EN 10204 Material Test Certificates: 2.1, 2.2, 3.1 and 3.2 Explained
EN 10204 certificates
Export customers and large OEMs rarely ask for "a test certificate". They ask for an EN 10204 3.1. EN 10204 is the European standard that defines the types of inspection documents a manufacturer supplies with metallic products. The type is agreed in the order, and each type promises something different.
The four document types
| Type | Document | Test results? | Validated by |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2.1 | Declaration of compliance with the order | No | Manufacturer |
| 2.2 | Test report | Yes, from non-specific inspection | Manufacturer |
| 3.1 | Inspection certificate 3.1 | Yes, from specific inspection | Manufacturer's authorised inspection representative, independent of the manufacturing department |
| 3.2 | Inspection certificate 3.2 | Yes, from specific inspection | Manufacturer's independent representative and the purchaser's representative or an inspector named by official regulations |
Specific vs non-specific inspection
Non-specific means the results come from products made by the same process, not necessarily the lot you are delivering. Specific means the tests were carried out on the products supplied, or on test units from the same lot. That is why a 3.1 must tie results to the delivered heat.
Old names you may still see
The 1991 edition used 3.1.A, 3.1.B, 3.1.C and 3.2. The 2004 edition simplified them: 3.1.B became 3.1, and 3.1.A, 3.1.C and the old 3.2 were merged into the new 3.2. Some customer drawings still say "3.1.B"; in practice they mean today's 3.1.
What a 3.1 certificate for castings usually contains
- Manufacturer and purchaser, purchase order number and certificate number
- Part number, description and quantity
- Material grade and the standard it is specified to, for example IS 210 FG 260, IS 1865 SG 500/7 or ASTM A216 WCB
- Heat number, linking every result to the melt
- Chemical composition from the spectrometer, shown against the specification limits
- Mechanical properties as specified: tensile strength, yield or proof strength, elongation, hardness
- Microstructure where required, such as nodularity for SG iron
- Heat treatment condition, and NDT results if the order calls for them
- A statement of compliance, the date, and the signature of the authorised inspection representative
Always check the customer's own specification as well: many add fields of their own.
Mistakes that get certificates rejected
- Retyped values. Spectro readings copied by hand into a Word or Excel template are the most common source of errors.
- Wrong heat. Results from a different heat, or a heat number that doesn't match the casting marking.
- Missing limits. Results printed without the specification range, so the customer can't see compliance at a glance.
- Wrong signatory. For 3.1, the representative must be independent of production. A production supervisor's signature doesn't qualify.
Generating MTCs in ICAST
With SpectroConnect and LabConnect, ICAST reads chemical and mechanical results directly from the spectrometer and lab equipment and stores them against the heat. Material test certificates are generated in a few clicks from those recorded values, so nothing is retyped and every certificate traces back to its heat.
This article is a practical summary for foundry teams. For contractual questions, refer to the text of EN 10204 and your customer's specification.
