The Aerospace Material Specification committee on Additive Manufacturing (AMS-AM) at SAE International, a global engineering standards association in Warrendale, Pennsylvania, has released its first suite of Aerospace Material Specifications (AMS) additive manufacturing materials and process specifications. The four technical standards is mainly related to laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) powered additive manufacturing.
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) officials in Washington issued a task request in 2015 asking SAE to form a standards committee to develop aerospace material specifications and related documents to assist them in developing guidance material for additive manufacturing (AM) certification of parts used on aircraft, including “commercial jets that carry passengers over large bodies of water where there is no room for error or inferior quality,” officials say.
The new aerospace technical standards support the certification of critical aircraft and spacecraft parts, "providing both a framework to protect the integrity of material property data and traceability within the aerospace supply chain," says SAE International.
The four aerospace additive manufacturing technical standards are:
- AMS7000: Laser-Powder Bed Fusion (L-PBF) Produced Parts, Nickel Alloy, Corrosion and Heat-Resistant, 62Ni - 21.5Cr - 9.0Mo - 3.65Nb Stress Relieved, Hot Isostatic Pressed and Solution Annealed
- AMS7001: Nickel Alloy, Corrosion and Heat-Resistant, Powder for Additive Manufacturing, 62Ni - 21.5Cr - 9.0Mo - 3.65Nb
- AMS7002: Process Requirements for Production of Metal Powder Feedstock for Use in Additive Manufacturing of Aerospace Parts
- AMS7003: Laser Powder Bed Fusion Process
More than 350 global partners from more than 15 countries, including aircraft and engine original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), material suppliers, operators, equipment/system suppliers, service providers, participated in the creation of these documents.
“Tremendous effort was expended by industry and regulatory stakeholders from North America, Europe and beyond to develop this initial suite of material and process specifications which help address the regulatory authorities’ request for guidance material for this emerging technology,” says David Alexander, director of aerospace standards at SAE International.
“SAE looks forward to assisting with the migration from point design to material qualification by continuing to develop additive manufacturing aerospace material and process documents containing statistically validated specification minimum values,” Alexander adds.
Committee members will continue to develop AMS specifications for metal and polymer AM to support the needs of the aerospace industry.