Material Standards

AISI standards are widely used in North America for designating carbon and alloy steels. The numbering system uses a 4-digit code where the first two digits indicate the alloy type and the last two indicate the carbon content.

ASTM International develops and publishes technical standards for materials, products, and systems. ASTM standards define both material specifications and testing methods.

UNS is a unified alloy designation system widely accepted in North America. It uses a letter prefix followed by 5 digits, where the letter indicates the material family (S for stainless steel, A for aluminum, etc.).

DIN is the German national organization for standardization. DIN standards use a numerical designation system (Werkstoffnummer) like 1.4301 for stainless steels, where the first digit indicates the material group.

EN standards are developed by the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) and are adopted by all EU member states. They often incorporate both numerical designations and chemical composition names like X5CrNi18-10.

ISO develops and publishes international standards. Many national standards (EN, DIN, BS) are adopting ISO standards to facilitate international trade and technical cooperation.

JIS standards are maintained by the Japanese Industrial Standards Committee. Steel grades typically start with 'S' (Steel), 'SUS' (Steel Use Stainless), or 'SUM' (Steel Use Machinery).

BS standards are produced by the British Standards Institution (BSI). Many BS standards have been superseded by or harmonized with EN standards, but they remain important for historical references.

GOST standards were developed by the Soviet Union and continue to be used in Russia and other CIS countries. Steel grades are designated using Cyrillic letters indicating composition.

GB standards are the national standards of the People's Republic of China. They cover a wide range of materials and are increasingly aligned with international standards like ISO.