Quality Control Inspections for Fabricating, CNC Machining, and More
Quality control (QC) inspections are essential for all parts, not just those with tight tolerances. At Baillie Fab, we’re committed to giving our customers superior-quality parts the first time—no delays, no rejections, and no waste!
Quality Control Inspections at Baillie Fabricating & Welding
The quality control process begins with your part’s 2D drawings. We compare every feature you’ve dimensioned to the actual dimensions on your physical part, checking for accuracy.
Each standard QC inspection includes these dimension verifications:
Overall length, width, and height
Hole locations
Threads
Counterbore depths
Countersink widths
From tape measures for large structural frames with looser tolerances to digital calipers, squares, height gauges, and micrometers for smaller parts and features with tighter tolerances, we’re equipped to ensure your parts meet your specifications.
First Article Inspections
While some customers need a thorough inspection of every part in their order, most productions simply need a First Article Inspection (FAI). For example, if you’ve ordered 30 pieces, we will produce the first part, inspect it, and obtain your approval before making the remaining 29 parts. Particularly for parts our shop has never made before, we always recommend an FAI prior to launching the production run.
Mid-Process Quality Checks
When a part requires multiple operations, our experts perform quality control checks between each step.
Let’s say your precision stainless steel fabrication requires welding. Our press brake specialist will reference your drawings, using a digital angle finder to check the part’s bends and calipers to measure the flange lengths—all before your part ever reaches our welding department.
As your drawings and parts progress through our Pennsylvania metal fabrication shop, we conduct quality checks at regular intervals. When your job is complete, your parts receive a final QC inspection.
Quality control for complex parts
The more complex your part, the more QC checks we’ll perform throughout manufacturing. The same is true for parts that require numerous processes; we never want to push an inaccurate part to the next process because the problems will only compound with each operation. The sooner we can identify an error, the better (and faster) we’ll complete your job.
Quality control for high-volume productions
We typically inspect only a tiny percentage of the parts in a large quantity order—perhaps one in every 10 or 25. This approach drives consistent quality throughout your high-volume production. However, when we’re fabricating a complex part design for the first time, we typically review every part in the production. This protocol results in orders that reflect the accuracy and precision you deserve.
While some quality control processes are time-consuming or complicated, many checks take only a few seconds. One of our customers places regular orders for thousands of small, fabricated boxes made to fit within a square tube. For every 100 pieces, our fabricator drops one of the boxes in a square tube we made just for this purpose. This quick quality check promotes excellent results with minimal time lost.
Quality control for approved partner services
While our Pennsylvania metal fabrication shop offers a wide variety of in-house services, we rely on vetted vendor partners for certain complex CNC machining services or secondary processes such as powder coating or anodizing. When those parts return to Baillie Fab, our team double-checks the work before proceeding with subsequent processes or packaging. We give extra attention to heat-treated parts, ensuring the process hasn’t thrown the dimensions out of tolerance.
Inspecting Surface Finishes
If your drawing includes a surface finish callout, we ensure your part’s surface is within your defined range.
Most surface finish callouts don’t require advanced measuring equipment. Instead, we perform a visual inspection, an approach requiring only a sample chart and a keen eye. If, for instance, you’ve requested CNC machining and a standard 32 Ra surface, we visually compare your part to our 32 Ra sample.
In most cases, we can procure raw material already finished to a standard specification. We achieve other surface finishes in-house with our sanding, grinding, and polishing equipment, while our approved partner vendors can perform any specialty finishing services you require. Our team always re-inspects third-party processes before approving the parts for delivery.
Quality Control Cost Considerations
Quality control has some bearing on a job’s final price, but the investment is minimal compared to the value of receiving superior parts. QC costs vary according to the complexity of the part, its tolerances, and the production size.
FAIs only impact the price of that first inspected part. Once approved, we invoice the rest of your order at our standard rates.
A part with tight tolerances and many features might take 10 minutes to measure and qualify, whereas we may be able to qualify a simple fabrication in only 10 seconds. Ultimately, we aim not to add a line item to your quote but to do your job the right way—the first time.
At Baillie Fab, We Care About Quality
As part of our commitment to quality, we only accept jobs we know we’ll knock out of the park. If a job is better suited to another shop, we’ll point you in their direction.
After all, merely making a part isn’t the same as making a great part. We commit to doing the work well so we can exceed your expectations and earn your repeat business.
