Current Edition Checked October 24, 2026
Additive manufacturing is now a Nadcap commodity, with criteria for metallic powder bed fusion (AC7131/1, effective August 3, 2025) and directed energy deposition, and further methods following.
What It Covers
Industry-run accreditation of special processes such as heat treating, chemical processing, coatings, nondestructive testing, welding, materials testing and additive manufacturing, audited by commodity against prime-contractor criteria.
Who It Applies To
Suppliers performing special processes for the aerospace primes that subscribe to Nadcap, who generally require accreditation before purchase.
Key Requirements
- A quality system audit (often satisfied by AS9100) plus a commodity audit for each special process.
- Job audits that trace real work from the order through the process to the release.
- Findings closed through a formal corrective action cycle before accreditation is granted.
- Accreditation periods of 12 months at first, extended for a strong record.
What an Auditor Asks to See
- Process control records and pyrometry or equipment qualification for a recent job.
- Operator qualifications for the special process.
Where Systems Fall Short
- Procedures that do not match the customer specification line by line.
- Corrective actions that answer the finding but not its cause, which delays accreditation.
How QES Helps
Pre-audits by commodity, and corrective action responses that close the first time.
Related Standards
Sources. Performance Review Institute — Nadcap (opens in a new tab); 3D Printing Industry — Nadcap’s new additive manufacturing audit framework (June 2026) (opens in a new tab). Status checked October 24, 2026. This page summarizes Nadcap; it does not reproduce or replace it. Buy the standard from its publisher, or read the regulation in its official text, before relying on a detail. Not legal advice.