A first article inspection report is where an aerospace supplier proves, in writing, that its production process makes a part that meets every line of the design. Reviewers read it characteristic by characteristic, and one balloon without a result or one certificate number that doesn't match the file is enough to send the whole package back. Most teams still build the forms by hand from drawings, CMM printouts and certificates. See how a package comes together from shop data in a short FAI walkthrough.
Balloon, Measure and Prove Every Characteristic Before the FAIR Goes Out
The iFactory FAI Module balloons drawings with AI, imports CMM results into Form 3 and builds the AS9102 forms. Any characteristic still missing evidence is flagged before submission, not after the customer returns the package.
Rev C Changed the Forms in Small but Visible Ways
AS9102 Revision C was released in June 2023. It puts more weight on planning, evaluating and repeating first article inspections, and lines the standard up more closely with AS9100. Most of the visible changes sit on Form 1, and reviewers notice when a report still uses the older field meanings. Check which revision each purchase order calls for, because customers flow down their own transition dates. Our FAI support team can help you map the field changes.
- Field 14 explained the reason only on a partial FAI
- Field 17 held a part serial number
- Field 18 held a FAIR number
- Field 19 marked the FAI as complete or not complete
- Forms 2 and 3 carried their own signatures
- Field 14 gives the reason for a full or partial FAI, every time
- Field 17 is the part type, and every BOM part is listed, including COTS items
- Field 18 is the FAIR identifier
- Field 19 asks whether the FAIR holds documented nonconformances
- One reviewer and a different approver sign Form 1 only
Three Forms, One Chain of Accountability
Each form answers a different question. Form 1 says which part and which revision was inspected. Form 2 says what it was made from and which special processes and functional tests touched it. Form 3 lists every design characteristic with its result. The attachments tie the three together. The matrix shows where reviewers look first and where packages most often stall. Walk through your own forms in a form review session.
Ballooning Rules That Keep Form 3 Complete
The ballooned drawing is the index for the whole report. Every dimension, tolerance and note gets a unique number, and that number must match Form 3, the CMM program and any supporting sheet. Supplier guides from aerospace primes ask for the sheet and zone of each characteristic, so a reviewer can find it in seconds. A feature repeated at several locations can share one number. Ask our support team for a ballooning checklist.
Material, finish, marking and process notes need a line on Form 3 too. Notes that don't apply are recorded as not applicable in the remarks, and several can be grouped on one line.
From CMM Report to Form 3 Without Retyping
Typing CMM results into Form 3 is where transposed digits and skipped lines creep in. The cleaner route is to name each feature in the CMM program after its balloon once, then import the actual values directly. Anything the CMM doesn't measure, such as surface finish or hardness, shows up at once as a gap instead of a blank cell found by the customer. The rows below use the example bracket. See an import run on your own CMM output in a CMM import demo.
Know What's Missing Before the Customer Does
iFactory checks every balloon, certificate and signature against the FAIR before it leaves. Ask in plain words and get a straight answer about what still blocks submission.
Full, Partial or Customer Rule: Setting the Scope
AS9102 asks for a full or partial FAI whenever something could affect the part's ability to conform. A partial FAI covers only what changed from a baseline part, and every other characteristic must have conformed on the earlier FAI and still come from the original process. Customers can be stricter, so read the flow-downs before deciding. Our FAI specialists can review a borderline scope with you.
A design change affecting fit, form or function. A change in source, process, inspection method, location, tooling or material. A new or translated NC program. A natural or man-made event that could affect the process. Corrective action needed to finish an earlier FAI. A two-year lapse in production, counted from the last production operation to the restart.
A Form 1 Header for the Example Bracket
Most returned reports fail on the header before anyone reads a measurement. Fill these fields from the purchase order and the released drawing, not from memory, and keep the reason field specific enough that a stranger could understand it. The values are illustrative. See the header filled from your ERP in a live session.
Six Checks to Run Before Anyone Signs
A pre-submission check catches the problems that cost a resubmission cycle. It is simple to run by hand on a short report and slow on a long one, which is why software helps most on assemblies and parts with many notes. Get the full list from our support team.
Three Changes, Three Different Scopes
These are illustrations of common situations, not case studies. Your customer's requirements decide the actual scope. Talk through a recent change in a scope review call.
Sizing Transcription and Resubmission Time
The clearest saving is time spent typing results and fixing returned reports. All inputs here are assumptions. Swap in your own counts before quoting the result. Our team can help you gather the baseline.
Price only the hours you are confident of removing, at your loaded labour rate. Faster approval of first articles also brings shipment dates forward, which is worth sizing from your own order book.
FAI Module, CMM Links and NVIDIA Server in One Package
iFactory delivers the FAI Module as a turnkey bundle. A pre-configured NVIDIA AI server ships racked and ready with the ballooning model and AS9102 form logic pre-loaded, so controlled drawings and technical data never leave the building. You rack it, plug in power and Ethernet, and the AI is live. To scope it for your shop, request a turnkey quote.
- Pre-configured NVIDIA AI edge server, racked and ready
- AI ballooning for PDF drawings and model snapshots
- CMM and gauge result import mapped to balloon numbers
- AS9102 Forms 1, 2 and 3 built from shop records
- Certificate library linked to Form 2 lines
- Pre-submission gap check and reviewer sign-off
- 24×7 remote monitoring of models and hardware
Server installed, ERP, drawing vault and CMM output linked, form layouts agreed with quality.
FAIRs for one part family built in parallel with the current method and compared line by line.
Inspectors and reviewers trained, gap check made part of every release.
First Article Inspection Built From the Data You Already Have
iFactory works from your drawings, CMM output and certificates, so inspectors measure parts instead of retyping numbers. Our support team can outline a pilot.
What Quality Teams Ask About First Article Reports
Send First Articles That Pass the First Time
Balloon drawings with AI, pull CMM results into Form 3 and catch missing evidence before submission. Delivered turnkey and live in 6 to 12 weeks.
