1factory's quality management solutions serve the complete spectrum of precision machining operations — from high-mix low-volume job shops handling hundreds of unique parts, to high-volume production manufacturers running thousands of parts daily, to custom engineering firms designing and manufacturing proprietary products.
Supported Standards: 1factory supports all key precision machining standards, including AS9102 (First Article Inspection), AS9100 (Aerospace Quality Systems), PPAP/APQP (Automotive), ISO 13485 (Medical Devices), and ISO 9001.
Security and Hosting Environments: 1factory is hosted on the AWS GovCloud and provides a FEDRAMP Moderate Equivalent hosting environment (3PAO audit in progress as of Feb 2026). For manufacturers with classified data or sensitive IP, we provide an option to host 1factory on-premise.
For Job Shops: Built-to-Print High-Mix, Low-Volume
Companies Like: Fairview Machine, W.H. Bagshaw, Able Tool Corporation, West Valley Precision, JWP Manufacturing, Ricaurte Precision, and thousands of precision job shops serving aerospace, medical device, defense, and high-tech industries
Key Challenge: Job shops face constant variety — new parts arriving daily, each with unique specifications, tight tolerances, and complex features. Paper-based quality systems break down under this variety, leading to illegible inspection records in oily shop environments, lost revision control when engineering changes occur, hours wasted recreating inspection plans for every ECO, and the inability to prove process capability when customers demand data. The result is scrap from miscommunication, hours lost to manual paperwork, and missed opportunities because you can't respond to RFQs fast enough.
Key Functionality
Digital Inspection Planning & Ballooning: When a new part arrives, creating the inspection plan is the bottleneck. Manual ballooning takes hours as quality engineers identify dimensions, add balloon numbers, and cross-reference GD&T callouts. For job shops handling dozens of new parts weekly, this becomes impossible to sustain.
1factory's automated ballooning engine completes this work in minutes. The system recognizes geometric dimensioning and tolerancing symbols, identifies critical dimensions based on tolerance tightness, and handles complex multi-view drawings without manual intervention. Point-and-click ballooning lets quality engineers mark features directly on the PDF, extracting nominals, tolerances, and specifications automatically.
Once ballooned, the inspection plan is reusable. When engineering changes occur, the system compares drawing revisions automatically, highlighting added, deleted, or modified features. What previously took three days to update now takes three minutes. This revision control eliminates the job shop nightmare of operators working from outdated drawings.
"Within the first week, our machinists began to come into the quality department asking when their (inspection) jobs would be running with 1factory." — Harrison Moulton, Quality Manager, Fairview Machine
Shop Floor Data Collection: In oily machining environments, paper inspection sheets become illegible. Operators struggle to read handwritten measurements when making accept/reject decisions. Data gets lost, filed away in cabinets where it's never analyzed.
1factory eliminates paper on the shop floor. Operators access inspection plans on tablets or shop floor terminals, seeing exactly which dimensions to measure, at what frequency, and with what acceptance criteria. Real-time pass/fail indicators tell operators immediately if a part is out of specification. No more discovering problems days later when quality reviews paperwork.
For job shops with CMMs, automatic data upload eliminates manual transcription. When Zeiss, Mitutoyo, Keyence, or other CMMs complete measurement routines, data flows directly into 1factory. The system maps features to ballooned drawings automatically, populating inspection reports without manual intervention.
"We used to have five different quality control systems. Now it's all in one place with 1factory. Our CMMs upload data automatically — over a million measurements per month with zero manual entry." — Brad C., Director of Quality, Ultra Machining Company
First Article Inspection (FAI) Creation: Customers demand AS9102 packages or similar FAI documentation before accepting new parts or part revisions. Creating these packages manually takes 6-8 hours per part — time that job shops handling dozens of parts can't afford.
With 1factory, FAI creation becomes automatic. The system generates AS9102 Forms 1, 2, and 3 instantly from ballooned drawings and inspection data. Customer-specific formats are built in — whether you need standard AS9102, Net-Inspect format for uploading to customer portals, or custom layouts matching specific customer requirements.
FAI creation time drops from hours to minutes. This speed advantage helps job shops win more business by responding to customer requests faster than competitors still doing manual quality planning.
