T1 sample

Where it comes up

• Plastic injection moldingMolten thermoplastic injected into a steel or aluminum mold. Lowest piece price for plastic parts at 5,000+ a year.
• Zinc and aluminum die castingMolten zinc or aluminum injected into steel dies at high pressure. Thin walls and net shape at 2,500+ parts a year.
• Metal stampingShort- to medium-run stampings: brackets, clips, shields, and plates cut and formed from sheet or coil in a press.

Related terms

First article inspection

First article inspection is the full dimensional and documentation check of the first production parts against every drawing requirement before production is released. Results are recorded against a ballooned drawing. In aerospace it follows AS9102; in automotive, dimensional results are part of the PPAP.

PPAP

PPAP is the Production Part Approval Process, the AIAG method automotive suppliers use to prove a production process makes parts that meet every requirement at the quoted rate. A submission can include up to 18 elements, such as dimensional results, material certs, PFMEA, and control plan. Level 3 is the default.

Short shot

A short shot is an injection molded part that is incomplete because plastic froze before filling the whole cavity. Causes include low shot size or pressure, blocked vents, thin walls, and long flow lengths. Molders often run short shots on purpose during mold trials to study fill.

Bridge tooling

Bridge tooling is lower-cost, faster tooling, often aluminum or unhardened P20 steel molds and soft dies, used to make production-intent parts while hardened production tooling is built. It covers pilot builds, launches, and early sales at volumes from hundreds to tens of thousands of parts.