Selecting metal materials — Designation

Metals and metal alloys have been successively given several designations, the result of an effort by the partners concerned (producers, distributors, users, administrators, scientific and technical bodies, etc.) to adopt a common language that can be legally sanctioned in economic life.

Technical centers such as the Centre technique des industries mécaniques (Cetim), the Office technique pour l'utilisation de l'acier (Otua), the Association française de normalisation (Afnor) and standardization offices specializing in metals and mechanical engineering (cf. ) are the necessary sources of complete information on standardized designations. They should be referred to for accurate and up-to-date information.

Here, we simply review the main designations of the main metal alloys, taking into account the changes introduced in the 1990s by the European standardization effort.