🔥 NADCAP
NADCAP and Injection Molding: What It Does and Doesn't Cover
Be clear up front: NADCAP does not accredit injection molding as a special process. Buyers searching for a 'NADCAP injection molding' supplier are usually chasing the wrong target, what they actually need is an AS9100 molder whose secondary operations, painting, bonding, NDT, EMI coating, fall under NADCAP-accredited special processes. This page explains why the molding-process-itself accreditation does not exist, which adjacent processes NADCAP governs, how composites blur the line, and how to source correctly for aerospace molded parts.
NADCAPAS9100ISO 9001
Why There Is No NADCAP Accreditation for Injection Molding
NADCAP (the National Aerospace and Defense Contractors Accreditation Program, run by PRI on behalf of the aerospace primes) accredits specific special processes defined by published audit criteria, and injection molding of thermoplastics is not one of them. The active NADCAP task groups cover processes such as Chemical Processing, Coatings, Heat Treating, Nondestructive Testing, Welding, Materials Testing Labs, Nonconventional Machining and Surface Enhancement, Composites, Sealants, and Aerospace Quality Systems, among others. A standalone injection molding cell producing thermoplastic parts has no corresponding task group, so it cannot be NADCAP-accredited as a molding operation.
The reason is structural. NADCAP targets special processes whose conformance cannot be verified by inspecting the finished part and that are common across many primes, justifying a shared industry-managed audit. Thermoplastic injection molding is generally controlled adequately through AS9100, process validation, and first-article inspection, and it has not been pulled into the NADCAP framework the way metal finishing or NDT has.
So if a supplier claims to be 'NADCAP certified for injection molding,' that claim does not correspond to any real accreditation and should be challenged. The honest sourcing position is that aerospace molded thermoplastic parts are governed by AS9100 plus AS9102 FAI, and NADCAP enters only through the secondary and adjacent processes performed on or around those parts.
The Adjacent Special Processes That Actually Carry NADCAP
Where NADCAP does apply to a molded part is in what happens after or alongside molding. If your molded thermoplastic part is painted or conformal-coated, that coating operation may require NADCAP Coatings accreditation. If it is EMI/RFI shielded with a conductive coating or plated, that falls under Coatings or Chemical Processing. If it is adhesively bonded into an assembly, the bonding may fall under the Composites or Sealants criteria. If the part or its tooling is inspected by penetrant, ultrasonic, or radiographic methods, that is NADCAP NDT. If a materials lab verifies resin properties to a spec, that can fall under Materials Testing Laboratories.
This is the practical takeaway: a flight-program molded part often needs an AS9100 molder for the molding plus a NADCAP-accredited source (the molder's in-house line or a subtier) for each governed secondary process. The prime's drawing and approved-process-source list dictate which operations carry a NADCAP flow-down. The molder must control any NADCAP subtier under its AS9100 supplier-management clauses.
Composites are the one area where 'molding' and NADCAP genuinely intersect, but it is a different process. NADCAP's Composites task group covers layup, autoclave and resin-transfer molding (RTM), and related fiber-reinforced processing, not thermoplastic injection molding. So a structural composite part made by RTM or compression molding can sit inside NADCAP Composites, while an injection-molded thermoplastic bracket does not, even though both are loosely called 'molding.'
Sourcing Correctly: AS9100 Molder Plus NADCAP Subtiers
The right sourcing model for an aerospace molded thermoplastic part is to qualify an AS9100-certified molder and then verify NADCAP accreditation only for the specific governed processes your drawing calls out. Start by confirming the molder's AS9100 certificate is active in the IAQG OASIS database with injection molding in scope at the production site. Then read your drawing and the prime's flow-downs to list every special process applied to the part.
For each NADCAP-governed process on that list, verify accreditation independently in PRI's eAuditNet system (eauditnet.com), which is the authoritative source for who holds which NADCAP accreditation and for which commodity. Confirm the accreditation is current (NADCAP cycles are typically annual to biennial depending on performance, with merit-based extension) and covers the exact process and material. If the molder subcontracts the process, the subtier must appear in eAuditNet, and the molder must control that subtier under AS9100 clause 8.4 supplier management.
