Precision-machined aerospace components for demanding production programs.
Tight-tolerance milling and turning in aluminum, titanium, and nickel alloys — with AS9102-format First Article Inspection, mill-certified material traceability, and setups that repeat from first article into scheduled releases.
ISO 9001:2015 | AS9100D | ITAR Registered
How we support aerospace programs.
Aerospace buyers quote on documentation as much as geometry. Complex 5-axis features, tight tolerances, difficult alloys such as titanium and Inconel, and mill-certified traceability all have to hold across repeat releases — not just on the first article.
Prototype and development hardware
Single parts and small lots machined from the released model while a design is still moving, with DFM feedback returned before the job is cut.
Production components
Qualified setups carried into scheduled releases, holding feature tolerances and finish callouts across lots rather than only on the first article.
Legacy and replacement parts
Components remade from existing drawings and material specs for airframes and ground equipment still in service.
Complex parts at tight tolerances
Multi-face geometry consolidated onto 5-axis setups where tolerance and true-position requirements make repeated re-fixturing a risk.
Program requirements
Aerospace buyers typically flow down these controls on every program:
- Material traceability — certified mill stock tracked by heat and lot through finished part production.
- First Article Inspection — AS9102-format documentation prepared when the program requires it.
- Documented inspection — verification of critical print features with dimensional reports on request.
- Tight tolerance control — true-position and profile features verified on the CMM against the drawing datums.
- Repeatable setups — qualified fixturing and programs retained so later releases match the first article.
- Controlled data handling — ITAR-registered handling of controlled technical data at a single US facility.
Components we machine for aerospace programs.
Representative part types, based on the processes and materials we run in-house. Illustrative of our capability set rather than a record of specific customer programs.
Structural brackets and ribs
Hydraulic and pneumatic fittings
Sensor and avionics housings
Bushings, spacers, and precision hardware
Tooling and ground support equipment
Capabilities for aerospace programs.
The processes most often applied to aerospace work, each with its own capability detail page.
5-Axis Milling
Complex multi-face structural geometry in fewer setups, reducing tolerance stack-up and re-fixturing risk on brackets, ribs, and housings.
TYPICAL ±0.0005"
CNC Milling
3- and 4-axis machining for plates, fittings, and secondary structure where flexibility and cost control matter more than axis count.
TYPICAL ±0.001"
CNC Turning
Rotational hardware — bushings, spacers, and fittings — held to controlled diameters, concentricity, and finish.
TYPICAL ±0.0005"
Wire EDM
Sharp internal corners, slots, and profiles in hardened or difficult alloys that can't be reached with a rotating tool.
TYPICAL ±0.0002"
Inspection & Metrology
CMM verification of true position, profile, and datum-referenced features, with the documentation aerospace flowdowns require.
TYPICAL Traceable to NISTMaterials for aerospace work, and why they're specified.
Stocked or sourced from certified mill stock, with material certifications and heat / lot traceability available on request. Each material links to grades, machining notes, and typical applications.
Aluminum 6061 / 7075 / 2024
6061, 7075, and 2024 give the strength-to-weight ratio structural aerospace parts are designed around, and machine fast enough to keep prototype and production cost predictable.
Titanium Ti-6Al-4V
Ti-6Al-4V holds strength at elevated temperature with excellent corrosion resistance at roughly half the density of steel — at the cost of slower, heat-controlled machining.
Stainless 304 / 316 / 17-4 PH
304, 316, and 17-4 PH cover corrosion resistance and, with 17-4, hardened strength for fittings and highly loaded hardware.
Inconel 625 / 718
625 and 718 retain mechanical properties in hot-section and exhaust environments where aluminum and stainless will not survive; work hardening drives rigid fixturing and controlled feeds.
Quality measures on aerospace work.
Inspection and documentation are part of the job, not an add-on. What travels with a shipment depends on what the program flows down.
- AS9100D quality system
- Aerospace QMS maintained alongside ISO 9001:2015 certification.
- First Article Inspection
- AS9102-format FAI documentation when the program flows it down.
- CMM inspection
- Zeiss Contura CMM programs for true position, profile, and datum-referenced features.
- Material certifications
- Certified mill stock with heat and lot traceability on request.
- Certificate of Conformance
- Issued with every shipment.
- ITAR-controlled data handling
- Controlled technical data handled per program requirements at a single US facility.
- Calibration control
- Gauging and metrology equipment on a documented calibration schedule.
