Linear Mold & Engineering Achieves AS9100 Certification
Livonia, MI: Linear Mold & Engineering, a premier mold manufacturer and early adopter of additive manufacturing technology for the production of end-use parts for the aerospace industry, has achieved its AS9100 Certification. The AS9100 certification was established and is administered by the International Aerospace Group. It is intended to bring the same process-based quality assessment as the ISO 9001 program to the aviation, aerospace and defense industries.
AS9100 offers guidelines and tools for companies that supply the aerospace and aviation industries that want to adhere to these quality standards that go above and beyond ISO 9001.
Dave Palmer, Quality Assurance Manager for Linear, has extensive experience in Quality Systems, including AS9100 and was recruited by Linear about a year ago to implement the AS9100 system for certification. “The first thing required of any company is to have a good team of people in place and the support of management and ownership,” said Palmer. “Next, there must be good quality management systems in place in order to become certified in a short time span, such as Linear did. Linear had all of those pieces in place, so we accomplished this quickly.”
Palmer explained that AS9100 is similar to ISO 9001, but has its own interpretations of some of the clauses. It extends many of the procedures to apply the certification specifically for aerospace.
AS9100 certification covers material lot traceability, part identification procedures, management commitment, internal communication, and risk management, as well as Linear’s additive manufacturing process. With additive manufacturing machines, that include five Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS) machines and a Selective Laser Melting (SLM) machine, Linear is one of the largest providers of end-use components in the Midwest.
Linear chose to get its AS9100 certification for the company’s additive manufacturing division first since the majority of its customers are aerospace OEMs. Next, Linear plans to become certified in their injection molding division.
Linear pursued and achieved its AS9100 certification to open the door to more opportunities as the company continues to grow and expand its customer base in the aerospace market. “As we’ve become compliant with the various quality systems, everyone at Linear is committed to the certification requirements and the systems it takes to maintain these certifications,” said Palmer.
