Thread Insert Quality Control at Ankolam

Quality control at Ankolam is a documented, three-stage process: incoming material inspection (IQC), in-process dimensional control (first-piece approval plus patrol inspection), and final inspection with 100% dimensional checks before release. It runs under an AS9100D-compliant quality management system (additional-site scope) with full lot traceability — heat numbers, batch records and inspection reports retained for every shipment.

Quality Management at Ankolam: Scope Statement

Additional-Site Scope in One Sentence

Thread insert production at Ankolam operates under an AS9100D-compliant quality management system covering this additional production site — aerospace-grade process discipline (first article inspection, traceability, documented controls) applied to all products, for every customer.

How the Scope Applies to Daily Production

In practice this means: new part numbers never reach volume without first article inspection; no lot ships without dimensional records; every material batch is traceable to its heat number; and process changes are documented before they take effect. The same discipline covers the automotive and industrial standards we produce to (see the standards matrix below).

Incoming Material Inspection

Supplier Qualification & Material Traceability

Wire stock arrives only from qualified suppliers. Each batch is checked with the handheld spectrometer before release to the drawing lines — chemistry that does not match the certificate never enters production. From that point, heat numbers follow the material through every process step.

Hardness & Composition Spot Checks

Beyond chemistry, incoming checks include hardness verification on wire stock — the property that ultimately governs insert tensile performance.

In-Process Dimensional Control

First-Piece Approval on Every Batch

Each production batch begins with a first-piece dimensional check against the control plan — winding geometry, free-state diameter and pitch criteria — approved before the run continues. On new part numbers this extends to full first article inspection (FAI).

Patrol Inspection & Full-Size Sampling

During winding, patrol checks monitor wire profile and coil geometry at defined intervals. Before packing, finished inserts receive full-size sampling with the optical measuring system — and final release is based on 100% inspection, not statistics.

Wire Diameter & Pitch Diameter Control

The two dimensions that decide thread quality — wire diamond profile and resulting pitch diameter — are controlled at the drawing die and verified on the tool microscope. This is where in-house wire drawing pays for itself: the profile is ours to hold, not a supplier’s promise.

Final Inspection & Pre-Shipment Release

Go/No-Go Thread Gauging on Finished Inserts

Finished inserts are gauged like the customer will gauge them — GO/NO-GO thread criteria plus optical dimensional measurement, tensile testing and surface checks per lot. Coated parts add coating verification; corrosion-critical orders can include salt-spray testing.

Dimensional Report & Certificate of Conformance

Shipments carry dimensional inspection records; heat-number documentation and Mill Test Certificates are available on request. If your supplier qualification needs a specific documentation package, tell us the format at quotation.

Standards We Produce To

Inspection Equipment On Site

A Quality Partner You Can Verify

Ankolam has passed supplier qualification reviews of leading industrial enterprises, backed by over ten years of accumulated process and field-test data. Factory audits and third-party inspections are welcome at the Wuxi plant — arrange through contact. The company story is on the about page; production detail on the factory page.

Quality FAQ

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