Aerospace Contract Manufacturing for Parts and Assemblies
Aerospace contract manufacturing means an outside company builds your parts or assemblies to your data under your quality clauses. We match the job to qualified shops and processors, flow your requirements down and deliver on one purchase order with a cert package. Send the drawing list, revisions, quantities, quality clauses and need date.
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What an aerospace contract manufacturer does
An aerospace contract manufacturer turns your engineering data into hardware and proves it conforms, while you keep the design and the customer relationship. The scope runs from a single machined detail to a full assembly with wiring, fasteners, sealant and functional test.
Buyers usually reach for contract manufacturing in four situations:
- The program has more parts than the in-house shop can absorb in the schedule
- The work needs a process the company does not own, such as 5 axis machining of titanium, sheet metal forming or wire harness build
- A product is moving from engineering builds into repeat production and needs a stable source
- A legacy part needs a new home because the original supplier closed or exited the market
The phrase covers very different suppliers. A job shop with three machines, a vertically integrated company with machining, finishing and assembly under one roof, and a sourcing partner that coordinates several specialists can all describe themselves as contract manufacturers. What matters to a buyer is who holds the design responsibility, who performs each process and whose name is on the certificate of conformance.
Build to print versus build to spec
In build to print, you own the design and the supplier builds exactly what the drawing says. In build to spec, you hand over a performance requirement and the supplier designs the part to meet it. The choice moves design authority, risk and paperwork from one side to the other.
| Question | Build to print | Build to spec |
|---|---|---|
| Who owns the design | The buyer, through a released drawing or model | The supplier, within the buyer's specification |
| Who answers for fit and function | The buyer, as long as the part matches the drawing | The supplier, against the performance requirement |
| How changes happen | The supplier asks; the buyer revises the drawing or approves a deviation | The supplier changes its own design under the change control the contract sets |
| What the supplier must have | Manufacturing and inspection capability | That plus engineering, analysis and design control |
| Typical paperwork | FAI, material and process certs, C of C | All of that plus design reviews, analysis, qualification test data |
Most aerospace contract manufacturing is build to print, because primes and their customers want design control to stay with the design authority. Build to spec is common for components such as brackets inside a supplier-designed enclosure, test fixtures and ground equipment. If you go that way, check that the supplier's AS9100 certificate scope includes design, since a shop that only builds to print may exclude design and development from its quality system.
Our build to print page covers data packages, revision control and deviations in depth, and our engineering and DFM page covers drawing cleanup when the package is not ready.
Have a part like this?Send it in under a minute. A person replies within 1 business day.Machining, special processes and assembly on one purchase order
A contract manufacturing order is rarely one process. A typical flight bracket is machined, heat treated, finish machined, penetrant inspected, anodized and marked, which can mean four or five companies even when the buyer sees one PO.
| Stage | Who usually performs it | Evidence the buyer should get |
|---|---|---|
| Material purchase | The machine shop or a metals distributor | Mill certs traceable to heat or lot, against the drawing specification |
| Machining and fabrication | The prime supplier on the order | Dimensional inspection results and an AS9102 FAI when triggered |
| Heat treat, coatings, NDT | Specialist processors, often Nadcap accredited | Process certs naming the specification and the processor |
| Assembly and marking | The prime supplier or an assembly house | Assembly FAI, torque and build records, part marking per the drawing |
| Final release | The supplier whose name is on the order | Certificate of conformance tied to the PO |
Two points decide whether this goes smoothly. First, every processor in the chain must be one your customer accepts. Many primes require Nadcap accreditation for heat treat, chemical processing and NDT, and the Performance Review Institute publishes accredited suppliers so that can be checked. Second, someone has to own the schedule across all of the queues. Outside processing is where contract manufacturing jobs usually slip, because each step adds transit and the processor's own backlog. Our special processes page lists the common callouts.
AS9100D and what a certificate tells you
AS9100D is the quality management standard for aviation, space and defense organizations, published in 2016, and most primes require it of suppliers that build flight hardware. Certification is listed in the IAQG OASIS database, so it can be checked rather than taken from a website logo.
When you look a supplier up in OASIS, read three things:
- The scope statement. It says what activities the certificate covers. A certificate for "machining of aerospace components" does not cover wire harness assembly at the same company.
- The sites. A multi-site company may hold the certificate at one plant and not another.
- The dates. Confirm the certificate is current for the period your parts will be built.
IAQG has said the next revision of the standard will carry a new number, IA9100, so expect that name to start appearing in quality clauses. Until your customer's clauses change, AS9100D is the requirement to flow. If you are deciding whether a non-aerospace certified shop can do some of the work, our AS9100 versus ISO 9001 comparison covers where the difference matters.