"1factory has been a game-changer for us. It has enabled us to balloon prints with a click of a button, construct inspection plans, and produce customer reports, generating AS9102's, all in a fraction of the time compared to our previous methods." — Paul Hayes, President, Able Tool Corporation
Quality Management System (QMS): AS9100, ISO 13485, and ISO 9001 certifications require documented procedures, work instructions, and training records. For job shops, managing these requirements manually creates massive administrative burden. SOPs scattered across network folders become impossible to find. Training records maintained in spreadsheets get out of date. Audit preparation consumes weeks.
1factory's QMS eliminates this chaos. All procedures and work instructions live in a central repository with automatic version control. When documents are revised, the system notifies affected personnel automatically and tracks who has reviewed the changes. Training assignment becomes automatic based on employee roles. Quality managers can instantly see who needs training on which procedures.
During audits, the Quality Matrix links requirements from AS9100, ISO 13485, or ISO 9001 directly to procedures, providing clear objective evidence of compliance. Both internal and third-party auditors consistently report that 1factory makes audits dramatically easier.
"I would 100% recommend the transition to 1Factory's QMS. It has helped Fairview go completely paperless over the past 3 years while helping us maintain exceptional traceability across the board." — Harrison Moulton, Quality Manager, Fairview Machine
Gage Calibration Management: Job shops manage hundreds of gages — micrometers, calipers, pin gages, thread gages, height gages, and specialized inspection tools. Tracking calibration due dates manually leads to expired gages being used on the shop floor, creating audit findings and risking bad parts.
The system tracks every gage's calibration status automatically, sending notifications before calibration due dates. Gage checkout and return become trackable, showing which operator has which gage at any moment. Gage R&R studies can be performed directly in the system, with automatic calculation of acceptance criteria.
Return on Investment
Inspection planning time drops from hours to minutes per part. For job shops creating 50+ new inspection plans monthly, this represents hundreds of hours saved. FAI creation accelerates similarly — what took 6-8 hours now takes 30 minutes. CMM data entry is eliminated completely for shops with automated CMM upload capability.
Quality improvements come from catching problems immediately rather than days later when reviewing paperwork. Scrap rates decrease when operators receive clear acceptance criteria and real-time feedback. Rework drops when process issues are identified before entire batches are completed.
The business impact extends beyond time savings. Job shops win more quotes by demonstrating digital quality capabilities that competitors lack. They scale production without proportionally adding quality staff — automation and reusable libraries let existing teams handle increased volume. Customer satisfaction improves when shops provide professional AS9102 packages quickly and respond to data requests in minutes rather than days.
Audit preparation time falls from weeks to hours. When auditors arrive, quality managers simply generate compliance reports showing procedure coverage, training status, and document control — rather than spending weeks gathering evidence from scattered sources.
For Production Manufacturers: Built-to-Print High-Mix, High-Volume
Companies Like: Ultra Machining Company, rms (Cretex Medical), Next Intent, Wilcox Industries, Avalign Technologies, and precision manufacturers running multiple shifts producing thousands of parts daily for aerospace, medical device, and defense customers
Key Challenge: High-volume precision machining multiplies quality complexity exponentially. With hundreds or thousands of parts flowing through inspections daily across multiple shifts and facilities, manual quality systems create massive bottlenecks. Quality teams lose visibility into real-time process performance. CMM operators spend hours manually transcribing measurement data. Process drift goes undetected until scrap piles up. Customer audits reveal inconsistent documentation across shifts and locations. The result is quality becoming the production constraint, thousands of hours wasted on manual data handling, and inability to scale without proportionally adding quality headcount.
Key Functionality
Automated CMM Data Collection at Scale: Production manufacturers operate 10-30+ CMMs and vision systems running continuously across multiple shifts. In traditional setups, CMM operators finish measurement programs then manually type thousands of data points into quality systems. This transcription takes hours daily and introduces errors with every keystroke.
1factory eliminates manual CMM data entry completely. When Zeiss, Hexagon, Mitutoyo, Keyence, Brown & Sharpe, Faro, or other measurement systems complete routines, data uploads automatically. The system parses each manufacturer's output format, maps features to inspection plans, and populates reports without human intervention. This works across 20-30 CMMs simultaneously, collecting data 24 hours a day.
Features match to ballooned drawings automatically. Out-of-tolerance measurements trigger immediate alerts to quality engineers and operators. Statistical calculations update in real-time. The result is zero time spent on data transcription and complete measurement traceability.
