Why was AN 960 cancelled again?

What?  The AN 960, “Washer, Flat ,” has been cancelled again?  The new Cancellation Notice 2 for the 21st Revision was just released.  Since AN 960 was already cancelled in September 2011, you may be wondering why they decided to cancel it second time.  Good question!  And yes, the publication is still replaced by NAS 1149, “Washer, Flat.”  So there’s nothing to worry about in that department…

NAS 1149 was originally released in 1990 and adopted by the DoD (Department of Defense) in 1992.  At about the same time, the last Revision 21 for AN 960 was released.  And guess what!  The Revision 21 was deemed “inactive for new design” with the direction to use the NAS 1149 for all new projects (a substitution in all applications.)

So actually the cancellation of AN 960 in 2011 was a transitional cancellation — It still allowed for the use of existing stock until that stock was deleted.  However, a number of years have passed since then.  So the new Cancellation Notice 2 no longer contains that “depletion of existing stock” language.

Instead, the new notice 2 contains the cross-reference tables to help you identify the original AN 960 PIN (Part or identifying numbers) and match it to the replacement NAS 1149 PIN.  It appears to be the same information as before, just without that “escape clause” regarding the use of material that was made to the old specifications.

You can think of this new cancellation notice as “closing the loop.”  It finally completes the transition from one document to the other, and from a now-obsolete air force-navy drawing to an industry specification.

How to get copies of either the AN 960 or the NAS 1149?  Head straight to Document Center Inc.  Our webstore is at www.document-center.com and enables you to order government and industry specifications from one location, as well as both current and obsolete documents.  Here is a link to the order page for AN 960 and a link to the order page for NAS 1149.

And if you have questions, just get in touch with us.  You know, there are very few knowledgeable resources for standards users.  But that is one of the primary missions of Document Center Inc. — to help our customers become informed users of compliance and regulatory information.  So reach out to Document Center by phone (650-591-7600) or email (info@document-center.com) when you need help.  We’re your Standards Experts!

New NAS 1149 Revision 1 released for Flat Washers

NAS 1149 Revision 1, “Washer, Flat,” has just been released and is available now from Document Center Inc.  The National Aerospace Standard replaced the AN 960 back in 2011 (see our blog posting on the AN 960 cancellation).  This is the first revision of the NAS document since it’s release.

The specification itself, along with NASM 15795 (previously MS 15795), is one of the most popular drawings on flat washers.  It was originally formulated by the Army and Navy to standardize fasteners being used on military equipment.

Both documents were transferred to an industry association as a result of MIL Spec reform.  This reflects both the desire of the military to get out of the spec writing business and the usefulness of both documents to industry in general.

The two specs call out the same material – a 300 series stainless with passivation. The differences are found in the manufacturing tolerances and dimension traits. The NASM 15795 has the largest outside and hole diameters.  The NAS 1149 has a smaller outer diameter, and a tight tolerance on the inner diameter as well as the thickness.

Current and obsolete NAS, NASM, and MS documents are all available from Document Center Inc. at our web store, www.document-center.com.  Or you may contact us by phone (650-591-7600), fax (650-591-7617) or email (info@document-center.com).  We have worked with these documents since the 1980’s and can provide you with the expert service and support you need for your compliance collections.