🔥 NADCAP
NADCAP-Accredited Special Process Suppliers in Manchester, NH
A perfectly machined aerospace part can still fail acceptance if the heat treat, plating, or NDT behind it isn't NADCAP accredited to the right scope. NADCAP, the industry-managed program run by the Performance Review Institute, accredits the special processes that decide whether flight hardware is airworthy, and for Manchester's aerospace shops it's the credential that lets their machined details actually ship to a prime. Knowing how to read a NADCAP accreditation in eAuditNet is the difference between a clean source approval and a rejected lot.
NADCAPAS9100
Where NADCAP Fits in Manchester's Aerospace Work
Manchester's aerospace base is heavy on precision machining: multi-axis milling, Swiss turning, wire and sinker EDM, and grinding for structural details, fittings, and housings. But machining is only part of the story. Most aerospace parts need special processes whose quality can't be verified by inspecting the finished part, things like heat treating to hit a metallurgical condition, chemical processing and coatings, welding, and nondestructive testing to find subsurface defects. NADCAP accredits those processes.
The program exists because aerospace primes and their tier suppliers can't individually audit every process source. PRI runs standardized, technically rigorous audits against industry checklists, and the resulting accreditation is what primes flow down. For a Manchester machine shop, that usually means it's AS9100 certified for machining and routes special processes to NADCAP-accredited specialists, whether in New Hampshire, elsewhere in New England, or beyond.
For a buyer, the consequence is that you can't evaluate just the machining node. You have to map the whole process chain and confirm each special process is NADCAP accredited to the specific scope your part and prime require.
Reading eAuditNet Scope, Not Just the Accreditation Status
NADCAP accreditations are recorded in eAuditNet, the system PRI maintains. The trap for buyers is treating accreditation as a single binary. A supplier is accredited for specific commodities and specific scopes within them: a heat treater accredited for one process and atmosphere may not be accredited for the cycle your alloy needs; an NDT house accredited for penetrant and magnetic particle may not hold radiographic. The scope is everything.
When you verify, confirm the accreditation is current and read the accredited commodity and the detailed scope against your part's process requirements and your prime's approved-process-source list. Many primes maintain their own approved supplier lists on top of NADCAP, and a process source can be NADCAP accredited yet not on your prime's list for that process. Both checks matter.
Red flags in this domain are scope mismatches, expired or suspended accreditations, and a machine shop that can't tell you which NADCAP-accredited sources it routes your special processes to. If the shop is vague about its process chain, you have no way to confirm the finished part is acceptable, no matter how good the machining looks.
The Process Records That Travel With Accredited Special Processes
NADCAP-accredited special processes generate records you should require to flow back with the parts. For heat treat, expect a heat-treat certification documenting the cycle, equipment, and conformance to the applicable spec, with traceability to the load and to the material heat lot. For plating, anodize, and chemical processing, expect process certifications referencing the controlling specification and any thickness or coverage requirements. For NDT, expect inspection reports identifying the method, the spec, the technique, and the certified-level inspector's disposition.
For welding, expect evidence the weld was performed to a qualified procedure by a qualified welder, with the relevant procedure and performance qualifications on file. All of these tie back through the machining shop's quality system, which under AS9100 is responsible for controlling its special-process suppliers and capturing their certifications.
Write these into your PO and quality clauses: name the controlling specs, require the special-process certifications to accompany the certificate of conformance, require traceability to the heat or melt lot through every process step, and reserve your right to source-inspect. The completeness of this records package is what lets your incoming inspection and your prime accept the part.
Frequently Asked Questions
NADCAP is an industry-managed accreditation program administered by the Performance Review Institute that audits and accredits special processes used in aerospace and defense manufacturing. AS9100 certifies a supplier's overall quality management system, which is necessary but not sufficient for special processes, because special processes are those whose quality cannot be fully verified by inspecting the finished product. Heat treating, plating and chemical processing, welding, and nondestructive testing all change or evaluate the part in ways you cannot simply measure afterward, so the industry relies on standardized, technically deep audits to confirm the process itself is under control. NADCAP audits use detailed commodity checklists and technically qualified auditors, and primes flow the resulting accreditation down through their supply chains so they do not have to audit every process source individually. For a Manchester aerospace order, this means the machine shop being AS9100 certified is not enough on its own. Each special process the part requires must be performed by a source accredited in NADCAP to the specific scope your part and your prime demand, and you should verify that separately from the machining certification.
NADCAP accreditations are recorded in eAuditNet, the system maintained by the Performance Review Institute, and that is your authoritative source. The key is to verify scope, not just status. A supplier is accredited for specific commodities such as heat treating, chemical processing, nondestructive testing, or welding, and within each commodity for specific processes and parameters. Confirm the accreditation is current and that the accredited scope actually covers the process your part requires, because a heat treater accredited for one cycle or atmosphere may not be accredited for the one your alloy needs, and an NDT house accredited for penetrant inspection may not hold radiographic. Then cross-check against your prime's approved process source list, since many primes maintain their own approved supplier lists in addition to NADCAP, and a source can be accredited yet not approved by your specific prime for that process. Finally, ask the Manchester machine shop directly which accredited sources it routes each special process to, and treat vagueness about the process chain as a red flag, because you cannot confirm acceptability of the finished part without knowing every node in the chain.
Not necessarily, and most do not perform every special process in house. The typical Manchester aerospace shop is AS9100 certified for machining and routes special processes such as heat treat, plating, welding, and NDT to NADCAP-accredited specialists, which may be located in New Hampshire, elsewhere in New England, or beyond. What matters is not whether the machine shop personally holds NADCAP, but whether every special process your part requires is performed by a source accredited to the correct scope and, where applicable, approved by your prime. The machine shop's responsibility under AS9100 is to control its special-process suppliers, flow your requirements down to them, and capture their certifications, so a capable shop can clearly identify which accredited sources it uses for each process and can produce their certifications with the parts. If a shop does perform a special process in house, then that specific process should be NADCAP accredited at the shop. The right approach for a buyer is to map the full process chain and confirm accreditation at the node where each special process is actually performed, rather than assuming the machining certification covers everything.
Require the special-process certifications to accompany the certificate of conformance and to trace through every step back to the material heat or melt lot. For heat treating, require a heat-treat certification documenting the cycle, the equipment, and conformance to the applicable specification, with traceability to the specific load. For plating, anodizing, and chemical processing, require process certifications that reference the controlling specification and any thickness, coverage, or class and type requirements. For nondestructive testing, require inspection reports that identify the method, the controlling specification, the technique, and the disposition by a certified-level inspector. For welding, require evidence the weld was performed to a qualified welding procedure by a qualified welder, with the procedure and performance qualifications available. Name the controlling specifications explicitly in your purchase order and quality clauses so there is no ambiguity, require traceability to be maintained through every process step, and reserve your right to source-inspect. The completeness of this records package is what allows your incoming inspection and ultimately your prime to accept the part, so treat any gaps as cause to hold the lot until resolved.
Last updated: July 2026
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