November 2025: Key Manufacturing Engineering Standards Released

Staying competitive and compliant in today’s fast-evolving manufacturing sector requires an up-to-date understanding of the latest standards. November 2025 brings five significant new and revised standards for manufacturing engineering, covering pivotal developments in welding qualification, additive manufacturing for aerospace and ceramics, and new specifications for protective coatings. These updates shape how companies approach quality, safety, and innovation, reflecting global advances in process rigor and material technology.

Overview / Introduction

Manufacturing engineering plays a central role in modern industry, underpinning everything from automotive and aerospace production to precision ceramics and coated components. Standards in this sector provide not only the basis for interoperability and safety but also the competitive edge needed for market success.

In this article, we review five newly published international standards released in November 2025. You’ll gain insight into their scopes, technical requirements, compliance impacts, and implementation guidance. Whether you’re a quality manager, compliance officer, engineer, or procurement specialist, these updates will help inform your operational and strategic decisions in manufacturing.

Detailed Standards Coverage

EN ISO 15614-11:2025 – Specification and Qualification of Welding Procedures for Metallic Materials: Electron and Laser Beam Welding

Specification and qualification of welding procedures for metallic materials – Welding procedure test – Part 11: Electron and laser beam welding (ISO 15614-11:2025)

This international standard defines detailed requirements for qualifying welding procedure specifications (WPSs) that use electron or laser beam processes, applicable to all metallic materials regardless of geometry, thickness, or initial manufacturing route. Both the production of new elements and repair work are covered, providing a framework for robust process control across diverse industrial settings.

Key requirements include: preparation of preliminary WPS (pWPS), standardized execution of welding procedure tests, and rigorous examination/testing regime. Clause 8 meticulously defines the essential variables governing qualification validity (e.g., material grades, joining geometry, welding type, position, heat treatment, and more). Comprehensive testing—both non-destructive and destructive—is mandated, including tensile, bend, toughness, and hardness tests, along with metallographic examination. Importantly, ISO 15614-11:2025 is harmonized with the latest EU Pressure Equipment and Simple Pressure Vessels Directives, ensuring streamlined regulatory compliance and market access.

Industries covered span automotive, aerospace, shipbuilding, energy equipment, and advanced manufacturing—anywhere high-quality beam welding is relied upon. Implementation brings clarity and repeatability to complex welding operations, reducing defects, and supporting traceable process qualification.

Significantly, the 2025 edition updates normative references, strengthens alignment with regulatory requirements, and clarifies ranges of qualification for various variables.

Key highlights:

• Applies to all electron and laser beam welding for metallic materials, including repair work
• Mandates a structured set of destructive and non-destructive tests for qualification
• Strengthened interface with EU legal requirements

Access the full standard:View EN ISO 15614-11:2025 on iTeh Standards

EN ISO/ASTM 52967:2025 – Additive Manufacturing for Aerospace: Part Classifications for Aviation

Additive manufacturing for aerospace – General principles – Part classifications for additive manufactured parts used in aviation (ISO/ASTM 52967:2024)

As additive manufacturing (AM) matures within the aerospace sector, consistent part classification is critical for safety, reliability, and regulatory alignment. EN ISO/ASTM 52967:2025 introduces a comprehensive methodology for classifying AM parts used in aviation according to the consequence of failure principle. This standard applies to all aviation AM technologies defined in ISO/ASTM 52900 and serves as a risk metric framework for use in downstream specifications, procurement processes, testing, qualification, inspection, and certification.

Crucially, the standard does not set detailed process criteria but provides a harmonized risk-based classification system. This allows engineers, regulators, and certification bodies to communicate consistently about the risk implications of part failure, supporting informed decision-making from design through lifecycle management. The metric established can also be adopted outside of AM, promoting broader risk-management best practices.

Industry stakeholders include aerospace OEMs, maintenance, repair & overhaul (MRO) providers, certification specialists, and supply chain managers. Adoption ensures streamlined risk communication, effective regulatory submissions, and robust supply chain quality control.

The new classification scheme aligns with existing aerospace safety standards and regulatory guidance (including MIL-STD-882, NASA-STD-6030, AWS D20, and key FAA and EASA documents), creating a unique bridge between ISO/ASTM and government or industry frameworks.

Key highlights:

• Establishes uniform consequence-of-failure part class metric for AM in aviation
• Applies across all recognized aviation AM processes and materials
• Supports consistent risk assessment for design, procurement, and certification

Access the full standard:View EN ISO/ASTM 52967:2025 on iTeh Standards

EN ISO 2081:2025 – Electroplated Zinc Coatings on Iron and Steel Treated with Chromium (VI)

Metallic and other inorganic coatings – Electroplated coatings on iron and steel using zinc treated with solutions containing chromium (VI) (ISO 2081:2025)

This revision defines updated requirements for the production and performance of zinc electroplated coatings with hexavalent chromium treatments on iron and steel articles, focusing on decorative and protective functions. It details all essential and supplementary information that must be supplied by purchasers to electroplaters, sets out heat treatment requirements and testing protocols (including neutral salt spray tests for corrosion resistance), and provides complete designation codes for various treatments and base materials.

Notably, this standard excludes non-fabricated forms (sheet, strip, wire) and close-coiled springs, targeting fabricated components that demand enhanced corrosion protection or improved aesthetics. The new edition also updates sampling practices, aligns with REACH regulation provisions, and clarifies how conversion coatings affect final performance. Threaded component coating dimensions are explicitly addressed, with strong emphasis on the synergy between coating thickness and fit requirements.

