Poor quality control can bring a business to its knees. The liabilities and exposures from poor quality control extend past money, all the way to customer safety and satisfaction. To counter poor quality, Ben Machine is certified to the requirements of the AS9100 aerospace quality standard. This serves as a set of standards governing manufacturing practices for its precision machined parts. It also informs just about every other aspect of material and parts handling from door to door.
Quality Management Starts with the Customer
Ben Machine’s customers require the highest quality control and tightest tolerances on their precision machined parts. Our customers go the extra step of using Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing, or GD&T. Standard designs can designate a feature like a hole to be drilled a certain distance away from an edge that’s also been machined. However, the tolerance on the hole and the tolerance on the machined edge can add up to the hole being in an imprecise and incorrect location. GD&T designates every feature at a set point in space. This prevents additive errors which can cause failure in precision machined parts.
It’s beholden on the customer to designate positioning and tolerances of the various features, since they know how their part is supposed to perform. Of course, the tighter the tolerances, the higher the cost of manufacturing precision machined parts. Higher tolerances also slow production. That’s why best practices say, even when using GD&T, keep tolerances realistic. It’s rare that every measurement needs to be carried out to four decimal places.
Quality Control in the Shop
With plans in hand, Ben Machine joins the quality control responsibilities. The lines of communication are vital as the product moves through manufacturing. Will the specified materials work as planned? Is there perhaps a cheaper alternative? Are there material supply issues? All of these require us to work closely with the customer. Then, are the plans complete? Are there conflicting dimensions that have to be resolved? Ben Machine provides a second (and third and fourth) set of eyes on the product, and each provides another level of quality control.
As production of the precision machined parts begins, so does the inspection regime. Ben Machine has a stable of 5-axis coordinate measuring machines. The geometry of parts is tested at crucial points during production. Our interchangeable CMMs means there’s no delay for QC testing. Parts move directly from the CNC machines to inspection, which is a real timesaver.
At Ben Machine, we produce our own First Article Inspection Reports for every product. Our AI-assisted software largely automates report creation for our customers to review in accordance with AS9100 requirements.
Finally, the last steps of quality control are for us to package the parts so they won’t be damaged and ship them safely to the customer. Ben Machine focuses on quality control until the finished precision machined parts are in the customer’s warehouse. Ben Machine can source top-quality material and turn out top-quality precision machined parts. Ultimately, that’s what your quality control standards are all about.