"We used to have five different quality control systems. Now it's all in one place with 1factory. Our CMMs upload data automatically — over a million measurements per month with zero manual entry." — Brad C., Director of Quality, Ultra Machining Company
Real-Time Statistical Process Control (SPC): Production runs span days or weeks. During this time, tools wear, machines drift, and materials vary. Traditional SPC systems collect data throughout shifts, then generate charts hours or days later when quality engineers review reports. By then, hundreds of potentially defective parts have been produced.
1factory provides live SPC visibility. Control charts update as operators inspect parts on the shop floor. Statistical indicators calculate in real-time, triggering automatic alerts the moment data suggests process drift. Cp and Cpk values update continuously, providing current process capability rather than outdated numbers calculated from historical data.
Machinists see SPC data directly at their workstations. When control charts show upward drift, they can adjust processes before producing out-of-spec parts. When Cpk values approach limits, they can intervene before failing capability requirements. This real-time visibility prevents problems rather than documenting them after they occur.
Historical trending reveals patterns across weeks and months. Quality engineers can see that a particular feature's mean is gradually shifting, that a specific tool is showing increased variation, or that process capability degrades predictably at certain intervals. This enables predictive maintenance rather than reactive firefighting.
"This capability means that every data point from every touch of a CMM probe or scan of a vision machine is visible almost instantly to every machinist at every workstation on the shop floor." — Modern Machine Shop feature on Ultra Machining Company
Multi-Site Deployment & Standardization: Production manufacturers operating multiple facilities face the challenge of maintaining consistent quality processes across locations. Different sites develop different procedures. Documentation formats vary. Training approaches differ. During customer audits, these inconsistencies create compliance concerns.
1factory enables enterprise-wide standardization. The same inspection plans, procedures, and quality requirements deploy across all facilities. When procedures are updated at the corporate level, changes propagate to all sites automatically. Training records are maintained centrally, providing visibility into who has been trained on what across the entire organization.
Multi-site visibility lets quality directors see performance metrics across all locations simultaneously. They can identify which facilities excel at specific processes and share best practices. They can spot systemic issues affecting multiple sites and implement corrective actions globally.
"In just one year, rms successfully deployed 1factory for: 4 manufacturing sites, 900+ machine-tools, 1300 users and 100+ CMM / vision systems. They created 21,000+ Inspection Plans, inspected over 70,000+ Lots, recorded 12 million+ Data Points and consolidated 6 QC systems into one." — Case Study: rms (Cretex Medical)
Rapid Deployment for Production Scale: Production manufacturers need quality systems deployed quickly without disrupting operations. Traditional enterprise software implementations take 6-9 months with extensive consulting and custom development. During this time, production continues with existing inadequate systems.
1factory deploys in days, not months. The system is designed for immediate productivity rather than lengthy configuration. Quality teams can begin using core functionality within hours of setup. Training takes under two hours per user. There's no disruption to ongoing production operations.
For production environments, this rapid deployment is critical. Every week spent implementing software is a week of continued inefficiency, manual data handling, and missed process improvements. Fast time-to-value means quality improvements begin immediately rather than after months of waiting.
"We were going to go with another company's software. The implementation time was nine months. That was too long. With 1factory, they were getting it to work within the first day." — Cliff M., Next Intent
PPAP Automation: Automotive and some aerospace customers require PPAP packages rather than AS9102. For production manufacturers handling hundreds of PPAPs during new product launches, manual PPAP creation becomes impossible to sustain.
1factory automates PPAP documentation including Production Part Approval Warrant, Control Plans showing how quality will be maintained, Process FMEA identifying potential failure modes, dimensional results from inspection data, material test results, and capability studies proving Cp/Cpk values. The reusable PPAP library captures institutional knowledge — failure modes, control methods, and process flows become templates rather than documents recreated from scratch. PPAP creation time drops from days to hours.
Return on Investment
CMM data entry is eliminated completely — for facilities with 20-30 CMMs running continuously, this represents thousands of hours recovered annually. FAI and PPAP creation accelerates dramatically, letting quality teams support increased production volume without adding headcount. Gage calibration management becomes automatic rather than requiring manual tracking.
Quality improvements protect business reputation and customer relationships. Real-time SPC detects process drift before producing significant scrap. Catching problems early prevents the embarrassment and cost of delivering defective parts to customers. Process capability improvements come from having visibility into trends rather than reacting to failures.
The business impact is substantial. Production manufacturers scale volume without proportionally scaling quality staff. Customer audits become dramatically easier when documentation is automatically maintained rather than requiring weeks of preparation. Customer preference develops when manufacturers provide real-time data visibility that competitors can't match. The competitive advantage from faster response times and demonstrated quality capability directly impacts win rates and customer retention.
