What Is FAI?

A First Article Inspection is a comprehensive dimensional verification of the first production part against the engineering drawing. Every dimension, tolerance, surface finish, and material callout is measured and recorded. The result is a report (usually a ballooned drawing with corresponding measurement data) proving the part meets spec.

When You Need FAI

  • New part number: First time manufacturing — verify the process produces conforming parts before making 500 of them
  • New supplier: Transferring work to a different shop
  • Design change: Drawing revision affects form, fit, or function
  • Process change: New machine, new tooling, new material source
  • Long gap in production: Haven’t made the part in over a year
  • Customer requires it: Aerospace (AS9102), automotive (PPAP), defense (DFARS)

What’s in an FAI Report?

Ballooned Drawing

Every dimension on the drawing gets a numbered balloon. The FAI report lists each balloon number with the nominal value, tolerance, and actual measured value. Pass/fail for each.

Material Certification

Mill cert or material test report (MTR) proving the raw material meets spec. Includes chemical composition and mechanical properties. Traceable to the heat/lot number.

Process Documentation

Special processes (heat treatment, plating, welding) documented with certifications from the process supplier.

AS9102 (Aerospace)

The aerospace FAI standard requires three forms:

  • Form 1: Part number accountability — design info, revision, material
  • Form 2: Product accountability — raw material, special processes, functional tests
  • Form 3: Characteristic accountability — the actual measurements (this is the big one)

PPAP (Automotive)

Production Part Approval Process — the automotive equivalent. Includes dimensional results plus process capability (Cpk), control plans, process flow diagrams, and FMEA. Five levels of PPAP submission, from Level 1 (just a warrant) to Level 5 (full documentation + samples).

What FAI Costs

Typically $200–$1,000 depending on part complexity and number of dimensions. Seems expensive — but it’s cheap compared to scrapping a production run because nobody measured the first one.

DIY vs Professional

  • Simple parts (10–20 dimensions): Your shop’s QC department can handle it with calipers and a CMM
  • Complex parts (50+ dimensions, GD&T): Consider a third-party inspection house with a CMM and trained metrologist
  • Aerospace/defense: Must follow AS9102 exactly — no shortcuts

Need inspected parts? We provide FAI reports with every first production run — just ask.