How Aerospace Surface Treatments Meet Traceability Rules

When a coated aerospace part fails, it is often necessary to investigate what treatments were applied to the part, when they were applied and by whom. In order to meet traceability rules at each stage of the finishing process, documentation must be maintained throughout the process.

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Batch and Process Records

For each treatment run a batch record has to be set up and kept, which contains all the necessary process parameters, like bath-chemistry, temperature, current density, immersion time and any deviations from the process specifications. These records allow to clearly determine the process steps that have been applied to the parts within a batch, should any problems occur later on.

Material Certifications

Material Certs trace back the chemicals and materials used during surface finishing to verify the composition and confirm conformance to the specifications. Without traceable material certs for aerospace surface treatments, the process may not meet the requirements of the customer and most regulatory agencies, regardless of how well the process was managed.

Operator Qualification Records

Similar to recording batch information, also recording the qualification of the personnel who processed the parts is part of the finishing processes. This includes recording of the procedure specific training of the operators.

First-Article Inspection

When coating a new part number it is critical that a first-article inspection is completed to verify dimensions as well as performance of the coating. This information can then be used for future production of similar part numbers as a basis of comparison for any variances. For businesses that are producing airworthiness certified components for aircraft this is usually a mandatory requirement.