In this guide 6 sections
File one PPAP package per part number and revision. It normally holds the design record, process flow, FMEA, control plan, dimensional results, material and performance test reports, capability studies and the part submission warrant. Link the package to the drawing revision, so any drawing change flags the file for resubmission before the customer asks.
What a PPAP package is for
PPAP is the customer’s proof that your process, tooling and inspection plan can make the part to the drawing again and again, shift after shift. It is requested before first supply, and again whenever a change in tooling, material source or process route could alter the part.
A first article report is the narrower sibling. It lists every drawing dimension against the first parts made from production tooling, with the measured value, the gauge used and the verdict, pass or fail, beside each balloon. Some customers ask for it alone. Others want it inside a full PPAP.
Confirm with your customer quality engineer which submission level each part number needs, because the level decides which documents you send and which you keep ready.
The documents you will file for each part
The set is the same for forged and stamped parts, but forgings lean on heat treatment and metallurgy records while stampings lean on gauge, die and press data.
Start the folder long before any request arrives. Build it as tooling is approved, and the final submission is mostly assembly rather than a scramble through old email.
- Design record and balloon drawing
- Process flow diagram and FMEA
- Control plan with reaction steps
- Dimensional results on a full lot sample
- Material certificates and test reports
- Part submission warrant signed
Where forging and stamping records differ
A forging file adds heat numbers, hardness readings, grain flow or microstructure reports and the furnace chart for heat treatment. Magnetic particle results join where asked.
A stamping file adds coil certificate values, blank size, die number, first piece layout reports and the gauge study for any check fixture the operators use. Fixtures need their own study.
Both need capability results on the key characteristics, so collect measurements from consecutive parts rather than hand-picked ones, which lets the study reflect what the process really makes.
- Forged: heat chart, hardness, microstructure
- Stamped: coil cert, die number, fixture gauge
- Both: key characteristic capability data
Tie every file to the part and the revision
The usual failure is not a missing document. It is a document attached to the wrong revision: the drawing moves from B to C, the die is modified, and the old dimensional report stays on file.
Store each package under part number and revision, with the submission date, the customer’s approval status and the name of the quality engineer who approved it. When an engineering change arrives, the tracker should flag which files are now stale and which customers must be told.
Point it at the live control plan.
Keep it alive after approval
Approval is not the end. Customers expect resubmission after a tooling repair, a new subcontractor or a change of material source, so keep a change log beside each package.
Schedule a yearly review of the control plan against real reject and rework records, because launch plans often miss defects that appear in the first year of supply.
Next, list your ten highest volume part numbers. Check each folder for revision, submission date, approval status and the control plan the press uses today, then fix the oldest gap first.
PPAP submission tracker
This tracker gives every part number and revision its own row, followed by customer, submission level and a tick box for each required document. The boxes cover drawing, process flow, FMEA, control plan, dimensional results, material certificate, test report, capability study and the signed part submission warrant. The last columns record submission date, approval status, next review date and the customer engineer who approved the file.
Open a blank worksheet to printQuestions owners ask
Is PPAP the same as a first article inspection?
No, because a first article report covers dimensions on early production parts, while PPAP is wider and adds process, control and material evidence to those results. They are related, not equal.
When must a PPAP be submitted again?
Customers usually require it after a drawing revision, a tooling change or repair, a new material source or a new subcontractor, though each customer sets its own triggers. Check the supplier manual.
How many parts go into the dimensional report?
The customer sets the sample size. Many ask for parts from a production run on production tooling, so confirm the number with the customer engineer before you start measuring.
Can spreadsheets hold PPAP records?
They can for a few part numbers. Once revisions and customers multiply, you need links between files, revisions and approval dates that a plain folder cannot enforce.