During qualification, ask the molder to map each drawing-called special process to either their own NADCAP accreditation or a named accredited subtier, and to provide the eAuditNet evidence. This is also where you confirm the documentation package, AS9102 FAIR, material certs, and special-process certs referencing the relevant NADCAP audit, that should ship with the parts. On ManufacturingBase, filter for AS9100 molders first, then layer the NADCAP special-process requirement onto the secondary operations rather than expecting the molding itself to be accredited.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. NADCAP, administered by PRI for the aerospace primes, accredits a defined set of special processes through published audit criteria and task groups, and thermoplastic injection molding is not among them. The task groups cover processes like Chemical Processing, Coatings, Heat Treating, Nondestructive Testing, Welding, Materials Testing Labs, Surface Enhancement, Composites, and Sealants, none of which is plain injection molding. The reason is that injection molding is generally controlled well enough through AS9100, formal process validation, and AS9102 first-article inspection, and it has never been brought into the NADCAP framework the way metal finishing or NDT has. So if a supplier claims to be 'NADCAP certified for injection molding,' that statement does not map to any real accreditation and should be challenged directly. The honest answer for aerospace thermoplastic molded parts is that the molding operation is governed by AS9100 plus first-article inspection, and NADCAP only becomes relevant through the secondary processes, painting, coating, bonding, NDT, performed on the part. Source an AS9100 molder and apply the NADCAP requirement to those adjacent operations, not to the molding.
NADCAP requirements attach to the special processes applied to or around the molded part, not the molding. Common triggers include painting and conformal coating (NADCAP Coatings), conductive EMI/RFI coatings or plating (Coatings or Chemical Processing), adhesive bonding into an assembly (Composites or Sealants criteria depending on the joint), nondestructive testing of the part or tooling by penetrant, ultrasonic, or radiographic methods (NDT), and materials-property verification by an accredited lab (Materials Testing Laboratories). The authoritative source for which operations carry a NADCAP flow-down on your specific part is the customer drawing and the prime contractor's approved-process-source list, so read those first and build a line item for each governed process. A plain molded thermoplastic part that is simply molded, trimmed, and dimensionally inspected typically needs only AS9100 and a complete AS9102 FAIR, no NADCAP at all. The complexity appears as you add finishing and assembly operations. For each one your drawing calls out, you then verify that the molder, or a named subtier, holds the matching NADCAP accreditation in eAuditNet for that exact process and material.
Yes, but it is a fundamentally different process from thermoplastic injection molding, which is the source of much of the confusion. NADCAP has a Composites task group that accredits fiber-reinforced composite processes such as hand and automated layup, autoclave curing, resin-transfer molding (RTM), and related operations used to build structural composite parts from carbon or glass fiber and thermoset resin. Those are the 'molding' processes NADCAP actually touches. Thermoplastic injection molding, melting a thermoplastic resin and injecting it into a steel tool to make discrete parts like brackets, housings, connectors, and clips, is a different technology with no NADCAP task group. So a structural composite component made by RTM or compression molding can legitimately sit inside NADCAP Composites accreditation, while an injection-molded thermoplastic part cannot, even though both are casually called 'molding.' When scoping a supplier, be precise about which process your part uses: if it is fiber-reinforced structural composite, look for AS9100 plus NADCAP Composites; if it is a thermoplastic injection-molded part, look for AS9100 with NADCAP applied only to any governed secondary finishing or inspection operations.
Use eAuditNet at eauditnet.com, the PRI-run system that is the authoritative public source for NADCAP accreditations. Search the supplier and confirm they hold the specific accreditation for the exact process and commodity your drawing requires, for example NADCAP Coatings for a particular paint or conductive coating, or NADCAP NDT for penetrant inspection, rather than just 'NADCAP' in general. Confirm the accreditation is current; NADCAP audit cycles are typically annual but can extend to longer intervals on merit for strong performers, and a lapsed accreditation does not cover your parts. If the molder performs the special process in-house, their own listing must appear; if they subcontract it, the named subtier must be accredited in eAuditNet, and the molder must control that subtier under AS9100 clause 8.4 supplier management with the flow-down documented. During qualification, ask the molder to map each drawing-called special process to either their own accreditation or a named accredited subtier and to provide the eAuditNet evidence and corresponding process certs that will ship with the parts. This keeps the molding under AS9100 and the special processes under verified NADCAP, which is the correct, honest structure for aerospace molded parts.
Last updated: July 2026
Find NADCAP-Certified Injection Molding Suppliers
Search verified injection molding shops that hold NADCAP.
No logins. No email gates. Just results.