Aerospace Sourcing
Machine shops

Aerospace and Space Work for CNC Machine Shops

A machine shop wins aerospace work by proving every part matches the drawing and tracing back to certified material and approved processors. AS9100 certification, AS9102 first article inspection, and clean flow-down of customer requirements are what separate an aerospace supplier from a job shop that happens to cut aluminum.

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What aerospace buyers actually want from a machine shop

Aerospace buyers want parts that match the drawing, with proof, delivered when promised. Spindle count and machine brands matter less than whether your inspection records, material certs and process certs hold up when their quality team reviews them.

The typical request package includes a drawing and often a 3D model with geometric dimensioning and tolerancing to ASME Y14.5, a material callout by specification, one or more special process callouts such as anodize, passivation or heat treat, and a set of quality clauses in the purchase order. Those clauses tell you what inspection report they need, whether a first article is required, which sources you may use for special processes, and what records you must keep. Reading those clauses before you quote is the single habit that most improves a new aerospace shop's results.

AS9100: the quality system most primes expect

AS9100 is the aerospace quality management standard built on ISO 9001 with aviation, space and defense requirements added. Many primes and larger tier suppliers require it for machined flight hardware, and some will accept a non-certified shop only for tooling or ground equipment under their own oversight.

Two parts of AS9100D matter most day to day in a machine shop. Clause 8.4 covers control of externally provided processes, products and services, and 8.4.3 is where flow-down lives: you must pass the customer's requirements for specifications, qualified personnel, tests, inspections and records down to your own suppliers, including the plater and the heat treater. Clause 8.5.1.3 covers production process verification, the requirement commonly met with a first article inspection. Our page on AS9100 cost and timeline covers what certification takes for a small shop.

First article inspection under AS9102

A first article inspection proves that your process, programs, tooling and documentation produce a conforming part. Customers usually trigger it on the purchase order, and most aerospace buyers want it documented to SAE AS9102, now at Revision C.

The AS9102 report uses three forms:

  • Form 1, part number accountability. Identifies the part, revision, and any sub-assemblies.
  • Form 2, product accountability. Accounts for every material and process specification on the drawing, including special processes and functional tests, with the certs that prove each one.
  • Form 3, characteristic accountability. Every dimension, tolerance and note, ballooned on the drawing with a unique number and an actual measured result.

Shops new to aerospace tend to struggle with Form 2, because it depends on certs from other companies: the mill, the anodizer, the heat treater. If your outside processor's cert does not name the spec and revision the drawing calls out, the FAI is incomplete. Revision C also tightened expectations around planning and re-accomplishment, meaning when a partial or full new FAI is needed after a change in design, process, source or a lapse in production.

Material traceability from the mill to the part

Every machined aerospace part has to trace to certified raw material. In practice that means buying from distributors who supply mill certs, recording the heat number at receiving, transferring the heat number to every drop and every traveler, and keeping the cert on file for the retention period in the purchase order.

Watch for material callouts that look interchangeable but are not. A drawing calling for 17-4PH bar to AMS 5643 in a specific condition is not satisfied by commercial 17-4 bar without that cert. Titanium plate and titanium bar fall under different AMS specifications. On defense programs, the specialty metals clause can also restrict where steel, titanium and nickel alloys were melted. Getting this right on the quote avoids a scrapped job later.

Special processes and approved sources

Most machined parts leave your shop for at least one special process: anodize, passivation, plating, heat treat, nondestructive testing, or precision cleaning. Many primes control who may perform these steps, often requiring the processor to hold Nadcap accreditation for that process or to appear on the prime's own approved source list. Using an unapproved processor, even a good one, can make the whole lot nonconforming.

Build relationships with processors who already carry the approvals your customers require, and ask for their certs to state the specification, revision, type and class. Our process houses page explains what those shops hold and why.

