ASTM Standards and Their Referencing in MasterSpec

by Michael J. King, FCSI, CCS, ARCOM Vice President of Engineering Specifications

You may have noticed three different styles for referencing ASTM International (ASTM) reference standards in MasterSpec. One style has ASTM references with the metric standard in the SI format; EX: ASTM A 325 (ASTM A 325M). Another style appears to be part of the standard designation; EX: ASTM A 283/A 283M. And yet another style has no metric reference in the standard designation; EX: ASTM A 500. What is the distinction, you may wonder.

ASTM has two different methods of managing the SI metric issues. For some of their standards, they have created a separate, but identical (except for units of measure) standard. The second method in which ASTM manages the metric issue is to update or create a new standard that has both units of measure in it. An example of two separate standards is the standards for copper tubing.

ASTM B 88-03: Specification for Seamless Copper Water Tube ASTM B 88M-05: Specification for Seamless Copper Water Tube [Metric]

In the above case, we present these two separate standards as alternatives like we do for the actual units of measure in the MasterSpec Section. Plus, for these two standards (and this happens more often than not), there are varying choices between them. For example, three "Types" of copper tubes exist, which mainly have to do with the wall thickness. Types K, L, and M are in the IP version; Types A, B, and C are in the SI metric version. We present these two standards as follows: ASTM B 88, Type K (ASTM B 88M, Type A).

The different colors represent character styles that we put on each unit of measure and each version of these types of standards. Depending on your project, you may use our Masterworks tools to elect to eliminate IP or SI units and standards references or to change the order of their presentation.

In the ASTM A 325 example, there are two separate standards. Note the variation in the titles. There may be hidden choices with these two standards that are different.

ASTM A 325-09: Specification for Structural Bolts, Steel, Heat Treated, 120/105 ksi Minimum Tensile Strength

ASTM A 325M-09: Specification for Structural Bolts, Steel, Heat Treated 830 MPa Minimum Tensile Strength [Metric]

An example of an ASTM that has both IP and SI units of measure included is ASTM B 36/B 36M-08: Specification for Brass Plate, Sheet, Strip, and Rolled Bar. In this case, a single standard has both units of measure included in it. ARCOM presents this type of standard in MasterSpec as a single standard without character styles, because regardless of whether your project is in IP or SI units of measure, this same standard designation applies. Caution: Because the IP and SI values in the standard are not exactly equivalent, your designs may be affected. So carefully study these standards to know what affect going from IP to SI, or vice versa, may have on your designs when referencing these types of standards.

In the case where there is no metric standard, we present only the IP standard because it is usually the only applicable standard (as in the ASTM A 500 example elsewhere above). ASTM standards are all considered U.S. standards whether or not they have metric references and units in them.

Our style and presentation conventions are deliberately selected and employed and consider industry-standard editorial guidance, such as the Chicago Manual of Style and other prominent resources. Often there are options with style manuals and standards from which to choose, so ARCOM selects among these with an objective of brevity. We try to maintain consistency and accuracy within the MasterSpec library of Sections. We also strive for technical accuracy. Note that these standards are constantly being revised, updated, and superseded or withdrawn. When editing MasterSpec for a project specification, you must review these standards to verify that they apply to the particular requirements of your project and that nothing has changed since the master specification was last updated.