If the files are controlled, call. We set the transfer after the NDA.
WHAT GETS SHIPPED
Three pillars of the aerospace practice.
STRUCTURAL SUBSTANTIATION
Composite and aluminum structural analysis
We run structural, fatigue-related, and thermal analysis on composite and aluminum airframe components, and CFD where airflow drives the design, in ANSYS, Abaqus and LS-DYNA, working from your loads, interfaces, materials, and release criteria. Deliverables are engineering reports with methodology, results and margin summaries, not just images. A single-component structural FEA is typically one to two weeks from receipt of CAD and load cases.
FIRST ARTICLE EVIDENCE
AS9102 first-article inspection documentation
We produce first-article inspection documentation in AS9102 format from our metrology floor in Auburn Hills: balloon drawings, dimensional results, and characteristic accountability tied back to the released print and current revision. The package can include Forms 1, 2, and 3, produced through our quality group or with the shop that made the part. The same team can inspect the fixture and the tooling that produced the part, so a rejected characteristic gets diagnosed instead of only recorded.
LEGACY HARDWARE RECOVERY
Parts with no drawings, rebuilt as native CAD
Long-lived aerospace platforms outlive their drawing sets, their CAD kernels, and often their original suppliers. We scan the hardware, rebuild parametric CAD in CATIA or NX, and release a fully toleranced drawing package a supplier can build from without a phone call. Scan-to-CAD deviation is held inside 0.002 inch on most machined parts. Drawing tolerances are assigned from the measured condition and the function, and the report shows which is which.
HOW A PROGRAM RUNS
Four steps from brief to release.
Baseline the geometry
We identify the governing model, drawing revision, interfaces, loads, inspection plan, native CAD platform, and approval boundary. Missing geometry is captured by scan or measurement and stated in writing. Missing loads, material data, and acceptance criteria are recorded as open inputs, not filled in by measurement. AS9100 supplier requirements and AS9145 phase expectations are recorded as your program inputs, not as ADAPT certifications.
Analyze and document margin
Structural, thermal, CFD and optimization work runs in ANSYS, Abaqus or LS-DYNA against your acceptance criteria, with revisions made in the same native CAD the analysis came from. You get methodology, results and margin summaries in a report another engineer can repeat, not a slide of colored contours.
Build and correlate
Prototypes, fixtures and first articles are produced through our Auburn Hills prototype floor and vetted supply chain, then inspected against the ballooned print. CMM and scan data is assigned to drawing characteristics, and discrepancies route back to the model, the drawing, or your disposition, and the report says which.
Release with traceability
Native models, fully toleranced drawings with GD&T to ASME Y14.5, analysis reports, and AS9102 balloon drawings, dimensional results and characteristic accountability go out revision-controlled in your format. You own all deliverables, and final program acceptance stays with your quality organization.
THE CERTIFICATION LINE
ISO 9001:2015 certified. Not AS9100.
ADAPT is a mechanical engineering practice, not a contract manufacturer and not a repair station. Aerospace work rarely arrives as a blank sheet, so we enter where the program actually is: a structure that already lives in CATIA V5, a released drawing that no longer matches the physical hardware, or a first article waiting on characteristic accountability. From there we take a defined mechanical work package through native CAD, analysis, inspection correlation, and controlled release. ADAPT was founded in May 1998 and works from Auburn Hills, Michigan and West Windsor, New Jersey.
The work divides into packages that buyers usually order separately and often need together. Airframe mechanical design runs in CATIA V5 and V6, Siemens NX, SolidWorks or Creo, produced in whichever platform your supply chain requires and delivered as native data inside your PLM. Structural analysis covers composite and aluminum components in ANSYS, Abaqus and LS-DYNA, with CFD where airflow drives the design, thermal steady-state and transient work, material utilization studies, and topology and gauge optimization. Reverse engineering of legacy hardware uses CMM, white light, optical and laser scanning to capture existing geometry and turn shelf hardware with no drawings into a controlled digital archive. Measured geometry and inferred design intent are documented separately. First-article inspection and dimensional reporting is produced in AS9102 format, with balloon drawings, dimensional results, and characteristic accountability tied to the released revision.
