Hardness assurance through supplier data monitoring

This paper describes the need for continuously evaluating the hardness of a component supplier's production and defines a method by which this evaluation may be performed. The evaluation method, known as Supplier Data Monitoring, is described in detail and actual examples are given which demonstrate its utility as a hardness assurance tool. The Supplier Data Monitoring Program is oriented toward use on a production program for which hardness design confirmation has been performed on a previous R&D program. Its prime objective is to maintain the hardness of each production component. It is the purpose of this paper to demonstrate how monitoring supplier component data achieves this objective through early detection of adverse hardness shifts at the component level.