First article inspection records.

• FAIRs are Excel and PDFs

  Ballooned drawing in one PDF, Form 3 in Excel, measurement data pasted from CMM printouts — reconciliation is manual and error rate is high.

• Delta FAI is treated as full FAI

  A minor characteristic change triggers a full re-inspection because nobody trusts the delta logic — cost and lead time explode.

• Supplier FAIRs Arrive Incomplete

  Forms without matching balloon numbers, missing measurement records, wrong revision drawing — QA rejects and the loop restarts.

• Drawing Balloon and Characteristic List

  Upload PDF or STEP; balloon on-screen; auto-generate the characteristic list with tolerance, method and inspection frequency — the source of truth for Form 3.

• Forms 1, 2 and 3 Auto-Populated

  Part number, revision, materials, processes, functional testing, special processes — pulled from the item master and routing, not typed twice.

• Direct Measurement Capture

  CMM (PC-DMIS, Calypso, Modus), calipers, micrometers, height gauges, hardness — direct or barcode-driven capture with in-tolerance / out-of-tolerance auto-flagged.

• Delta FAI Logic

  Change in drawing revision, process, sub-tier supplier, material lot, tooling or 2-year lapse triggers targeted delta — with Rev C decision tree evidenced automatically.

• Supplier + Customer Portal

  Supplier submits FAIR through the portal with completeness check; customer QA reviews, approves or rejects with rationale — all e-signed and archived.

FAI lifecycle.

1. Drawing Balloned. CAD-linked ballooning captures characteristics.
2. First Article Made. Production run captured under DHR.
3. Characteristics recorded. Metrology data captured with instrument linkage.
4. Forms Generated & Submitted. Rev C forms delivered to customer portal.
5. Delta / Full FAI Decided. Class-based decision automated.

FAI (AS9102) is where aerospace and defence programs fail on the paperwork. Criteria below are what to check.

• AS9102 Rev C Forms

  Are Forms 1/2/3 generated per Rev C? Rev C forms generated with validation.

• Ballooning to CAD

  Is drawing ballooning linked to CAD annotations? CAD-linked ballooning with characteristic capture.

• Delta FAI Decisioning

  Is delta FAI vs full FAI decided by change class? Change class drives delta / full decision.

• Supplier Submission Portal

  Do suppliers submit FAI to you via portal? Supplier portal with in-record review.

• PPAP Interop

  Does the system produce PPAP where automotive customers require it? PPAP levels 1-5 outputs supported.

FAI approaches.

FAI standards.

• AS9102 Rev C

  Form generation, characteristic capture and submission per Rev C.

• AS9100D §8.5.1.3

  Process verification records tie to FAI submission.

• PPAP (AIAG)

  PPAP outputs supported for cross-industry programs.

• AS9102 Rev C (Aerospace First Article Inspection Requirement)
• AS9100D §8.5.1.3 (production process verification)
• IAQG SCMH 7.5 (FAI guidance)
• AS13100 (aero-engine supplement)

• Medical Devices
• Nonconformance Management Software
• Supplier Portal
• Supplier Quality Management Software
• Incoming Inspection

Does V5 auto-balloon from PDF or STEP?

PDF ballooning is on-screen with AI-assist suggestions the inspector confirms; STEP ballooning reads the PMI/GD&T annotations directly where the model carries them.

Which CMM software does V5 integrate with?

PC-DMIS, Calypso, Modus, PolyWorks, Verisurf — direct results parsing. Others via CSV/XML export.

How does delta FAI actually work?

V5 keeps the last full FAIR as baseline; a change event (drawing rev, process, sub-tier, material, tooling, 2-year lapse) computes the delta scope automatically per AS9102 Rev C §5.4, and only the affected characteristics require re-measurement.