The NAS Parts Library

The NAS library is a set of over 1400 active standards managed by the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA). One of the sets of standards focuses on the development and maintenance of component specifications known as the NAS parts library. The NAS parts library contains specs for parts designed for use in high-stress environments.

AIA NAS parts library standards ensure parts used in aircraft and high-stress environments won’t fail at critical points. In other words, the NAS standards make sure the landing gear on your next flight doesn’t fall apart when you land at your destination. Thank you, AIA!

A common misconception is that the NAS component standards only contain fasteners. In fact, there is a wide variety of parts available in the standard. Besides fasteners, there are clamps, buckles, clips, and bushings, to name a few.

Here is a summary of the NAS part library from AIA’s website:

The NAS parts are most well-known for state-of-the-art, high strength, precision fasteners, electrical connectors, splices and terminations, rod end bearings, and many other types of hardware and components.

What is Aerospace Industries Association (AIA)

The Aerospace Industries Association or AIA is a non-profit trade association that brings together leaders in the aerospace industry to advocate for industry issues. AIA has been advocating on behalf of the aerospace industry since 1919.

One key role AIA plays in the industry is to convene committees to develop and maintain the National Aerospace Standards or NAS library.

The NAS library is an aerospace and defense Industry Standard.

What is an Industry Standard? Click here to find out.

How to get access to the NAS Parts Library

AIA partners with IHS Markit to offer a subscription to the standards. Your company can purchase the standards PDFs by visiting their website.

Gaining access to the standards is one thing; getting engineers to use the correct standards actively is another. The challenge with the PDF standards is that someone must create a 3D CAD model of each part available in the standard. Companies will often have the entire library modeled or opt to only model portions of the standards library.

Many government projects and even private industry projects require the use of the standards. Choosing to ignore the standards or use outdated versions of the standards at best leads to delays in the project, and at worst, leads to litigation from equipment malfunction. The standards are continually updated, which makes it challenging to ensure constant compliance for companies that create CAD libraries based on the standards specs for themselves.

AIA recognizes the challenge companies face when creating their own standards CAD library. Because of this, AIA partnered with IHS Markit and PARTsolutions to create certified 3D CAD models of the entire NAS parts library.

The NAS Parts Library certified 3D models are available for consumption in three ways:

IHS Markit’s Engineering Workbench
PARTS4CAD direct CAD plugin (Inventor, CREO, Solid Works, Solid Edge)
PARTsolutions Desktop + plugin (All major CAD + PLM + ERP Integrations)

To find out more about getting access to the standards and the 3D CAD models, click on the “Learn more about digital standards” link and fill out the form in the sidebar.