Overview
ISO/ASTM 52927:2024 - Additive manufacturing - General principles - Main characteristics and corresponding test methods defines principal requirements for testing parts produced by additive manufacturing (AM). Published as a joint ISO/ASTM standard (first edition), it consolidates and updates prior documents (including ISO 17296-3 and ASTM F3122-14) to provide common guidance on quality characteristics, specimen build procedures and test/supply agreement content across AM technologies.
This standard is applicable wherever additive manufacturing processes are used and is aimed at improving communication between machine manufacturers, feedstock suppliers, AM system users, part providers and customers.
Key topics and technical requirements
- Scope and purpose
- Identifies quality characteristics for both feedstock and parts
- Specifies corresponding test procedures and specimen fabrication methods by AM
- Recommends the scope and contents of test and supply agreements
- Material-specific annexes
- Normative annexes cover metallic, polymer, and ceramic materials with tailored test-method guidance
- Main quality characteristics
- Feedstock: particle size distribution, morphology, packing/flow properties, chemical composition
- Parts: surface appearance, geometric/dimensional requirements, roughness, orientation effects
- Mechanical: hardness, tensile, impact, compressive, flexural, fatigue, creep, shear, crack extension
- Physical/chemical: density, porosity, grain size, composition
- Testing categories and selection
- Defines testing categories (e.g., high-criticality H, medium M, low L) to guide required test scope and acceptance criteria
- Selection criteria are agreed between customer and part provider
- Process monitoring & specimen strategy
- Encourages recording process parameters and environmental data for statistical analysis
- Recommends representative test specimens and monitoring points to assess process stability
- Future scope
- Notes planned extension to thermal, electrical and further physico‑chemical properties in later editions
Practical applications - who uses this standard
- Machine manufacturers - to specify validation and acceptance tests for new AM systems
- Feedstock suppliers - to document powder/filament quality attributes and testing requirements
- AM system users & part providers - to define part qualification, build specimen procedures and process monitoring plans
- Customers / procurement teams - to write purchase specifications and acceptance criteria for AM parts, particularly for safety‑critical or functional components
Related standards
- ISO/ASTM 52900 (fundamentals and vocabulary)
- ISO/ASTM 52909 (orientation & location dependence for metal PBF)
- ISO/ASTM 52915 (AM file format, AMF)
- ISO 17295 (part positioning and orientation)
Keywords: ISO/ASTM 52927:2024, additive manufacturing, AM test methods, feedstock testing, part qualification, process monitoring, AM standards.