AS9102 First Article Inspection Reports

What’s an AS9102 First Article Inspection Report?

An AS9102 FAIR, or First Article Inspection Report, certifies that each sample was produced and inspected according to the customer's specifications. AS9102 First Articles used by the aerospace and defense industries include 3 forms: Part Number Accountability, Product Accountability, and Characteristic Accountability.

What are the three forms of an AS9102 FAIR?

There are 3 forms in AS9102 FAIRs - Part Number Accountability, Product Accountability, and Characteristic Accountability.

AS9102 Form 1: Part Number Accountability

Identify the part for the First Article Inspection (FAI) and associated sub-assemblies or detailed parts.

AS9102 Form 2: Product Accountability

All material and process specifications, as well as any special processes and functional testing defined as design requirements, must be accounted for on Form 2.

AS9102 Form 3: Characteristic Accountability

All product characteristics such as dimensions, tolerances, notes, etc. must be accounted for on Form 3. An inspection drawing or model is required whereby all inspection characteristics (defined using CAD annotations) are clearly identified with uniquely numbered inspection balloons. The numbers on the inspection balloons must correspond to the characteristic numbers on Form 3.

When should I conduct a First Article Inspection?

A First Article Inspection is typically called for in a purchase order contract between the producer and buyer.

The most common reason to conduct a FAI is that it's required by your customer. According to SAE, here are the times a First Article is required:

The first production run of a new product
Design change
Materials or sources change
It has been more than 2 years since the part was produced
Change in process, tools, or location

Learn more about when a First Article Inspection is required.

Which revision of AS9102 should I use?

AS9102 Rev C, the most recent version, is the standard used by most companies. Learn more about the evolution of AS9102 since it was first released in 2000 and the differences between Rev B and Rev C.

Example AS9102 First Article Inspection Report

A detailed example of how to fill out all 3 forms of the AS9102 First Article Inspection Report.

Free AS9102 Rev C Template & Guide

What’s Included:

Free AS9102 Rev C Template as an Excel workbook with forms 1, 2, and 3.
Separate annotated guide with an explanation of every field in the AS9102 Template forms 1, 2, and 3.

How to create a First Article Inspection Report in 5 Steps

Step 1: Pre-planning FAI

Before beginning, gather documentation needed for your First Article Inspection:

Engineering drawings
Digital product definition data sets
Bill of materials/raw materials list
Specifications
Manufacturing planning/routing/traveler/work order
Source/supplier information

Step 2: Create inspection plan

Balloon your part drawing: identify the requirement to be inspected with a balloon number.

Fill out the AS9102 Form 1 (Part Number Accountability) and Form 2 (Product Accountability) with information from the Bill of Materials and Specifications List.
Document reference location of the balloon
Requirements including units of measure, variable requirements with tolerances
Classifications (Critical, Major, Key)

Step 3: Manufacture the part

Build the product and ensure you are documenting/recording processing and inspection results for the requirements during the manufacturing process.

Note: First articles are not necessarily the first part produced, but from the first production run. Learn more about when a first article is required.
Inspect the part according to the inspection plan.
Keep track of calibrated, certified inspection tools so that they are traceable back to the person certified to use the tool to perform the inspections/manufacture accurately.

Step 4: Collect Data

Inspect the part according to the plan
Keep track of tools

Step 5: Create report

Enter measurement result data into Form 3:

Measured result(s)
Designed/Qualified Tooling
Non-conformance information, if any
Certificate of Conformance (C of C)
Functional Test Report

AS9102 First Article Inspection Report

What is AS9102?

Free AS9102 Template

Faster FAIRs

What’s an AS9102 First Article Inspection Report?

What are the three forms of an AS9102 FAIR?

AS9102 Form 1: Part Number Accountability

AS9102 Form 2: Product Accountability

AS9102 Form 3: Characteristic Accountability

When should I conduct a First Article Inspection?

Which revision of AS9102 should I use?

Example AS9102 First Article Inspection Report

Free AS9102 Rev C Template & Guide

Free AS9102 Rev C Template & Guide

How to create a First Article Inspection Report in 5 Steps

Step 1: Pre-planning FAI

Step 2: Create inspection plan

Step 3: Manufacture the part

Step 4: Collect Data

Step 5: Create report

Create your AS9102 FAIRs faster

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