AS9102 first article on contract built parts and assemblies
Expect an AS9102 first article report on the first production lot of each new part, and on each assembly and sub-assembly, not just the detail parts. The standard's scope covers assemblies, sub-assemblies and detail parts including castings and forgings, and it also applies to suppliers performing special processes. Each item gets its own FAI.
For assemblies that include procured standard catalog items or commercial off-the-shelf parts, those items do not get their own FAI, but they must be listed in the index of part numbers in the assembly's first article report. That index is the easiest place to spot a missing detail part FAI, so read it before you accept the assembly report.
Revision C of AS9102 was published in June 2023. If your clauses name a revision, flow that revision. Our AS9102 first article guide explains the forms and the events that trigger a new or partial FAI, and the FAI review checklist is a working tool for receiving them.
Flow-down: getting your requirements to every tier
Flow-down is how the clauses on your purchase order reach the shop that actually does the work. If a requirement stops at the first tier, the processor three steps down never sees it and the paperwork you receive will not show it.
AS9100D clause 8.4.3 lists the information an organization must communicate to its external providers, from the technical data and approval requirements to verification activities at the provider's premises. NSF's guidance on the clause notes that IAQG allows an organization to decide which items apply to a given order, with documented justification for any it marks not applicable. It also notes that flowing AS9100 certification itself to sub-tier suppliers is not mandatory unless a customer contract or the organization's own quality system requires it, which many prime clauses do.
In practice, a contract manufacturing order should flow at least these:
- The drawing and specification revisions, and how deviations are requested
- Quality system and FAI requirements, including the AS9102 revision
- Approved processor requirements, such as Nadcap or a customer approved source list
- Material clauses, including DFARS 252.225-7009 specialty metals on defense work
- DFARS 252.204-7012 when the order involves covered defense information, which the clause itself says must be flowed without alteration except to identify the parties
- Right of access for you, your customer and government representatives, and record retention periods
Our PO quality flow-down template gives clause wording you can adapt with your own contracts team.
Moving into production: APQP and PPAP under AS9145
If a part is heading into repeat production, your customer may ask for advanced product quality planning and a production part approval package. In aerospace those are defined by AS9145, which SAE issued in November 2016.
AS9145 sets requirements for planning and documenting how a part will be produced before production starts, and for a production part approval package that shows the process can make conforming parts. The supplier has to plan the work, not just run it. It is not invoked on every order. Check your customer's clauses; when it is required, tell the supplier at the RFQ stage, because it changes how they plan and price the job.
A sourcing partner versus a single contract manufacturer
A single contract manufacturer does the core work in its own plant and buys the rest. A sourcing partner does no manufacturing itself and assigns each process to a supplier that fits it. Both can deliver one PO and one cert package; the difference is who chooses the sub-tiers and how wide the choice is.
| Factor | Single contract manufacturer | Sourcing partner |
|---|---|---|
| Where the work happens | Mostly one plant, with outside processors | Several shops and processors chosen per job |
| Process breadth | Limited to what the plant owns plus its usual vendors | Can combine machining, sheet metal, harness, composites and testing |
| Direct control of the floor | High: the supplier owns the machines and people | Indirect: control comes through flow-down, surveillance and paperwork checks |
| Recurring production | Strong fit once qualified | Works, but each source change can trigger a new FAI and approval |
| Mixed or one-off packages | Gaps where the plant lacks a process | Strong fit when a job spans several trades |
Neither model is better in general. A buyer with a stable, high-volume part that fits one plant's capability is often best served by qualifying that plant directly. Our comparison of marketplaces, local shops and sourcing partners looks at the same question from the quoting side.
When each approach is the right call
Choose a single contract manufacturer when the work fits one plant, volumes are steady and you have the supplier quality staff to qualify and audit it. Choose a sourcing partner when the package spans several trades, the quantities are small or irregular, or you do not have the time to qualify five companies for one assembly.
- Single manufacturer: a machined family of parts at steady monthly rates; an assembly line where the build sequence and tooling stay in one place; a program where your customer has already approved a specific source.
- Sourcing partner: a ground support equipment build that needs welding, machining, hydraulics and paint; a prototype lot that will move between processes quickly; a legacy part with no current source; a mixed bill of materials with machined parts, hardware and harnesses that should arrive as a kit.
Many programs use both, with a qualified manufacturer on the core parts and a sourcing partner handling the long tail. Our kitting page covers combining those into one delivery.
