If you source welded components for aerospace or defense, you’ve seen “Nadcap required” on a drawing note or supplier questionnaire. Most people know it’s an accreditation. Fewer know what it covers, or what it changes for the buyer who has to approve a new supplier.
Nadcap is not ISO 9001 or AS9100
AS9100 and ISO 9001 certify a Quality Management System that ensures a company documents its procedures and follows them.
Nadcap (National Aerospace and Defense Contractors Accreditation Program) is different in two ways:
- It accredits special processes, not the overall system. Welding, heat treating, NDT, and chemical processing. These are processes where you can’t fully verify the result by inspecting the finished part. A weld can look perfect and still hide a subsurface defect, so the process itself must be controlled and proven.
- It’s also industry managed. The audit checklists are written by the Task Group and approved by the Subscriber and Supplier. When a Nadcap auditor walks a process, they’re checking against the established checklist. The auditor is considered an expert in processes field, rather than a general quality auditor. Their expertise in the processes is ensured through a joint interview by the Subscriber and Supplier before they are hired as a Nadcap Auditor.
What does it mean for you as the buyer?
- Faster supplier approval. Most Subscribers require Nadcap for special process suppliers. A shop that holds it skips a major gate. One that doesn’t may need your quality team to audit them, adding time to the overall process.
- Fewer source inspections. With process controls independently verified, many customers reduce on-site inspection for accredited suppliers.
- Lower risk on parts you can’t fully inspect.
- Traceability that holds up when a question comes up two years after delivery.
Five questions to ask any welding supplier:
- What is your exact Nadcap scope, and is it current? Ask for the certificate.
- Which checklists are you accredited to?
- How do you qualify and requalify welders?
- How do you control Welding Materials?
- Can you provide historic records for this order?
A shop that’s serious about the process will answer these easily.
Where Alloy Precision Technologies Stands
That accreditation covers the work Alloy Precision Technologies does every day: bellows assemblies, thin wall tubing, hermetic weldments, and superalloy components for aerospace, defense, and power generation customers. Accreditation proves the process is controlled. Our validation and performance testing proves the part works, confirming dimensional and performance requirements before it ships.
If you’re qualifying a new welding source, Alloy Precision Technologies is ready to support your program.
Talk to Us!
We’ve put together a short overview of our certifications, materials, processes, and how we handle first articles and supplier approval. Download the Aerospace & Defense Capabilities PDF or learn more here.