This update is especially relevant for manufacturers, coating contractors, and procurement specialists in automotive, electronics, construction, and heavy machinery sectors.

Key highlights:

• Specifies mandatory and optional purchaser-to-supplier info exchanges
• Establishes requirements for pre- and post-plating heat treatments and accelerated corrosion tests
• Harmonizes with latest REACH requirements and clarifies use cases for hexavalent chromium

Access the full standard:View EN ISO 2081:2025 on iTeh Standards

EN ISO/ASTM 52940:2025 – Additive Manufacturing of Ceramics: Characterization of Ceramic Slurry in Vat Photopolymerization

Additive manufacturing of ceramics – Feedstock materials – Characterization of ceramic slurry in vat photopolymerization (ISO/ASTM 52940:2025)

This groundbreaking standard addresses the growing deployment of ceramic additive manufacturing (AM) using vat photopolymerization. It lays out precise requirements for the sampling and characterization of ceramic slurry feedstocks, determining the foundation for print quality, structural integrity, and repeatable performance in advanced ceramic parts.

Core requirements include verifying solids content, measuring dynamic viscosity, analyzing particle size distribution, assessing chemical composition of ceramic powders, and evaluating solid dispersion stability. The standard sets out procedures for representative sampling and lab test preparation, with guidance on handling batch-to-batch variation. Detailed references to ISO and ASTM test methods are provided to standardize property measurement across the industry.

This standard applies to ceramic AM developers, production engineers, materials scientists, and anyone responsible for supply chain quality in the ceramics sector. It ensures that vat photopolymerization processes can deliver predictable, specification-compliant parts by focusing on the most critical feedstock attributes.

Key highlights:

• Defines consistent methods for characterizing ceramic slurry feedstock in vat photopolymerization
• Addresses solids content, viscocity, particle size, chemistry, and dispersion benchmarks
• Provides methodologies for sampling and for preparing test samples

Access the full standard:View EN ISO/ASTM 52940:2025 on iTeh Standards

ISO 11970:2025 – Specification and Qualification of Welding Procedures for Production Welding of Steel and Nickel-Base Castings

Specification and qualification of welding procedures for production welding of steel and nickel-base castings

This updated ISO standard delineates the process for qualifying welding procedure specifications (WPS) specific to production welding of steel and nickel-base castings via arc welding, with extension to other fusion welding processes by agreement. It stipulates the full process from the creation of a preliminary WPS through to executing, examining, and validating test pieces. There are explicit protocols for destructive and non-destructive testing (including tensile, macro/micro examination, impact, and hardness tests), and robust guidance for defining qualification ranges based on critical process variables.

ISO 11970:2025 supports manufacturers and foundries producing safety- and performance-critical cast components, particularly in the power generation, petrochemical, heavy machinery, and infrastructure sectors. The standard clarifies the limits of validity for procedure qualification, ensuring conformity across the entire production lifecycle, and now aligns with the latest reference standards for improved international acceptance.

Key highlights:

• Applies to all arc welding on steel and nickel-base castings
• Formalizes test-piece specification, execution, inspection, and qualification documentation
• Updated references and clarified guidance on test types and procedures

Access the full standard:View ISO 11970:2025 on iTeh Standards

Industry Impact & Compliance

The publication of these five standards signals a coordinated move toward higher quality and greater process control across the manufacturing engineering field. Companies are required to:

• Align production and quality documentation to new qualification procedures for welding and additive processes
• Update procurement and material specifications to reflect latest coating and part classification guidelines
• Ensure supply chain traceability and testing protocols are harmonized with international requirements

For organizations operating in regulated markets (e.g., aviation, automotive, pressure equipment), early adoption offers a significant advantage: reduced risk of non-conformity, smoother regulatory audits, and improved customer trust. Non-compliance, conversely, can result in production delays, lost certifications, product recalls, and legal liabilities.

Timelines for compliance are defined on a per-standard and per-region basis but proactive transition planning is strongly recommended—conduct gap analyses, retrain staff, and update technical files promptly.

Technical Insights

Several technical themes unite these standards:

• Comprehensive Qualification Testing: Both welding and AM qualification standards stress structured, repeatable approaches to test planning, execution, and results documentation.
• Material Characterization and Environmental Controls: Detailed characterization of feedstocks, coatings, and conversion treatments ensures that only suitable materials enter the production process, minimizing variability and enhancing end-product reliability.
• Risk-Based Classification: Especially for aerospace, systems like the part classification metric streamline risk-informed decision-making throughout design and production hierarchies.
• Testing and Certification Best Practices: Emphasis is placed on destructive and non-destructive testing, environmental testing (e.g., corrosion), and record-keeping for traceability.

Implementation best practices:

1. Map current procedures against new requirements for each standard.
2. Update internal documentation, procedures, and training programs.
3. Validate compliance through in-house or third-party audits.
4. Engage with supply chain partners to ensure alignment on specification, testing, and quality criteria.

Conclusion / Next Steps

The November 2025 release of these critical standards marks a step forward in the evolution of manufacturing engineering. Their adoption underpins safer, more reliable products and unlocks efficiencies for compliant, agile organizations—whether you’re producing high-integrity welds, qualifying advanced AM parts, or applying next-generation coatings.

Key takeaways:

• Implement process updates as soon as possible to leverage the competitive edge and compliance benefits.
• Ensure all stakeholders—from engineers to procurement—are familiar with the new requirements.
• Explore the full texts and related documents via iTeh Standards to support successful adoption.

Stay tuned for our next article in this four-part series, covering additional manufacturing engineering standards released this month. For complete access to all standards and industry news, visit standards.iteh.ai.