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PPAPPRODUCTION PART APPROVAL PROCESS

Author : York Peng of LeadwinLEADWIN PRECISION TECHNOLOGIES, INC.

01. Pre-First Article (Pre-FA PPAP or iPPAP)

Before production, Leadwin plans how to manufacture and prepares the first PPAP. This is sometimes also called initial PPAP (iPPAP).

At this stage of development, Leadwin:

(1) Reviews the material and its properties.(2) Reviews the 3D model and determines how to manufacture.(3) Reviews each dimension on the 2D drawing and determines how to manufacture.(4) Reviews each note on the 2D drawing and plans how to meet the requirements.(5) Formulates an inspection standard, including developing methods, tools, and instruc tions.(6) Creates a work flow diagram and identifies tasks.(7) Defines each task, its setup, process, and control points.(8) Holds kick-off meeting, assigns task owners, and finalizes implementation schedule.(9) Trains each team member involved in the project.

The Production Part Approval Process (PPAP) is a quality assurance system consisting of 19 elements.

When PPAP is a customer requirement, Leadwin creates a custom PPAP report tailoredfor each part’s unique challenges and its stage of development.

Leadwin performs PPAP at 4 milestones in the product development cycle:

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PPAP at 4 stages of part development

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Leadwin follows the established Pre-FA PPAP procedure and produces the First Article (FA) and the First Article Inspection Report (FAIR). During FA production, Leadwin may determine that some adjustments to work flow,tasks, and control points are required. After FA and the FAIR, Leadwin updates the Pre-FA PPAP to incorporate these improvements and optimizations. The result is the Post-FA PPAP, which is an enhanced PPAP that is ready for production use.

Once all processes are stable, the improved Mass Production PPAP becomes the Golden PPAP.

The Golden PPAP is a living document and is constantly updated with improvements to efficiency, cost, and quality. It can accommodate both minor adjustments like process improvements or larger changes like material substitution to achieve cost savings. For larger modifications to the part or manufacturing process, a new FA approval may be required before officially implementing the improvements.

Following this procedure of controlled, scientific manufacturing with checks and balances allows Leadwin to ensure consistent, repeatable production of good parts.

The Post-FA PPAP guides mass production (MP). Once mass production begins, adjustments are made to account for differences between pre-production and mass production runs. The improved Post-FA PPAP becomes the Mass Production PPAP after the first mass production run. The MP PPAP is continuously improved until each process produces a stable, consistent output.

02. Post-First Article (Post-FA PPAP)

03. Start of Mass Production (MP PPAP)

04. Stable Mass Production (Golden PPAP)

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Most suppliers only do post-fa ppap and adopt this version for mass production—they base their quality framework on the manufacturing process for producing the approved fa. However, this is not representative of true conditions found during mass production, and suppliers who do not complete ppap at all 4 stages of part development struggle to establish consistent quality. Furthermore, the few suppliers who do mass production ppap usually use this version as the quality framework, without continuously updating and improving the document. Similar to suppliers who only perform post-fa ppap, suppliers who stop at mp ppap find that the mp ppap quickly becomes outdated and unrepresentative of true conditions. With mass production comes larger outputs, and more data are collected—data that should be used to improve the mp ppap. Many suppliers fail to make these improvments and view the mp ppap as final instead of as a living document.

Some suppliers believe that PPAP is a lot of paperwork and is burdensome. Because of this, they tend to write the PPAP reports in a very broad, general sense at the abstract level and with very little detail. However, this defeats the purpose of PPAP. Properlyimplemented PPAP is detailed enough that it can actually reduce paperwork and workload. PPAP, when done properly, becomes a management tool that aids in planning, execution, and control. It improves efficiency and productivity by minimizing mistakes, facilitating communication, and clearly defining processes and standards—all of which lead to better quality.

Other suppliers do not implement PPAP effectively

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It is important to ensure the reports used in ppap have value and do not become burdensome paperwork. Ppap is a method of ensuring quality of product to eliminate inefficiencies and cost associated with inconsistent or unreliable production. Therefore, ppap needs to be implemented intelligently—simply having more reports does not guarantee quality. Most companies choose not to do pre-fa ppap, because it is a complicated process that requires significant effort. However, there are great advantages to performing pre-fa ppap, and this is why leadwin does pre-fa ppap. Implementing ppap before first article shortens lead-time for fa production and the lead-time to start of mass production. In addition, pre-fa ppap naturally requires participation from design, manufacturing, quality, purchasing, vendors, customers, and dfm specialists. The involvement of these teams and the input they provide at this early stage of development reduces mistakes and-offers greatly improved chances of achieving first time right.

When properly implemented, an additional advantage of ppap, specifically the golden ppap, is that it functions as a recipe for manufacturing a quality part consistently. Even if personnel or equipment change or production is placed on hold for extended amounts of time, simply following ppap allows a supplier to achieve stable, quality production. with minimal delay and cost.

How to make PPAP work for You

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