Aerospace Hardware and Installation Kitting
A kit is every loose part needed for one installation or work order, bagged and labeled to a kit definition you control, so the technician pulls one package instead of picking dozens of part numbers from stock. Aerospace Sourcing sources the parts with traceability, builds kits to your definition, keeps lot and shelf life data visible inside each kit and delivers one certificate of conformance package.
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What an aerospace kit is
An aerospace kit is a controlled package of parts for a defined job: one installation, one assembly step, one work order or one spares set. It turns a parts list into something a technician can carry to the work and use without a trip back to stores.
Common kit types:
- Hardware kits: the fasteners, washers, nuts, inserts, pins and safety wire for one installation
- Installation kits: hardware plus brackets, clamps, seals, grommets, sleeving and labels for installing a component or harness
- Seal and fluid kits: O-rings, packings, backup rings and fittings for a fluid system task
- Connector and harness kits: connectors, contacts, backshells, heat shrink and markers for a harness build or repair
- Spares and maintenance kits: consumable and replaceable items packaged for a scheduled task or a field team
The kit itself is not a new part. The parts inside keep their own part numbers, specs, lots and certs. What the kit adds is a definition, a package, a label and a record that ties them together.
Why buyers kit instead of buying loose parts
Kitting moves picking, counting and paperwork out of the build area and into a controlled step before the work starts. Buyers usually do it for four reasons:
- Fewer wrong parts at the work. A fastener one dash number off in length or grip can look correct in a bin. A kit pulled against a definition is checked before it reaches the technician.
- Loose part control. Every part going into a work area is counted, which is the basis of most foreign object damage (FOD) control programs.
- Traceability at the point of use. The kit record shows which lot of each part went into which installation, so a later lot problem can be traced to the hardware it touched.
- Less inventory and receiving work. One kit receipt replaces many line receipts, and parts arrive ready to issue.
The kit definition you control
Every kit is built to a kit definition that you own and release, and nothing in the kit changes unless you revise it. The definition is usually a kit drawing, a kit parts list or a page in your work instructions.
A complete kit definition states:
- A kit part number and revision, separate from any assembly number
- Each part number with its revision or dash number, the governing spec and the approved sources where your program limits them
- Quantity per kit, and whether that quantity includes spares for the common drop-and-lose items such as small washers or cotter pins
- How parts are grouped inside the kit: one bag per part number, one bag per installation step, or a compartment tray
- Packaging requirements: bag type, ESD protective packaging for sensitive parts, caps and plugs for fluid fittings, and moisture protection where needed
- Label content for each bag and for the outer kit
- What paperwork travels with the kit and what is held on file
- Shelf life rules: minimum remaining life at kit build or at delivery
If you do not have a kit definition yet, send the assembly drawing or parts list and say how you want the kit split. A draft definition comes back for your engineering or planning group to approve before any kit is built.
Bagging and labeling
Each bag should carry enough information that a technician or inspector can identify the part without opening it, and trace it without asking anyone. The outer kit label identifies the kit; the bag labels identify what is inside.
| Label | Typical content |
|---|---|
| Bag label | Part number and revision, description, quantity, manufacturer, lot or date code, and cure or expiry date for shelf life items |
| Kit label | Kit part number and revision, kit serial or build number, your PO and line, quantity of kits, and the build date |
| Special handling marks | ESD sensitive marking, shelf life warning, or storage temperature where the part requires it |
Specify whether you want barcodes and what they should encode, the label size, and whether labels must survive solvent or cleanroom wipe-down. If your program has its own marking standard, attach it. Our part marking and labels guide covers the related standards for marking the parts themselves.
Lot traceability inside a kit
Lot traceability must survive kitting: each bag should trace to one manufacturer lot, and the kit record should list every lot in the kit. Mixing two lots of the same part in one bag breaks that link, so a well run kit operation either keeps one lot per bag or splits the bag and labels both.