Our quality system is ISO 9001:2015 certified. We are not AS9100 certified, and AS9102 is a deliverable format we produce rather than a certification we hold. We work inside our customers’ AS9100 systems, to their drawing standards, revision control, and title block format, and we say so in the quote rather than let you find it out at source inspection. Where a program is export-controlled, call before any files move. We are ITAR-aware and not currently registered. Access on those programs is limited to U.S. persons as defined at 22 CFR 120.62. Our CMMC Level 2 status is compliant, based on our SPRS self-assessment, not a certified assessment. The controlled-data posture is documented on our defense engineering page.
Our aerospace experience covers manned aircraft structures and UAV mechanical development, across both prime and tier relationships. Military vehicle and specialty mobility programs are adjacent work, not counted here as aerospace. References require permission to disclose.
Aerospace buyers get burned by suppliers who imply approvals they do not hold. We hold ISO 9001:2015, we produce AS9102 packages inside your quality system, and we are not AS9100 certified or an FAA design approval holder. NDA before any substantive disclosure, and you own all deliverables. Read the scope line, then call. I will have a senior engineer read the package, and we will set the file transfer once the NDA is in place.
Brian Smith, Director of Engineering
FREQUENTLY ASKED
Questions and answers
Is ADAPT AS9100 certified?
No. ADAPT’s quality system is certified to ISO 9001:2015, which is the base standard AS9100 extends with aerospace-specific requirements for product safety, configuration management, counterfeit part prevention and external provider control. We work inside our customers’ AS9100 systems and produce the records those systems require, including AS9102 first-article documentation, but we do not hold an AS9100 certificate and we do not hold Nadcap accreditation. If your flow-down requires an AS9100 certified engineering supplier, you will need one. If it requires ISO 9001:2015 plus documented deliverables produced to your drawing and configuration control, we are a fit.
What is included in an AS9102 first article inspection package?
A ballooned drawing where every dimension, note and GD&T callout becomes a numbered characteristic, a characteristic accountability record showing none were missed, measured results for each characteristic with the inspection method identified, and documentation of any nonconforming feature. We measure on CMM, FaroArm portable CMM, white light, optical and laser scanning, and we include color-mapped deviation overlays against nominal CAD on surfaces where point measurements alone are not enough. The package is produced in your format so your quality group can submit it directly. The package can include AS9102 Forms 1, 2, and 3. We produce them through our quality group, or with the shop that made the part. The SOW names who supplies the material and process certificates. Final program acceptance is yours.
Can ADAPT rebuild an aerospace part when the drawings are gone?
Yes, and it is a large share of our aerospace work. We scan the hardware, rebuild parametric CAD in CATIA, NX, SolidWorks or Creo rather than handing back an uneditable mesh, and release a fully toleranced drawing package with GD&T to ASME Y14.5. Scan-to-CAD deviation is inside 0.002 inch on most machined parts. Drawing tolerances are assigned from the measured condition and the function, and the report shows which is which. Castings, worn parts and organic surfaces require engineering interpretation, and we document those decisions in the report so your reviewers can see what was measured and what was inferred. Large or controlled hardware can be scanned at your site.
How is aerospace quality documentation different from the CMMC requirements on defense work?
They answer different questions and they are audited by different people. AS9100, AS9102 and AS9145 govern engineering and quality: how the product is designed, configured, verified and accepted. CMMC and NIST SP 800-171 govern information security: how controlled unclassified information is stored, transmitted and accessed. A program can require both. ADAPT is ISO 9001:2015 certified on the quality side. On the data side we are CMMC Level 2 compliant, based on our SPRS self-assessment, not a certified assessment. We are ITAR-aware and not currently registered. Export-controlled files start with a call. The security posture and the Auburn Hills data residency commitment are documented on our defense engineering page.
TALK TO AN ENGINEER
Tell us what you are building.
Call an engineer, or send a brief if the files are not controlled. An engineer reads it within one business day. Not a sales coordinator. Not a routing form. Not a sales coordinator. Not a routing form.