China has introduced a new set of national standards for metal additive manufacturing, covering key stages of the production and inspection process, including metal feedstocks, laser-based manufacturing, part quality classification, internal defect inspection and personnel qualification.
The State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) and the Standardization Administration of China (SAC) published the standards, which came into effect on August 1, 2026. The standards establish requirements across several areas of metal additive manufacturing, with provisions relevant to quality control and non-destructive testing (NDT).
The new standards cover technologies and materials including laser Directed Energy Deposition (DED), Laser Beam Powder Bed Fusion (PBF-LB), titanium alloys, aluminium alloys and zinc powders. They also introduce requirements for inspection of internal cavities and qualification of personnel involved in metal additive manufacturing coordination.
Standards Address Additive Manufacturing Quality and Inspection
Among the newly effective standards, GB/T 47005-2026 – Technical Specification for Laser Directed Energy Deposition of Titanium Alloy Parts establishes technical requirements for laser DED of titanium alloy components. The standard addresses a domestic gap in the standardisation of large-format aerospace titanium components.
GB/T 47006-2026 – Quality Classification and Testing Requirements for Laser Powder Bed Fusion Metal Parts establishes China's first national grade-based standard for additively manufactured metal parts. It includes thresholds for defects such as pores and cracks, providing a framework for evaluating the quality of metal PBF-LB components.
The introduction of defect-related quality classifications is particularly relevant to NDT and quality inspection, where the detection and assessment of internal discontinuities are essential to determining whether additively manufactured components meet specified requirements.
Internal Cavity Inspection Included in New Standards
Another standard, GB/T 47008-2026 – Industrial Endoscope Inspection Atlas, focuses on internal cavity inspection. It includes more than 100 standard images representing internal cavity defects.
The inspection atlas provides reference material for identifying and evaluating defects observed within internal cavities, adding an inspection-focused element to China's expanding additive manufacturing standards framework.
Material and Powder Requirements
The new standards also address specific metal materials used in additive manufacturing.
GB/T 47084-2026 – Aluminium Alloy Processed by Powder Bed Fusion (PBF-LB) specifies requirements covering classification, material composition, mechanical properties, quality inspection and testing methods for aluminium alloy components produced using PBF-LB.
Meanwhile, GB/T 47094-2026 – Zinc and Zinc-alloy Powder for Additive Manufacturing introduces zinc powder for additive manufacturing into China's national standards system for the first time.
Personnel Qualification Also Addressed
The standards package also includes GB/T 47570-2026 – Qualification of Metal AM Coordination Personnel, establishing qualification requirements for personnel involved in metal additive manufacturing coordination.
The inclusion of personnel qualification alongside material, process and inspection requirements reflects the broad scope of the newly introduced standards across the additive manufacturing process chain.
Additional Aluminium AM Standard Set for September
A further standard, GB/T 47195-2026 – Technical Specification for Additive Manufacturing of Laser Powder Bed Fusion Aluminum Alloy and Its Composite Parts, is scheduled to take effect on September 1, 2026.
Together, the standards establish requirements spanning metal powders, additive manufacturing processes, component quality, defect inspection and personnel qualification. For the NDT sector, provisions covering pores, cracks and internal cavity inspection are particularly relevant to the quality evaluation of metal additive manufacturing components.
Reference: https://www.metal-am.com/china-releases-six-national-additive-manufacturing-standards/
