Quality assurance

Quality checked, part by part

Every part we dispatch has been measured against your drawing. Not a sample from the batch — every part. It is the single commitment that has kept eight-plus Tier-1 customers re-ordering, and it is built into an ISO 9001:2015 quality management system covering production and inspection.

What "100%" actually means

Not a sample from the batch. Every part.

Plenty of suppliers describe their inspection as "100%" and mean a sampling plan with a statistically justified AQL. We mean each piece is measured against your drawing before it is packed, with first-article approval taken at every setup and in-process checks at each transfer between operations.

This is affordable at the volumes we run, and it is why customers who started with a trial order are still with us years later. It also means a die that begins to drift is caught at the operation causing it, not by your goods-inward team three weeks later.

If your process requires a documented sampling plan instead, we will work to it — but the default here is everything.

Inspection stages

Three checkpoints, one standard

Material is verified before it enters production, geometry is checked between operations, and the finished part is measured against your drawing before it is packed.

01

Incoming inspection

Raw material — sheet, coil, tube and bar — is checked against specification and supplier documentation before it is released to the shop floor. Material that does not conform does not enter production.

  • Grade & specification verification
  • Thickness / diameter measurement
  • Visual surface condition
  • Supplier documentation review

02

In-process inspection

Checks are made at each transfer between operations — after blanking, forming, drawing, machining and welding — so a die drift or fixture shift is caught at the station that caused it rather than at final inspection.

  • First-article approval on setup
  • Dimensional checks at each transfer
  • Fixture and die condition monitoring
  • In-process gauging against control points

03

Final inspection

Finished parts and sub-assemblies are measured against the customer drawing, then packed. Inspection records accompany the dispatch documentation your goods-inward team needs.

  • Full dimensional verification to drawing
  • Thread and hole gauging
  • Surface finish assessment
  • Assembly fit and geometry confirmation

Measurement & gauging

What we measure with

Eleven instrument types covering dimensional, thread, radius, surface-finish and comparative measurement — from the surface plate that provides the datum to the roughness tester that confirms a finish specification.

Inspection station Inspector measuring a part on the surface plate with a height gauge, plus a shot of the gauge board.
  • Height gauge Vertical dimension and step measurement from the surface plate
  • Vernier calliper General internal, external and depth dimensions
  • Micrometer Close-tolerance thickness and diameter measurement
  • Dial gauge Runout, flatness and comparative measurement
  • Thread plug gauge Internal thread go/no-go verification
  • Thread ring gauge External thread go/no-go verification
  • Plain plug gauge Hole diameter go/no-go verification
  • Radius gauge Formed and machined radius confirmation
  • Filler gauge Gap, clearance and fit assessment
  • Roughness tester Surface finish measurement against specification
  • Surface plate Reference datum for layout and height gauging

Gauges are calibrated and calibration status is recorded. Ask to see the register during an audit — we would rather you checked.

What you can expect

Four commitments we will put in writing

These are not aspirations. If we fail any of them on your programme, we would expect you to hold us to it.

Inspection against your drawing

We measure to the specification you supply, not to a generic internal standard. Where a drawing is ambiguous, we raise it before production rather than interpret it.

Documentation on request

Inspection records, material details and dimensional reports can accompany dispatch. Tell us what your goods-inward process requires and we will format to it.

Open to audit

Customer and third-party audits of our process, tool room and inspection facilities are welcome. Several of our current Tier-1 relationships began with exactly that visit.

Corrective action, not excuses

If a non-conformance reaches you, we investigate root cause at the operation that produced it, correct the tooling or process, and report back.

Audit us

Come and check the records yourself.

Customer and third-party audits of our process, tool room and inspection facilities are welcome. Several of our current Tier-1 relationships began with exactly that visit.