The kit record usually includes:
- The kit part number, revision and serial or build number
- Every part number in the kit with its lot or date code and quantity
- A reference to the manufacturer or distributor CoC for each lot
- The person or station that built and checked the kit, and the date
That record is what lets you answer the hard question later: if a lot of fasteners is found nonconforming, which kits, and which installations, did it go into. Our material certs and traceability guide explains how lot data starts at the source.
Shelf life items in kits
Shelf life items can be kitted, but their dates must be visible on the bag and on the kit record, and the kit's usable life ends when its shortest-lived item expires. Elastomer seals, sealants, adhesives and some lubricants are the usual cases.
Things to decide in the kit definition:
- Minimum remaining life. State the remaining shelf life you need at delivery, so the kit is not built with stock that expires before the work is scheduled.
- Cold storage items. Some sealants and adhesives must be stored frozen or refrigerated. These are often shipped separately with the kit cross-referenced, rather than packed with ambient-stored hardware.
- Kit expiry. Put the earliest expiry date on the outer kit label so stores can rotate kits correctly.
Our shelf life control guide covers Type I and Type II shelf life, cure dating and what to put on the PO.
FOD control and kitting
Kitting supports FOD control because every part entering the work area is known and counted, so anything left over or missing is noticed at once. Many primes require a FOD prevention program from their suppliers, and Boeing's supplier guidance points to NAS 412 and SAE AS9146 when defining one.
SAE AS9146, first issued in 2017, sets FOD prevention program requirements for aviation, space and defense organizations and is written to be flowed down the supply chain. NASA has noted that NAS 412 was written with aircraft in mind, so launch vehicle and spacecraft programs often add their own requirements.
How a kit helps a FOD program:
- Exact quantities, so the technician returns any unused parts and the count closes
- Closed bags until the point of use, so no loose hardware rides around in a tote
- No packing debris such as staples, loose paper tags or shedding materials inside clean area kits
- A kit that fits the work area rules, for example clean bags for a cleanroom or no cardboard past a certain line
Tell us your FOD and clean area rules so the packaging matches. Our records, change control and FOD guide covers the program requirements in more depth.
ESD sensitive parts in kits
Electronic parts that are sensitive to electrostatic discharge stay in ESD protective packaging inside the kit, and are only handled outside it in a controlled area. ANSI/ESD S20.20, the ESD Association's program standard, covers packaging as well as handling, and expects packaging that moves sensitive items outside a protected area to give electrostatic discharge shielding.
In practice that means connectors and passive hardware can share an ordinary bag, while ICs, discretes and assemblies with exposed electronics go in shielding bags, marked as ESD sensitive, even when they belong to the same installation.
Changing a kit after it is released
A kit change is a revision to the kit definition, and kits already built to the old revision are only reworked if you direct it. The usual triggers are an engineering change to the installation, a part going obsolete, or a decision to add spares for parts that keep getting dropped.
When you revise a kit, say which serial or build numbers the change applies to, whether kits in stock or in transit should be reworked, relabeled or used as is, and whether the old and new revisions can be mixed in the same work area. Reworked kits get a new label and an updated kit record, so the paperwork always matches what is in the bag.
Kit documentation that ships with the kit
Each kit shipment should come with a document set your receiving inspector can check against the kit definition. That usually means:
- A certificate of conformance stating the kits were built to the kit definition and revision, with kit serial or build numbers
- The kit record or packing list showing every part number, lot and quantity per kit
- Manufacturer and distributor CoCs for each lot, or a reference to where they are held if you agreed to that
- Shelf life data for each dated item
- Any approved substitution, with your approval reference
For kits built from a mixed parts list, the BOM sourcing page explains how a full bill of materials is split and brought back together. The certificate of conformance page covers what the CoC itself should state.
What buyers specify, as a checklist
A kit request that covers the points below can be quoted without a round of questions.
