Quality is a process, not a certificate on the wall.

Every part we ship is measured against the drawing before it leaves the building. Our quality system is audited annually by outside registrars, and by our customers. The certifications are real, but they matter less than what actually happens on the shop floor every day.

ISO 9001:2015

Quality Management

Certified quality management system covering all machining, inspection, and shipping operations.

AS9100D

Aerospace Standard

Aerospace quality management compliance for aviation, space, and defense supply chains.

ITAR

Arms Regulations

Registered with the US Department of State DDTC for defense articles and controlled technical data.

DFARS

Defense Acquisition

Specialty metals compliance and country-of-origin reporting for US Department of Defense contracts.

The Quality Process

Seven steps from drawing to shipped part.

Every order — from a one-off prototype to a 5,000-piece production run — runs through the same sequence. Nothing is skipped because the quantity is small or the customer is familiar.

01

Contract review

Before we accept a PO, an engineer reviews the drawing and the customer's requirements end-to-end. Any ambiguity — tolerance callouts, finish specs, material substitutions, delivery requirements — gets clarified before we commit. This is where 90% of quality problems are prevented.

Owner
Lead Manufacturing Engineer
02

Material verification

Incoming material is verified against the mill certification before it enters production. Heat lot number, alloy, temper, and country of origin are recorded and cross-checked with the drawing. DFARS specialty metals are flagged automatically if the requirement applies.

Documentation
Mill certs traceable to heat lot
03

Setup inspection

The first part off every setup is measured in-process before production continues. Critical dimensions are checked at the machine with calibrated instruments. If anything is off, we adjust the program and cut another first article. Nobody runs a batch on a setup that hasn't been proven.

Standard
First article at every setup
04

In-process monitoring

For repeat orders and longer runs, we monitor critical dimensions with statistical process control. Samples are pulled at defined intervals, measured, and plotted. If a trend is developing — tool wear, thermal drift, chip load change — we catch it before it becomes a non-conformance.

Method
SPC with defined sampling
05

CMM inspection

Critical features are verified on our Zeiss Contura CMM in a climate-controlled inspection room. Reported features include position, profile, runout, perpendicularity, and any GD&T callouts from the drawing. Full inspection reports are generated for every order and stored for a minimum of seven years.

Equipment
Zeiss Contura, 0.5 µm accuracy
06

Final inspection & release

Before a shipment is released, a trained inspector confirms that all required documentation is complete: FAI report, material certifications, dimensional report, and Certificate of Conformance. The inspector signs off — physically or digitally — and the shipment is closed out in our ERP.

Release authority
Trained inspector, documented sign-off
07

Post-delivery feedback

After every shipment, we monitor for customer feedback, returns, and non-conformances. Any issue is documented, root-caused, and closed with a corrective action. Trends are reviewed monthly. If we ship you a bad part, we want to understand why — not just replace it and move on.

Corrective action
Documented, root-caused, verified
Inspection Equipment

What we measure with.

Calibrated instruments, verified against NIST-traceable standards on a scheduled interval. Calibration records are available on request for any instrument used on your parts.

Zeiss Contura CMM

Climate-controlled coordinate measuring machine used for first-article inspection, GD&T verification, and critical feature confirmation on every order.

0.5 µm accuracy 700 × 1000 × 600 mm Scanning probe

Optical Comparators

Non-contact measurement for small features, edge conditions, and parts where contact gauging would deform or damage the surface.

Profile projection 0.0001" resolution Deburr verification

Surface Finish Testers

Portable and bench-top profilometers used to verify Ra and Rz surface finish callouts, both on the shop floor and in the inspection room.

Ra / Rz / Rq 0.01 µm resolution Multiple cutoffs

Calibrated Hand Tools

Micrometers, bore gauges, thread gauges, pin gauges, and height stands — all with current calibration records traceable to NIST standards.

NIST-traceable 12-month calibration cycle Records on file
Documentation

What ships with every order.

Not every customer needs every document. But every customer deserves to know what's available, and what the standard package includes.

Documentation is part of the part.

A part without paperwork is a liability. If a customer later has to trace the material back to the heat lot, or prove to a regulator that a feature was inspected, that paperwork either exists or the part has to be re-verified from scratch. We default to including more documentation than required, and we file it for seven years.

Standard packages vary by order type. Prototype orders receive a basic dimensional report and material certifications. Production orders include full FAI, SPC data, and any customer-specific inspection requirements written into the PO.

Custom documentation

If your program requires customer-specific forms, PPAP, or a specific format for AS9102 FAI, send us a sample and we'll match it. We'd rather do it right the first time than reissue paperwork after the fact.

Standard Documentation Package

Included by default
Certificate of Conformance

Signed statement that parts meet drawing requirements and applicable specifications.

Standard
Material Certifications

Mill certs traceable to heat lot, with chemistry and mechanical properties reported.

Standard
Dimensional Inspection Report

Reported measurements on critical features, signed by a trained inspector.

Standard
First Article Inspection (AS9102)

Full FAI on first article of every new part number, formatted per AS9102 when required.

Standard on new parts
SPC Data Package

Statistical process control charts for critical dimensions on production orders.

On request
PPAP Package

Production Part Approval Process documentation, including PFMEA and control plan.

On request
Country of Origin Reporting

DFARS specialty metals reporting and country-of-origin documentation for defense contracts.

On request
ITAR-Controlled Data Handling

Segregated storage and access-controlled handling for defense technical data.

On request
Traceability

Every part can be traced back to its raw material.

From the heat lot of the stock you ordered to the serial number of the machine that cut it, we retain the full chain. If a regulator, a customer, or an auditor asks how a specific part was made, the answer exists in our records — for seven years.

Common Questions

Quality system, answered.

Yes. Current ISO 9001:2015 and AS9100D certificates, our ITAR registration, and a copy of our quality manual are available on request. Send a note to [email protected] with your company name and we'll return the documents within one business day. For customer audits, we schedule on-site visits directly.
We rework, replace, or credit the part at our cost — the customer's choice. No restocking fees. If the issue stems from our process, we document the non-conformance, root-cause it, and implement a corrective action before we ship the replacement. If it's unclear whether the drawing or our interpretation is at fault, we resolve it with the customer rather than arguing about liability.
Full AS9102 FAI is performed on every new part number and on any part number where the drawing, process, material, or source has changed. Repeat orders on an unchanged part number do not require re-FAI unless the customer specifies it, but a dimensional report on critical features is generated every time.
Seven years minimum from date of shipment. This covers inspection reports, material certifications, work orders, program revisions, and shipping documentation. For aerospace and defense customers with longer retention requirements written into their PO, we extend retention to match. Records are stored digitally with offsite backup.
Yes, and we encourage it. We host several customer audits each year and welcome scheduled pre-award visits. Call the shop at (970) 962-9843 or email [email protected] to schedule. Please give us at least one week of notice so we can make sure the appropriate engineering and quality staff are available.
Yes. We are registered with the US Department of State Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) and handle ITAR-controlled technical data on segregated, access-controlled systems. Only US persons with the appropriate access are permitted to view controlled data. NDAs and DUAs are executed before any controlled data is shared.

Have a quality requirement we should know about?

Send the spec or the standard along with your drawing. We'll confirm we can meet it before we quote.