NADCAP Special Process Accreditation and Assembly Work

Most aerospace assemblies contain components that passed through NADCAP-accredited special processes before they reached the build station. A structural assembly might include parts that were heat treated to a specific aluminum or titanium temper, anodized or cadmium-plated for corrosion protection, shot peened for fatigue life, and inspected by fluorescent penetrant or radiography. Each of those steps is a NADCAP commodity with its own accreditation. When the assembly drawing invokes those processes, the buyer should confirm they were performed by NADCAP-accredited sources. Welded assemblies are a clearer case. Fusion welding, resistance welding, and brazing are NADCAP commodities under the AC7110 series, so a welded assembly's joining operations can and frequently must be NADCAP accredited when an aerospace prime requires it. Similarly, an electronics assembly involving soldered connections or printed-board assembly can fall under the NADCAP Electronics program, AC7120 and its slash sheets, which audit to standards such as IPC J-STD-001 and IPC-A-610. The practical takeaway: dissect the assembly into its processes. Identify which steps are special processes, then verify NADCAP accreditation for those steps specifically. The final mechanical integration is covered by the quality system; the heat treat, plating, welding, NDT, and qualifying electronics work are where NADCAP applies.

NADCAP accreditations are tracked in eAuditNet, the PRI-operated database, and the qualified suppliers list is publicly searchable through the QML. To verify a supplier, search eAuditNet for the company and confirm the specific commodity accreditation you need, for example Welding or Chemical Processing, is current and lists the relevant slash sheets covering the processes your part requires. NADCAP accreditation is granted per process and per facility, so a supplier accredited for welding is not thereby accredited for heat treating, and a multi-site supplier may hold accreditation at one plant only. Pay attention to the accreditation interval and merit status. NADCAP audits are demanding and typically annual, though suppliers with strong audit histories can earn extended merit intervals of up to two years. A current accreditation in eAuditNet with no open major nonconformances is the signal you want. The scope detail matters too: NADCAP accreditations specify the exact specifications and parameters covered, so confirm the slash sheet covers your specific alloy, coating, or weld type. The red flags here are specific. A supplier claiming a NADCAP accreditation for assembly as a whole should be questioned, since assembly is not a commodity. A supplier whose accreditation cannot be found in eAuditNet, or whose accreditation covers a different facility or a different process than the one your part needs, has a verification gap. And an accreditation that lapsed without a documented audit in progress means the process is no longer NADCAP-current.

On a real aerospace assembly contract, NADCAP and AS9100 work as a pair. AS9100 is the overarching quality system the assembler operates under, governing configuration control, first article inspection, traceability, and the flow-down of requirements. NADCAP sits underneath as the accreditation for the specific special processes within or feeding the assembly. A prime's purchase order will typically require AS9100 certification of the assembler and NADCAP accreditation for each applicable special process, whether performed in-house or by a sub-tier. This is why a NADCAP accreditation alone never qualifies an assembly supplier. It tells you nothing about whether they control configuration, run proper FAIs, or maintain traceability, all of which are AS9100 matters. Conversely, an AS9100 certificate alone does not guarantee that the heat treat or plating in your assembly was done to NADCAP-accredited standards, because AS9100 requires the assembler to control their special-process sources but the accreditation lives with those sources. The buyer's job is to map the requirement flow-down: AS9100 on the assembler, NADCAP on each special process, and verification of both in their respective registries, OASIS for AS9100 and eAuditNet for NADCAP. When both are in place and scoped correctly, the assembly is built under a controlled quality system using properly accredited special processes, which is exactly what an aerospace prime expects to see flow up the chain.