Typical machining work on the Space Coast

The Space Coast mixes launch operations with manufacturing, so the machining demand is broader than flight parts alone. Work commonly requested includes:

  • Ground support equipment components: adapters, brackets, lifting and handling hardware, interface plates for launch pad and processing facility equipment.
  • Fluid system parts: manifolds, fittings and valve bodies for gas and propellant systems, often followed by precision cleaning to a cleanliness specification such as KSC-C-123 at Kennedy Space Center.
  • Test fixtures and tooling: vibration fixtures, thermal vacuum mounts, assembly and inspection fixtures.
  • Satellite and spacecraft structure parts: brackets, housings and mounts in aluminum and titanium, frequently thin walled and weight driven.
  • Obsolete and replacement parts for older ground systems where the original source no longer exists, built from legacy drawings or reverse engineered samples.

Much of this is low volume and high mix. A shop with five-axis capability, a CMM, and experience in titanium, stainless and nickel alloys is well placed, but a three-axis shop with tight paperwork can still win plenty of GSE and fixture work.

Export control and cybersecurity questions you will get

A lot of space and defense hardware is controlled under ITAR or the EAR. If you manufacture defense articles, you likely need to register with the State Department's Directorate of Defense Trade Controls, and you must keep controlled drawings away from foreign persons. Defense contracts that involve controlled unclassified information also bring cybersecurity requirements under CMMC. These questions come up on supplier surveys early, so have answers ready. See our pages on ITAR registration and CMMC.

Aerospace Sourcing does not move ITAR, EAR or CUI data through the website. Controlled data moves by secure transfer to US persons only.

How to get started as an aerospace machine shop

  1. Write a one page capability sheet: machines with travel and axis count, largest part envelope, materials you cut regularly, inspection equipment, and certifications held or in progress.
  2. Tighten traceability now, before certification. Heat numbers on travelers and drops, certs filed by job, calibration records current.
  3. Practice AS9102 on a real part. Balloon a drawing, fill all three forms, and see where your records fall short.
  4. Line up approved processors for the special processes your parts need.
  5. Start where audits are lighter. Ground support equipment, fixtures and tooling often have fewer requirements than flight hardware and build the track record primes look for.

Get aerospace RFQs through Aerospace Sourcing

Sign up free at /suppliers/ to receive RFQs as a supplier. We match buyer requests for custom parts, GSE and obsolete parts to shops whose equipment and certifications fit, flow down the requirements in writing, and check the paperwork before delivery, which takes some of the documentation load off a shop that is still building its aerospace system. Every supplier signs a flow-down NDA before seeing customer data. We review each signup and contact you when work fits; we do not promise a set number of RFQs. You can also read about fabrication shops, selling surplus material, and the full supplier guide.

Questions

Do I need AS9100 to machine aerospace parts?

Not always, but it opens far more doors. Many primes require AS9100 for flight hardware suppliers, while some accept non-certified shops for tooling, fixtures or ground support equipment under the prime's own quality oversight. Even without certification, buyers will expect AS9100 style controls: material traceability, calibrated inspection equipment, first article inspection, and flow-down of requirements to your processors. Building those controls first makes certification easier later.

What is an AS9102 first article inspection?

It is a documented inspection of a representative part from the first production run, proving your process, programs and documentation produce a conforming part. AS9102 Revision C defines three forms: Form 1 for part number accountability, Form 2 for materials, special processes and functional tests, and Form 3 for every ballooned characteristic on the drawing with measured results. Customers usually call for it on the purchase order.

When do I have to redo a first article?

Generally when something that could affect the part changes: a drawing revision, a new manufacturing process or location, a change of source for material or special processes, new tooling or programs, or a long lapse in production. AS9102 Revision C put more emphasis on planning and on deciding whether a full or partial re-accomplishment is needed. Your customer's purchase order may add its own triggers, so read the quality clauses.

Can I use any anodizer or heat treater for aerospace parts?

Often not. Many primes require special processes to be performed by suppliers on their approved list or holding Nadcap accreditation for that process. Using a processor outside those rules can make the parts nonconforming even if the work was done well. Check the purchase order quality clauses, confirm your processor's approvals, and make sure their cert lists the specification, revision, type and class the drawing requires.

What machining work is common on the Space Coast?

Beyond flight parts, there is steady demand for ground support equipment components, fluid system manifolds and fittings that are precision cleaned afterward, test fixtures for vibration and thermal vacuum testing, satellite brackets and housings, and replacement parts for older ground systems. Much of it is low volume, high mix work in aluminum, stainless, titanium and nickel alloys.

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