- Kit definition with part numbers, revisions, specs, approved sources and quantities
- Number of kits and the delivery schedule, including whether kits ship in lots
- Grouping inside the kit and packaging type
- Bag and kit label content, barcode format and label durability
- Lot rules: one lot per bag, lot data on labels, kit record content
- Shelf life minimums and cold storage items
- ESD, FOD and clean area packaging rules
- Documents that ship with the kit and documents held on file
- Substitution rules and who approves
- DFARS specialty metals or other flow-downs for the hardware
Where kit parts come from
Kit parts are bought through the manufacturer or its authorized and franchised distributors, with lot traceability and the source CoC. We do not hold inventory or sell from stock. For background on each hardware family, see the fasteners, seals and fluid, electrical connectors and wire and protection and marking sections of the parts guide. Hard to find or discontinued kit items are handled under the controls on our counterfeit parts avoidance page.
How Aerospace Sourcing handles kitting
We are a sourcing service. We source the parts, have kits built and checked to your definition by a qualified supplier, and manage the job through delivery.
- One quote, one lead time, one point of contact and one purchase order for the parts and the kitting
- Your kit definition, labeling, lot, shelf life, ESD and FOD rules flowed down to the supplier
- Kit records and source certs checked against the kit definition before shipment
- A certificate of conformance with every order, plus the certs your request requires
When a kit needs machined or fabricated brackets as well as bought hardware, they can go on the same order. Our aerospace CNC machining page covers the made-part side.
Request a kitting quote
Send your kit definition or parts list, the number of kits and the label and packaging rules through the hardware and kitting request form. Including the lot, shelf life and FOD rules up front is what lets the first quote be one you can actually place. A person replies within one business day.
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.
Reference . A person replies within 1 business day. Watch for our email from [email protected].
Questions
What is the difference between a hardware kit and an installation kit?
A hardware kit usually holds only the fasteners and small hardware for a job: bolts, screws, nuts, washers, inserts, pins and safety wire. An installation kit holds everything loose needed to install a component, which can include the hardware plus brackets, clamps, seals, grommets, sleeving and labels. Both are built to a kit definition, and the parts inside keep their own part numbers, lots and certs.
Can different lots of the same part go in one kit?
They can go in the same kit but should not be mixed in the same bag unless your rules allow it. The usual practice is one lot per bag, with the lot on the bag label and every lot listed on the kit record. If a quantity has to be split across two lots, the parts go in two labeled bags. That keeps each installation traceable to a single manufacturer lot.
How are shelf life items handled in a kit?
Their cure or expiry date goes on the bag label and the kit record, and the earliest date in the kit goes on the outer label so stores can rotate kits. Your kit definition should state the minimum remaining shelf life at delivery. Items that must be stored frozen or refrigerated are often shipped separately and cross-referenced to the kit instead of being packed with ambient hardware.
Does kitting help with FOD control?
Yes. A kit puts an exact, counted quantity of parts at the work, sealed until use, so leftover or missing parts are noticed when the job closes. Many primes require supplier FOD programs, and Boeing's supplier guidance points to NAS 412 and SAE AS9146 for defining one. Tell us your FOD and clean area rules so the packaging and materials in the kit match them.
Who owns the kit definition?
You do. The kit is built to a definition your engineering or planning group releases, with its own kit part number and revision. If you only have an assembly drawing or parts list, a draft kit definition can be prepared from it for your approval, but nothing is built until you approve it, and nothing in the kit changes without a revision from you.
Can you add machined brackets or fabricated parts to a hardware kit?
Yes. Made-to-print parts can go on the same order as the bought hardware, built to your drawing with material certs, process certs and FAI where required, and then kitted with the hardware. You still get one quote, one purchase order and one certificate of conformance package covering both the made parts and the hardware.
Related
Sources
- SAE: AS9146 Foreign Object Damage (FOD) Prevention Program
- Boeing Suppliers: FOD prevention requirements
- IAQG: 9146 guidance materials
- NASA NTRS: FOD prevention for launch vehicles and spacecraft
- ESD Association: An overview of ANSI/ESD S20.20
- ESD Association: ESD fundamentals, ESD standards
- NQA: AS9100:2016 (Revision D) published
- Cornell LII: DFARS 252.225-7009 specialty metals
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