What First Article Inspection (FAI) means
First article inspection is the gate between "the process can make this" and "the process is making this". The first part off a new die, a new programme or a transferred job is measured against every dimensioned feature on the drawing, recorded, and signed off — not sampled, not spot-checked.
Why it matters on the shop floor
The value of an FAI is not the measurement of one part. It is the evidence that the process capability is understood before thousands of parts are committed: which features hold comfortably, which sit near the tolerance limit, which need an adjustment to the tool or the programme. Findings go back into the process, not into a rework bin.
In practice
A useful FAI package for a sheet metal part typically contains the dimensional report against the ballooned drawing, the material certificate, the surface finish or coating record where relevant, and a statement of any deviations agreed with the customer. For regulated programmes the format is often customer-specified; the underlying discipline is the same.
What to remember
- Performed on the first part of a new tool, a new programme, an engineering revision, or a re-started line.
- Dimensioned against the ballooned drawing, with every balloon accounted for.
- Deviations are raised as concessions and agreed before production continues — never absorbed silently.
- A CMM provides the coordinate data; the drawing and the customer specification define what is acceptable.