How will my tooling be certified, calibrated and maintained?

The next topic in our tooling blog series addresses maintenance.

How will your supplier do the initial buy-off and ongoing maintenance of your tools?

Some things to consider:

• Do they have a formal process for certifying new tools and doing an initial run-off? PPAP, Gage R&R, capability studies
• In the case of inspection fixtures, does the supplier have an ongoing calibration process? Is it in-house, or outsourced to a 3rd party? Do the gages in their shop have calibration stickers?
• Can the supplier show you their tooling Preventive Maintenance plan? Do they maintain a supply of expendable items that are likely to wear or break?
• Are tool drawings kept current and readily available to the shop if replacement parts are needed?

If the time comes that you need to transfer your tooling to another supplier or bring them in-house, for whatever reason, you need to know that the tools have been well maintained. Usually, when tools are being moved, it’s for good reason, and there is not enough time or budget to rebuild or repair tooling that has been neglected. You also need to know that the tooling will last the entire life of your product cycle, and not need to be replaced prematurely due to poor maintenance.

Check out our blog series on Tooling. Feel to reach out with any questions you might have.