in another. Together, these articles form a complete reference on how metals are defined, classified, specified, and compared.
Metal standards promote clear communication between the producers and users of metal, including processors, fabricators, and traders. By establishing agreed criteria, they ensure that products are fit for purpose and remain comparable and compatible, which in turn facilitates trade.
A typical metal standard covers the designation system for materials and alloys, nominal dimensions and tolerances, the scope of inspection and testing (including sampling, test-piece preparation, and test methods), and the marking of products.
Metal standards are developed by Standards Development Organizations (SDOs). Widely used systems include the European EN (Euronorm), the American AISI, and the Japanese JIS, along with older national systems such as DIN, BS, AFNOR, and UNI.
Although the AISI system is now obsolete and no longer maintained, and is being replaced by ASTM, SAE, and other standards, it remains widespread and is still frequently encountered in documents.
No. Trade or "common" names are proprietary commercial designations that have become widely used over time. They are generally not standardized, and material properties can vary substantially, so their use in official technical documents should be avoided where possible.