Knowledge base
Knowledge Base
Plain-language guides to reading federal identifiers and Military Standard hardware, written for the buyer holding a drawing, a torn label, or an old assembly.
Identifiers
- How to Read a National Stock Number — How the 13-digit National Stock Number is built — the 4-digit Federal Supply Classification and the 9-digit National Item Identification Number — and how it differs from a manufacturer part number.
- MS, AN, NAS, and NASM Part Numbers — A decoder for the Military Standard, Air Force-Navy, and National Aerospace Standard dash-number systems — what MS, AN, NAS, and NASM identify, and how each resolves to a National Stock Number.
- Reading Military Standard Nut, Washer, and Screw Families — A buyer's guide to the Military Standard prefixes that anchor a hardware type across a full range of sizes — MS19070 and MS19068 key washers and their companion nuts, and the MS35206 and MS51957 machine-screw series.