Quality System: AS9100 and Customer Approvals
Many primes and Tier 1 suppliers require AS9100 certification from their suppliers or accept it as the baseline, while others approve suppliers through their own audits and special process approvals. Even without certification, you will be asked to follow the customer's quality clauses, which typically cover document control, corrective action, change notification, counterfeit part prevention, record retention and notification of nonconforming product. For a small seal shop, the larger challenge is often operational: maintaining controlled work instructions, calibration records, and a nonconformance process that actually closes issues, since these are what an auditor samples.
- Document and drawing revision control at the press and inspection bench
- Calibration records for gauges, optical comparators and rheometers
- Nonconformance and corrective action with real closure evidence
- Change notification to the customer for compound, tool or process changes
Material Specification and Qualification
Aerospace seals are often specified to AMS or MIL material specifications, and compounds may have to be qualified or sourced from approved mixers. Where a specification calls for lot acceptance testing, such as physical properties and fluid resistance, your paperwork must show that the lot tested is the lot shipped. Substituting an equivalent compound without customer approval is a classic cause of rejection.
Know which of your compounds are qualified to which specs, and keep that list in front of the quoting team, since the answer determines whether you can bid at all.
First Article Inspection and Dimensional Control
AS9102 first article inspection reports document that the production process can make the part to every drawing characteristic, using ballooned drawings and measured results. For molded seals, FAI has particular challenges: small cross-sections are hard to measure with contact gauges, so optical or vision methods are common, and drawing tolerances often specify parting line and flash limits that need defined inspection methods. A new FAI is typically triggered by a new part, a drawing revision, a tooling change or a significant process change, so track what changes in your plant against the customer's triggers.
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Flow-downs, ITAR Drawings and CMMC
204-7012 on safeguarding covered defense information, which is where CMMC comes in for contractors handling controlled unclassified information. Drawings for military programs may be export-controlled under ITAR, which restricts who can access them, including foreign-national employees and cloud services. Practical consequences for a seal maker are: know which jobs carry controlled drawings, store them on controlled systems, restrict who can open them, and do not paste them into public AI tools or unvetted SaaS.
If you are unsure about your obligations, get advice from counsel or your local MEP center.
- Identify controlled drawings at RFQ intake, not later
- Restrict storage and access to authorized US persons where ITAR applies
- Keep an accepted-clause list and flag exceptions before quoting
- Do not send controlled data to external AI services
Shelf Life, Packaging and Cure Date Marking
Aerospace elastomer seals often have packaging, marking and age-at-delivery requirements. The cure date may need to be marked on the package, and the customer may reject parts older than a specified age. Storage guidance such as SAE ARP5316 is commonly referenced.
If your ERP cannot show cure date by lot at quote time, you risk promising stock you cannot ship. Also check packaging requirements for protection from light, ozone and contamination, which differ by elastomer.
Where AI Fits, and Where It Does Not
AI can screen RFQ packages for flow-down clauses against your accepted list, extract spec and material callouts from drawings, and help assemble cert and FAI packages from your records. It runs best on-prem inside your controlled boundary so drawings never leave. It does not replace a quality system, and it does not make you compliant; the shop remains responsible for its obligations, and a human should review every compliance judgment.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need AS9100 to sell O-rings to aerospace customers?
Not always. Some customers require AS9100 certification, while others approve suppliers through their own audits or accept ISO 9001 with additional quality clauses. Check each customer's supplier requirements and purchase order terms.
What is first article inspection for a molded seal?
FAI per AS9102 documents that production tooling and process can make a part meeting every drawing characteristic. It uses a ballooned drawing and recorded measurements, and is usually repeated after drawing, tooling or process changes.
Can I use public AI tools on defense RFQ drawings?
Generally no, if the drawings are export-controlled or covered defense information. Sending them to an external service can create unauthorized-access risk. Use tools that run inside your controlled environment and confirm obligations with counsel.
If your RFQs include controlled drawings and long clause lists, ask Netray how a private on-prem assistant can screen them inside your own network while your team makes the decisions.