Glossary
The words we use, explained.
Our industry is full of shorthand. Here is what each term means in plain English, and why it matters to you.
- First article inspection (FAI)
- Proving that the first part made by a new process, tool or supplier matches the drawing, before full production starts. It is usually a condition of the contract.
- 3D scanning (structured light, or 3DSL)
- Measuring the whole shape of a part without touching it, using a camera and a pattern of light projected onto the surface. It captures millions of points, so you can see the shape of an error, not just a single dimension.
- CMM (coordinate measuring machine)
- A machine that measures a part by touching it at precise points with a probe. Very accurate on the features it touches, but slower than scanning and limited to the points you choose.
- Qualification
- Proving that a part, process or supplier reliably produces what the drawing and the contract demand.
- Sentencing
- Deciding whether a measured part passes, fails or needs an engineer to review it. In repair, deciding whether a used part goes back into service, is repaired, or is scrapped. An engineer always makes that decision.
- Gauge R&R and measurement system analysis (MSA)
- Tests that show whether a measurement can be trusted: do you get the same answer twice, and does everyone who measures get the same answer? If not, the data behind your decisions is unreliable.
- Tolerance
- The amount a dimension is allowed to differ from the drawing and still be acceptable.
- Digital twin
- A digital record of a part or a process that builds up as work is done. It lets you compare one part with hundreds of others and spot what makes a good one good.
- Traceability
- Being able to show, for any part, what was measured, when, by whom, with which equipment, and what was decided. Auditors ask for this and gaps in it cause failures.
- MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul)
- The business of servicing parts and engines after they have been in service, rather than making new ones.
- OEM (original equipment manufacturer)
- The company whose name is on the finished product, for example an engine maker. Their requirements flow down to every supplier.
- NADCAP
- An aerospace industry accreditation for special processes, awarded after an audit of how the work is actually done. Ours covers 3D scanning.
- AS9100
- The aerospace quality management standard. It governs how a company runs its quality system, not a single process.
- Ceramic core
- The ceramic insert used when casting a turbine blade, which forms the cooling passages inside it. Measuring cores is difficult and matters enormously to how the finished blade performs.
- MiDAS
- Our software. It records each measurement against the part it came from, checks it against your acceptance rules, and produces the report, with no retyping. Sold in three parts: the core record-keeping, an add-on that plans work and makes routine pass-or-fail decisions automatically, and an add-on for companies running several sites.
- ATLASQual
- The part of MiDAS that plans the inspection work: what needs measuring, in what order, and by when. In our quality workflows it also sends each exception to the right person and records their sign-off.
- MiDASMIND
- The rules engine inside MiDAS. It applies your own acceptance rules to each measurement, or checks a document against its requirement, and sorts it into pass, fail or refer to an engineer, so routine cases are clear at once. A person signs off.
- PMI (product manufacturing information)
- Tolerances and notes held inside the 3D CAD model rather than on a separate drawing. It lets inspection programs be built straight from the model.
- Concession
- Written permission, from your customer or whoever owns the design, to use or ship a part that does not fully meet the drawing or specification.
- Non-conformance report (NCR)
- The record raised when a part, a process or a document does not meet its requirement. It says what was wrong and what happens next.
- Disposition
- The decision on what happens to a part that does not conform: for example use as is, rework, or scrap. A named person signs it.
- The 3Cs (corrective action)
- Our name for the three parts of a corrective action: Concern (what went wrong), Containment (stopping it reaching other parts) and Countermeasure (stopping it happening again).
- CAPA (corrective and preventive action)
- A common quality process for fixing a problem and stopping it coming back: find the cause, correct it, then prevent it happening again elsewhere. We track corrective actions in whichever method your quality system uses.
- 8D (eight disciplines)
- A structured, eight-step method for solving a problem as a team, from describing it and containing it to finding the root cause, fixing it and stopping it recurring. Widely used by aerospace and automotive customers.
- Pareto chart
- A bar chart that ranks causes from the biggest to the smallest, so you can see which few causes drive most of the problem, or most of the cost.
- Certificate of Conformity (CofC)
- A supplier’s signed statement that what it delivered meets the order: the right specification, revision and material.
- Works order and route card
- The paperwork that travels with a job through the factory, listing each operation and who did it.
- Calibration certificate
- The record that comes back with an instrument after calibration, showing how it measured against a known reference.
- Drawing revision (issue)
- Each version of a drawing or specification carries an issue letter or number. When issue A is replaced by issue B, the changes have to be found and followed.
- AS9102
- The aerospace standard for first article inspection records: the forms to fill in, and what each must show, so a customer can see that every feature on the drawing was checked.
- Ballooned drawing
- A copy of the drawing with a numbered balloon beside every feature and note, so each one can be measured, recorded and traced in the first article pack.
- Back-test
- Running a new check over records you have already closed, to see what it would have caught and how long the checking took.
- FPI (fluorescent penetrant inspection)
- A dye is applied to the part and drawn into any surface crack, which then glows under ultraviolet light.
- Wall thickness measurement
- Measuring how much material is left in a thin wall, usually with ultrasound, without cutting the part.
- ERP (enterprise resource planning)
- The business system that holds your orders, stock and jobs.
- Air-gapped
- Running on computers with no connection to the internet at all.
Still sounds like jargon?
Ask us. We would rather explain it once than have you nodding along in a meeting.
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