First Article Inspection on an Overseas Machining Order

By CNC Machining Vietnam·Published September 21, 2026·Editorial standards

A first article inspection is one part, measured against every characteristic on the drawing, recorded and approved before the rest of the order runs. It is the single highest value quality step available on an overseas machining order, and it is skipped constantly because it feels like it slows things down.

It does slow things down, by a few days. It is competing against the alternative, which is finding the problem after the full quantity exists, is packed and is in a container.

What an FAI actually contains

At minimum, a table with one row per drawing characteristic:

Column	What goes in it
Characteristic number	Balloon number matching a marked up drawing
Specification	The nominal and the tolerance as drawn
Actual	The measured value, as a number
Instrument	What it was measured with
Result	Pass or fail

Plus a marked up drawing where every characteristic is numbered, photographs of the part from several angles, the material certificate and the name of the person who signed it off.

The two details that separate a useful report from a decorative one: actual measured values rather than ticks, and a balloon drawing so you can find each characteristic without guessing.

If a shop returns a report full of “OK” instead of numbers, send it back. A tick tells you somebody looked. A number tells you what they saw.

When to ask for one

Always on:

• The first order with a new shop
• The first order after a drawing revision
• The first order after a process change on the shop’s side, such as a new machine or a new subcontractor for plating
• A restart after a long gap, where the programme and fixture were rebuilt

Probably not on:

• A repeat order, same revision, same shop, recent, where a shorter in process check is enough

The category people get wrong is the drawing revision. A minor change on one feature is treated as not worth a new first article, and then the revision turns out to have shifted a datum. If the drawing number changed, ask again.

Where it sits in the schedule

A first article costs days, not weeks, and the days are usually yours rather than the shop’s:

1. Shop completes setup and runs the first piece
2. Shop measures every characteristic and writes the report
3. Report is sent to you, with photographs
4. You review and approve or reject
5. Production runs

Step four is where the time goes. A shop that turns a report around in a day and then waits five days for your answer has not delayed anything, you have. Decide in advance who reviews it and commit to a response time, because a first article sitting in an inbox is a machine sitting idle and it will show up in your delivery date. The lead time guide sets out where this sits against everything else.

How to review one in fifteen minutes

Do not read it top to bottom. Work in this order:

1. Check the revision. Does the report reference the drawing revision you ordered against? This catches more problems than any measurement.
2. Go to your critical features first. The ones you marked as functionally critical. Read the actual values, not the pass column.
3. Look at where each value sits in the band. A dimension passing at the very edge of tolerance on piece one will produce failures across a production run as tools wear. Raise it now.
4. Scan for suspicious numbers. Every actual landing exactly on nominal is not a good sign, it is a sign of a table filled in from the drawing.
5. Check the material certificate matches the grade you specified.
6. Look at the photographs for finish, burrs and cosmetic issues no table captures.

Point three is the one that pays for itself. A first article is not only a pass or fail, it is a preview of how the process will drift.

What to write into the purchase order

A first article inspection is required before the balance of the order is produced. The report shall include a ballooned drawing, every characteristic with actual measured values, the instrument used for each, photographs of the part and the material certificate. Production shall not proceed until the buyer has approved the report in writing. The buyer will respond within two working days of receipt.

The last sentence is the one buyers forget, and it is the one that makes the clause fair. It also makes the delay yours to control.

If it fails

Three options, and the choice is yours rather than the shop’s:

• Correct and remeasure. Normal for something within the shop’s control, such as an offset or a missed operation.
• Accept with a written concession. Appropriate when the deviation genuinely does not affect function. Write down what you accepted and why, on this order only, or it becomes a precedent.
• Change the drawing. If the first article reveals that a tolerance was never realistic, fix the drawing rather than fighting the same argument on every order. The tolerances guide covers how to decide what is genuinely needed.

What you should not do is approve a failed report to save two days. The two days come back multiplied.

A first article is not a full inspection

It proves the setup can make a correct part. It does not prove that part 400 is correct. For that you want in process checks during the run, an agreed sampling level on critical features and the other documents covered in the quality documents guide.

The combination that works for most commercial parts is: first article before production, sampling on critical features during production and a final packing list that matches reality.

When you are quoting a part, ask for the first article as a separate line so you can see what it costs and hold the shop to it. Send the drawing here and say which features you want reported.

Frequently asked questions

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