The Latest At Valley Forge

The semiannual meeting of F16 was held the week of November 16th in Tampa, Florida. Valley Forge was represented by committee member Glenn Snowberger who attended the main and subcommittee meetings.

ASTM F16 meets to update, review and establish new standards for fasteners. The various subcommittees meet over two (2) days during which ballot results pertaining to the proposed update or new standards are discussed. Any negative ballots from committee members are discussed and resolved, which can lead to a new round of balloting, before the standard is approved.

The closing meeting is the Main Committee Meeting, F16: Mechanical Fasteners. Each subcommittee chair reports on their respective efforts during the review process and any working group results. Of note was the announcement of the earlier approved new standard F3125 was not published in 2015, and will be available from ASTM in 2016. This standard, Specification for High Strength Structural Bolts (replacing A325 & A490), is now being referenced by some purchasers. It must be noted that the two (2) former standards will still remain within ASTM for years to come and will be valid references for purchases. It is recommend that this new standard be obtained and become a part of the Standards Library.

Several notable items from the meeting were as follows.

A dinner meeting honoring and recognizing Joe Greenslades was held on the occasion of his retirement as IFI Technical Director. He has held this position for years in addition to his serving on F16 committees and ISO committees for additional years.

A slate of nominees for Main Committee Officers was announced for the term beginning January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2017. The ballots were sent to all F16 voting members in late November. The results of the voting have yet to be announced.

A special presentation during the F16.96 Bolting Technology meeting was put on by Eric Straus of KEM Plate. It described a new surface treatment process called AmorGalv® which is an updated process of the old British process called Sherardizing. A visit to the Kem Plate website could be rewarding.

The next committee meetings will be held in May 2016.