Engineering · Standards & Glossary
Standards, specs & glossary.
The acronyms, spec families, and standards bodies you'll see on aerospace, medical, and defense drawings — what each one means and when it applies.
01 · Quality systems
The QMS standards behind every aerospace order.
Customers don’t just buy parts — they buy parts under a quality management system. AS9100 (aerospace), ISO 13485 (medical devices), and ISO 9001 (general) are the dominant frameworks. We hold both ISO 9001 and AS9100 — flow-down requirements ride on every PO.
ISO 9001
Quality Management Systems
International baseline QMS standard. Process documentation, corrective action, internal audits. AS9100 is built on top of this.
AS9100
Aerospace Quality Management Systems
ISO 9001 + aerospace-specific requirements (configuration management, FOD prevention, risk management, product safety). Required by virtually all aerospace primes.
AS9102
First Article Inspection (FAI)
Aerospace standard for documenting first-article inspection — Forms 1 (part identification), 2 (raw material/process), 3 (characteristic accountability).
ISO 13485
Medical Device QMS
Medical-device equivalent of AS9100. Adds traceability, sterilization control, and biocompatibility requirements. Required for surgical-instrument and implant work.
Nadcap
Aerospace Special Process Accreditation
Industry-managed accreditation for special processes — heat treat, NDT, chemical processing, welding. Required when the prime mandates Nadcap-approved subcontractors.
ITAR Registered
International Traffic in Arms Reg.
Registered with U.S. Department of State DDTC for handling defense articles. Not a quality standard per se but commonly bundled with QMS audits.
02 · Material spec bodies
Where the property numbers come from.
| Spec body | Origin | Applies to | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| AMS | SAE Aerospace Material Spec | Aerospace metals, fasteners, processes | AMS 4928 — Ti-6Al-4V bar, annealed |
| ASTM | American Society for Testing & Materials | Cross-industry — metals, plastics, ceramics | ASTM B348 — titanium bar, billet, wire |
| MIL-DTL / MIL-STD | U.S. Military detail/standard | Defense procurement | MIL-DTL-5541 — chemical conversion coatings |
| AISI / SAE | American Iron & Steel Institute / SAE | Carbon and alloy steels | AISI 4140 — Cr-Mo alloy steel |
| UNS | Unified Numbering System | Cross-reference for all metals | UNS S31603 = AISI 316L stainless |
| ISO | International Organization for Standardization | International equivalents | ISO 5832-3 — wrought Ti-6Al-4V for surgical implants |
| DIN / EN | European standards | European equivalents | EN AW-6061 = ASTM 6061-T6 aluminum |
| FDA / USP | U.S. food & pharma compliance | Food contact, medical implant | USP Class VI — pharma contact materials |
Drawings often invoke multiple specs simultaneously. The AMS spec defines the alloy, an ASTM spec covers the form, and a MIL spec might call out testing and certification. We supply CMTRs traceable to the strictest spec invoked.
03 · Export control
ITAR vs EAR: which regulates your part?
U.S. export control divides products and technical data into two systems: ITAR covers explicitly defense articles (anything on the U.S. Munitions List). EAR covers dual-use commercial items (commerce regulated, often less strict). Knowing which applies determines how customers can share drawings with us — and who can work on the parts.
ITAR
International Traffic in Arms Regulations
22 CFR 120-130. Administered by U.S. Department of State, Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC). Covers defense articles, defense services, and related technical data on the U.S. Munitions List (USML).
- ·Manufacturer must be registered with DDTC
- ·Technical data sharing with foreign persons requires license
- ·Export of defense articles requires authorization (DSP-5 license or exemption)
- ·Penalties: $1M per violation, criminal liability
EAR
Export Administration Regulations
15 CFR 730-774. Administered by U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS). Covers commercial and dual-use items on the Commerce Control List (CCL).
- ·Items classified by ECCN (Export Control Classification Number)
- ·License requirements vary by destination + end-use + end-user
- ·Most commercial items don’t require export license to allied countries
- ·EAR99 designation = baseline non-controlled commercial
04 · Defense procurement
Clauses you'll see in DoD contracts.
DFARS
Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement
DoD's supplement to FAR. The clauses define how DoD buys things: domestic specialty metals (DFARS 252.225-7008), supply chain risk (252.239-7017), and many more.
DFARS 252.204-7012
Safeguarding Covered Defense Information
The cybersecurity clause. Requires NIST SP 800-171 compliance for protecting CUI on contractor systems. Foundational for CMMC requirements.
DPAS
Defense Priorities and Allocations System
Priority-rated DoD contracts. DX rated = top priority, DO rated = standard priority. Suppliers must accept rated orders ahead of unrated commercial.
CMMC
Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification
DoD program that certifies contractor cybersecurity. Levels 1-3 with corresponding NIST 800-171 controls. Required for handling CUI in DoD supply chain.
Berry / Buy American
Domestic content rules
Buy American Act / DFARS 252.225 require domestic-origin specialty metals (and food, fabric, hand tools). Origin certification flows down with the PO.
Specialty Metals (DFARS)
Domestic melt requirement
DFARS 252.225-7008/9 limits the source of specialty metals (titanium, certain alloy steels, Inconel) to U.S. or qualifying countries. Verify at PO time.
05 · Drawing standards
GD&T symbols and what they mean.
ASME Y14.5 is the U.S. drawing standard for geometric dimensioning and tolerancing. ISO 1101 is the international equivalent — most concepts map but call-out style differs. The 14 GD&T symbols and their applications:
Key: Form (4) · Profile (2) · Orientation (3) · Location (3) · Runout (2) — 14 symbols grouped by what they control.
| Symbol | Type | Name | Controls |
|---|---|---|---|
| ⏤ | Form | Straightness | Linear deviation along an axis or surface line |
| ⏥ | Form | Flatness | Surface variation from an ideal plane |
| ○ | Form | Circularity | Round cross-section deviation |
| ⌭ | Form | Cylindricity | Combined roundness + straightness along axis |
| ⌒ | Profile | Profile of a line | Cross-sectional shape deviation |
| ⌓ | Profile | Profile of a surface | 3D surface deviation from ideal shape |
| ⊥ | Orientation | Perpendicularity | 90° relationship to a datum |
| // | Orientation | Parallelism | Parallel relationship to a datum |
| ∠ | Orientation | Angularity | Specified angle to a datum |
| ⌖ | Location | Position | Where a feature sits relative to datums |
| ◎ | Location | Concentricity | Median points coincide with datum axis (Y14.5-2018: removed; ISO retains) |
| ⌯ | Location | Symmetry | Median plane coincides with datum (Y14.5-2018: removed; ISO retains) |
| ↗ | Runout | Circular runout | Combined deviation as feature rotates |
| ⌰ | Runout | Total runout | Combined runout across the full feature length |
ASME Y14.5
U.S. dimensioning and tolerancing standard. Latest version: Y14.5-2018. Most aerospace and defense work invokes this.
ISO 1101 / 8015
International equivalent for geometric tolerancing. Different default datum-feature interpretation than Y14.5 — verify which applies.
ASME Y14.100
Engineering drawing practices. Title block, line types, projection conventions. The general 'how to draw a drawing' standard.
06 · Glossary
Acronyms you'll see.
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