ASTM: American Society for Testing and Materials, formerly known as the International Association for Testing and Materials. In the 1880s, in order to resolve the opinions and differences between buyers and suppliers in the process of purchasing and selling industrial materials, some people proposed to establish a technical committee system, which would organize representatives from all aspects to participate in technical seminars to discuss and resolve disputes regarding material specifications, test procedures, etc. The first meeting of IATM was held in Europe in 1882, at which a working committee was formed.
ANSI: American National Standards Institute, founded in 1918. At that time, many companies and professional technical groups in the United States had begun standardization work, but there was no coordination between them, and there were many contradictions and problems. In order to further improve efficiency, hundreds of scientific societies, associations and groups believed that it was necessary to establish a special standardization organization and formulate unified general standards.
API: The English abbreviation of the American Petroleum Institute. API was established in 1919 and is the first national business association in the United States. It is also one of the earliest and most successful chambers of commerce in the world to formulate standards.
Respective responsibilities
ASTM is mainly engaged in the formulation of standards for the characteristics and performance of materials, products, systems and services, and dissemination of relevant knowledge. The formulation of ASTM standards is the responsibility of technical committees, and is drafted by standard working groups. Although ASTM standards are standards formulated by non-official academic groups, ASTM standards are currently published in 15 categories and volumes. The standard classification and volume are as follows:
Classification:
(1) Steel products
(2) Non-ferrous metals
(3) Metal material test methods and decomposition procedures
(4) Construction materials
(5) Petroleum products, lubricants and mineral fuels
(6) Paints, related coatings and aromatic compounds
(7) Textiles and materials
(8) Plastics
(9) Rubber
(10) Electrical insulators and electronic products
(11) Water and environmental technology
(12) Nuclear power, solar energy
(13) Medical equipment and services
(14) Instruments and general test methods
(15) General industrial products, special chemicals and consumables
ANSI: American National Standards Institute is a non-profit private standards group. But it has actually become the national standardization center; standardization activities from all walks of life are carried out around it. Through it, the relevant systems of the municipal government and the private system cooperate with each other, playing the role of a bridge between the federal government and the private standardization system. It coordinates and guides national standardization activities, provides assistance to standard formulation, research and use units, and provides domestic standardization information. It also plays the role of an administrative agency.
The American National Standards Institute itself rarely formulates standards. The preparation of its ANSI standards mainly adopts the following three methods:
1. The relevant units are responsible for drafting, inviting experts or professional groups to vote, and the results are reviewed and approved by the standard review committee established by ANSI. This method is called the voting survey method.
2. The draft standard is drafted by representatives of the technical committee of ANSI and the committee organized by other institutions, and all members vote, and finally the standard committee members vote, and finally the standard review committee reviews and approves it. This method is called the committee method.
3. From the standards formulated by various professional associations and associations, the more mature ones that are generally important to the whole country will be promoted to national standards (ANSI) after review by ANSI technical committees and given ANSI standard codes and classification numbers, but the original professional standard codes will be retained at the same time.
Most of the standards of the American National Standards Institute come from various professional standards. On the other hand, various professional associations and associations can also formulate certain product standards based on existing national standards. Of course, they can also formulate their own association standards without following national standards. ANSI standards are adopted voluntarily. The United States believes that mandatory standards may limit productivity improvements. However, standards cited by laws and formulated by government departments are generally mandatory standards.
ASME: Mainly engaged in the development of science and technology in mechanical engineering and related fields, encouraging basic research, promoting academic exchanges, developing cooperation with other engineering and associations, carrying out standardization activities, and formulating mechanical specifications and standards. Since its establishment, ASME has led the development of mechanical standards, starting from the initial thread standards to now have developed more than 600 standards. The Boiler Machinery Directive Committee was established in 1911, and the Machinery Directive was promulgated in 1914-1915. Later, the directive was combined with the laws of various states and Canada. ASME has become a world-class engineering institution mainly in the fields of technology, education and investigation.
API: It is a standard-setting organization recognized by ANSI. Its standard setting follows the coordination and formulation procedures of ANSI. API also jointly formulates and publishes standards with ASTM. API standards are widely used. They are not only adopted by domestic enterprises and cited by US federal and state laws and regulations, as well as government agencies such as the Department of Transportation, the Department of Defense, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the US Customs, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the US Geological Survey, but also cited by ISO, the International Legal Metrology Organization, and more than 100 national standards worldwide.
Differences and connections
These four standards complement each other and draw on each other. For example, the standards adopted by ASME in terms of materials are all from ASTM, the standards in terms of valves are mostly from API, and the standards in terms of pipe fittings are from ANSI. The difference lies in the different focuses of the industries in which they are located, so the standards adopted are different. API, ASTM, and ASME are all members of ASNI.
Most of the standards of the American National Standards Institute come from various professional standards. On the other hand, various professional societies and associations can also formulate certain product standards based on existing national standards. Of course, they can also formulate their own association standards according to different national standards.
ASME does not do specific work. The experiments and formulation work are almost all completed by ANSI and ASMT. ASME only recognizes the specifications for its own use. Therefore, it is often seen that repeated standard numbers actually have the same content.
