What ever happened to MIL-STD-2154, Inspection, Ultrasonic, Wrought Metals, Process for? Actually, the standard was picked up by SAE International. It was renumbered AMS-STD-2154 and has been an active standard ever since. Since the AMS-STD-2154 has just been updated to a new Revision C, let’s take a look at the history.
MIL-STD-2154 was an important metals standard provided for defining uniform methods for ultrasonic examination of wrought metals and wrought metal products. It was originally released in 1982. The transition from the MIL-STD-2154 to the AMS-STD-2154 has been a rocky one. Here’s what happened:
SAE first published the AMS-STD-2154 in 1998. It was identical to the original MIL-STD-2154 from 1992. However, the MIL-STD-2154 was only withdrawn by the DoD in 2004. So for a while the two standards lived concurrently. This was a confusing situation that occurred more than once. Industry associations assumed that certain military publications were going to be cancelled. In response, they developed identical industry documents. However, for what ever reason, cancellation of the military spec or standard didn’t happen.
Since the original MIL-STD-2154 Cancellation Notice in 2004, there have been an additional 2 cancellations. The Notice 2 was released in 2008 and the Notice 3 was released in 2009. Cancellation Notice 2 directed Military procurement officers to use the ASTM-E2375 instead of the AMS-STD-2154. The Cancellation Notice 3 allows for the use of both the AMS and ASTM documents.
In the meantime, the AMS-STD-2154 has been undergoing changes. Revision A was released in 2012 and Revision B in February of 2017. However, there were errors in Revision B and SAE International retracted the update. Now, with the release of Revision C, the document has been corrected.
What was the problem? Some of the paragraphs in Revision B were mis-numbered. Since Revision C is the correct update, changes from Revision A are still noted with the black lines in the margins. This will help you identify areas where revisions may impact your processes.
Another thing to note is that the AMS-STD-2154 replaces not only the MIL-STD-2154 but also the MIL-I-8950. So you can see that the publication has become a staple for this type of ultrasonic inspection.
Now to get a copy. SAE International standards are covered by copyright and must be purchased from an authorized distributor like Document Center Inc. You can search for and order these standards at our webstore, www.document-center.com. Here is a direct link to the order page for AMS-STD-2154. Want to look at the history of the Mil Standard? Here’s our history page for the MIL-STD-2154.
SAE International standards are available in both paper format and for pdf download. If you have questions about how to use these copyright documents correctly, please get in touch with us. We can be reached by phone (650-591-7600) and/or email (info@document-center.com). We have been working with standards since 1982. Our staff is a knowledgeable resource for your organization. Make us your Standards Experts!