- Inspection reports
- In-process and final dimensional reports supplied on request.
Metrology on site: Zeiss Contura CMM, FARO measurement arm, Mitutoyo Surftest surface profilometer, and optical comparator and vision measurement.
Quality & Inspection
How inspection, documentation, and process control are run on every job.
First Article Inspection
AS9102-format First Article Inspection documentation when the program requires it.
Inspection Equipment
Zeiss Contura CMM, FARO measurement arm, and surface metrology.
Tolerance Standards
Tolerance capability by process, and how we review drawings at quoting.
From RFQ to repeat production.
What happens after an RFQ is submitted, from print review through repeat production.
- 01
RFQ review
Engineering reviews the print, CAD files, material callouts, tolerances, quantity, and documentation requirements. Quote turnaround is typically one business day.
- 02
Engineering / DFM review
Manufacturability concerns and cost-reduction opportunities are identified before the job is released — tolerance stack-ups, fixturing, tool access, and finish callouts.
- 03
Production
Parts are machined in-house on the appropriate process: 3/4/5-axis milling, CNC and Swiss turning, wire EDM, or surface grinding, with secondary operations coordinated as needed.
- 04
Inspection & documentation
In-process and final inspection are performed to the drawing, with First Article Inspection, material certifications, and a Certificate of Conformance as the program requires.
- 05
Delivery & repeat production
Parts ship with the agreed documentation package. Qualified setups and inspection plans carry forward, so repeat releases run against a proven process.
CNC machining for aerospace applications
Aerospace machining is defined less by any single feature than by the combination of tight tolerances, difficult materials, and documentation that has to survive audit. A titanium bracket with true-position callouts under a thousandth is not hard because of the number — it is hard because that number has to repeat across every lot, on stock that work hardens and moves as it is cut.
Material selection drives most of the process planning. Aluminum removes quickly and supports aggressive roughing, while Ti-6Al-4V and Inconel 625/718 demand rigid workholding, controlled feeds and speeds, and tool management to protect surface integrity. Thin-wall and monolithic structural parts add stress relief and fixturing strategy to the conversation, since residual stress released during machining can pull a part out of tolerance after the last pass.
Documentation is part of the deliverable. Aerospace buyers typically flow down First Article Inspection in AS9102 format, material certifications with heat and lot traceability, and a Certificate of Conformance, plus dimensional reports on the features identified as critical. Where a program is ITAR-controlled, technical data handling and domestic manufacturing become qualification criteria before price is even discussed.
For procurement, the practical question is whether the second and fiftieth releases look like the first. Qualified setups, documented inspection plans, and CMM programs retained between runs are what make repeat production predictable — and what keeps a supplier's quote comparable across the life of a program rather than only at first order.
Engineering resources for aerospace buyers.
Reference material relevant to aerospace part programs.
Additional engineering guides are in development.
Aerospace — FAQs
The questions engineering and procurement teams ask most often before a first quote.
Are you AS9100D certified?
Yes. Northline is ISO 9001:2015 and AS9100D certified, and ITAR registered. We support AS9102 First Article Inspection documentation for aerospace programs.
Can you handle ITAR data?
Yes. Northline is ITAR registered and handles controlled technical data per program requirements. All machining is performed at our Elk Grove Village, IL facility.
Do you provide material certs and FAIs?
Material certifications with heat and lot traceability, and First Article Inspection documentation in AS9102 format, are available on request and routine on aerospace programs.
Can you machine titanium and Inconel?
Yes. Ti-6Al-4V and Inconel 625/718 are materials we machine regularly, with rigid workholding and controlled feeds and speeds to protect surface integrity.
What tolerances can you hold?
Typical capability is ±0.0005" on 5-axis machining and turning and ±0.001" on general milling. Tolerance capability by process is published on our tolerance standards page, and every drawing is reviewed at quoting.
Do you support both prototype and production quantities?
Yes. Prototype and development hardware, low-rate production, and scheduled repeat releases are all supported, with qualified setups carried forward from prototype into production.
How do you keep repeat releases consistent?
Setups, fixturing, and inspection plans are documented and retained by revision, so a later release runs against the process that produced the qualified first article.
How quickly do you return a quote?
Quote turnaround is typically one business day once the CAD, drawing, material, quantity, and documentation requirements are available.
Start your next aerospace machining project.
Upload your CAD files or drawings and our engineering team will review the aerospace project requirements. Quote turnaround is typically one business day.