What goes wrong, and how we prevent it
- A processor the customer has not approved. We confirm processor requirements up front and check Nadcap or approved source status before the part ships out for processing.
- Requirements that stop at tier one. We flow your clauses to every supplier on the order, not just the first.
- A missing detail part FAI inside an assembly report. We read the assembly index against the parts list before the package goes to you.
- Certs that do not match the parts. We check heat and lot numbers, specification revisions and part markings against the order before shipment.
- A schedule lost in outside processing. We track each processing step, not just the final ship date.
What to send with your request
- Drawing list or bill of materials with part numbers and revision letters
- Whether the work is build to print or build to spec, and who holds design authority
- Material and finish specifications, and approved processor requirements
- Quantities, release schedule and need date
- Quality clauses: AS9100, AS9102 revision, AS9145 if invoked, source inspection
- DFARS and prime contract clauses that must flow down
- Export classification, so controlled files move by secure transfer
Our RFQ checklist walks through each item.
How Aerospace Sourcing handles contract manufacturing
We do not run machines ourselves and we do not hold AS9100 or Nadcap ourselves. We match each part of the job to suppliers that hold what it requires and manage the order through delivery.
- One quote, one lead time, one point of contact and one purchase order across every shop and processor
- Your certs, FAI, material traceability and special process requirements flowed down to each supplier
- Paperwork checked before shipment, with a certificate of conformance on every order
- A flow-down NDA signed by every supplier before seeing data, and controlled data handled per our confidentiality page
If we cannot find a qualified fit for part of the job, we tell you which part and why.
Request a contract manufacturing quote
Use the machining and manufacturing request form and list every process the part or assembly needs. A complete process list is what lets us quote the whole chain on one PO instead of the machining alone. A person replies within one business day.
Where buyers source this
Send the job. A person replies within 1 business day.
Part, quantity and date are enough to start. Drawings and the mutual NDA follow by reply, and controlled programs never send technical data through this site.
We have it.
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Questions
What is the difference between a contract manufacturer and a job shop?
The terms overlap. A job shop usually takes individual orders for parts to a drawing, often one process at a time. A contract manufacturer usually takes responsibility for a part or assembly through every step, including outside processing, assembly and the cert package, often under a longer agreement. In aerospace, what matters more than the label is who performs each process, whose quality system covers it and whose name is on the certificate of conformance.
Does my contract manufacturer need AS9100D?
If your customer's quality clauses require it, yes, and for most flight hardware they do. Check the supplier in the IAQG OASIS database and read the certificate scope and sites, because a certificate may cover only some activities or plants. For test fixtures, prototypes or some ground equipment your clauses may allow ISO 9001 or no certification. Flow the requirement explicitly either way.
Who is responsible for the design in build to print work?
The buyer, or the design authority behind the buyer. The supplier builds exactly to the released drawing and asks questions through a formal channel when something is unclear. If the supplier wants to change anything, it requests a deviation or a drawing change, which the design authority approves. In build to spec, the supplier owns the design within the buyer's performance requirements and carries more responsibility.
Do special process suppliers need their own first article?
Yes. The scope of the AS9102 standard says it applies to suppliers performing special processes, and each item requires its own FAI. In practice the processor's FAI evidence is often included in the machined part's FAI package. Check your customer's clauses for how they want it presented and make sure the processor knows the requirement before the parts arrive.
Can one purchase order really cover several suppliers?
Yes. When we manage the job, you issue one PO to us and we place and manage the orders with each shop and processor, flow down your requirements and assemble one cert package. You still get the underlying certs from each supplier where your clauses require them. What you do not have to do is qualify, issue and expedite each supplier yourself.
What is AS9145 and when is it required?
AS9145 is the aerospace standard for advanced product quality planning and production part approval, issued by SAE in November 2016. It sets requirements for planning and documenting the production process before production starts, and for an approval package showing the process makes conforming parts. It applies only when your customer invokes it, typically on new production parts, so check your clauses and say so at the RFQ stage.
Related
Sources
- NQA: AS9100:2016 (Revision D) published
- NASA OSMA: Status of the development of IA9100
- IAQG OASIS database of certified suppliers
- NSF: Clarifying AS9100 8.4.3 and flow downs to external providers
- EVS: EN 9102:2024 first article inspection requirements, scope
- ANSI Webstore: SAE AS9102C:2023 First Article Inspection Requirements
- SAE: AS9145 Requirements for APQP and PPAP
- PRI: The Nadcap program
- Cornell LII: DFARS 252.225-7009 specialty metals
- Acquisition.gov: DFARS 252.204-7012 Safeguarding covered defense information
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