Mechanical Engineering

The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) defines a standard as "a set of technical definitions, instructions, rules, guidelines, or characteristics set forth to provide consistent and comparable results, including:

Items manufactured uniformly, providing for interchangeability
Tests and analyses conducted reliably, minimizing the uncertainty of the results
Facilities designed and constructed for safe operation."

Learn about the importance of standards from these short readings: 

Standards Overview from NIST -- the National Institute of Standards and Technology

What are standards? Why are they important? From the IEEE Standards Association. 

Many organizations create standards -- IEEE and ASTM are two important standards organizations for mechanical engineering students to know about. Government agencies such as NASA and the military also develop standards. Some standards are easy to obtain -- others are more difficult. If you need help finding a standard, ask a librarian. 

What are ASTM standards? Watch an informational video Celebrating 125 years of ASTM International to learn about ASTM's history and position in the standards community.

How can you get started searching ASTM Compass? Watch Search and Features in Documents on ASTM's video tutorials page.

How do you cite standards using APA style? 
 

Follow this basic format: 

Standards organization (Year). Standard name (standard number). Publisher. DOI or URL

Example: 

American Society for Testing Materials (2022). Standard specification for eye protective devices for paintball sports (F-1776-22). ASTM International. DOI: 10.1520/F1776-22.

Consult ISO Standard References (from the APA) for more information and examples.