For Custom Engineered Product Manufacturers
Companies Like: Eskridge (custom gear drives), PWR (motorsports cooling systems), Ricaurte Precision (aerospace engineering), Wilcox Industries (tactical equipment), and manufacturers who design, engineer, and produce proprietary products rather than just machining to customer prints
Key Challenge: Custom product manufacturers face quality complexity that goes beyond built-to-print machining. You're managing both design iterations and manufacturing process control simultaneously. With hundreds or thousands of proprietary SKUs, each requiring unique inspection criteria, maintaining quality becomes exponentially more complex. Internal part numbers proliferate. Engineering changes cascade across product families. Inspection plans must capture institutional knowledge about what's truly critical versus what's just on the drawing. The result is quality bottlenecks that limit how fast you can develop new products, scale production, or respond to customer-specific requirements.
Key Functionality
Managing High SKU Counts: Custom product manufacturers typically manage 500-2000+ internal part numbers, each with unique inspection requirements. Creating and maintaining inspection plans for this many SKUs becomes overwhelming with traditional systems. Engineers recreate the same inspection logic repeatedly. Knowledge about critical-to-quality characteristics lives in people's heads rather than systems.
1factory's library-based approach solves this. Common inspection elements — standard thread specifications, port configurations, material properties, surface finish requirements — are defined once in reusable libraries. When creating new inspection plans, quality engineers assemble them from library elements rather than starting from scratch each time. This approach dramatically reduces the time to create new inspection plans while ensuring consistency across similar parts.
For product families with variations, master inspection plans can be templated. When a custom gear drive shares 80% of its features with a standard design, the inspection plan starts with the standard template and adds only the unique elements. This approach scales to thousands of SKUs without requiring thousands of hours of quality planning.
"We have about 900 different internal SKUs, probably 1,400 total including what we get from suppliers. So that was a lot of inspection plans to build up in the beginning, but that leg work has paid major dividends." — Mike Brady, Quality Manager, Eskridge
Catching Problems in Real-Time: For custom products, problems discovered after job completion can mean scrapping entire production runs. Traditional paper-based systems provide no visibility into whether inspections are being performed correctly until the job is reviewed days later. By then, the scrap decision is binary — accept bad parts or throw away the entire batch.
1factory enables real-time problem detection. As operators perform inspections during machining operations, the system immediately flags out-of-specification measurements. Quality teams can intervene while parts are still in process, potentially salvaging jobs through rework rather than scrapping completed batches. This in-process visibility prevents the nightmare scenario of discovering problems only after parts are finished.
For custom engineered products where material costs can be substantial and production runs aren't repeated daily, preventing a single scrap event can justify the entire software investment.
"We no longer have to scrap whole batches of parts, just a few one-offs here and there. We can now catch issues right when they happen." — Mike Brady, Quality Manager, Eskridge
Operator Accountability & Process Clarity: In custom manufacturing environments, operators may be building dozens of different part numbers in a given week. Expecting them to remember inspection requirements for each part is unrealistic. Paper-based systems with pen-marked drawings leave operators guessing about what's truly critical versus what can be visually inspected.
1factory provides crystal-clear requirements at the point of manufacture. Operators see exactly which dimensions to measure, at what frequency, and what the acceptance criteria are. No more ambiguity about whether a dimension is important or just for reference. Pass/fail criteria are defined explicitly in the system rather than left to operator interpretation.
When problems occur, operators can demonstrate they followed defined procedures. The system records who inspected what and when, providing complete traceability. This accountability protects both operators and the organization — if inspection procedures were followed correctly but parts still failed, the root cause lies in the process rather than the people.
"Before 1factory, we weren't giving the operators great tools to be able to meet the quality requirements we had set for them. Getting away from pen and paper and into something digital where we can clearly define what we want people to inspect, when the inspections need to happen, and what the pass/fail criteria are for each dimension – it's all been super critical for us." — Mike Brady, Quality Manager, Eskridge
Global Standardization for International Operations: Custom product manufacturers operating globally face the challenge of maintaining consistent quality across international facilities. Different countries develop different approaches. Language barriers complicate documentation. Customer audits reveal inconsistencies that threaten certifications.
1factory enables global standardization while supporting local languages. The same quality protocols deploy across all facilities regardless of location. Inspection plans, procedures, and work instructions are accessible in local languages while maintaining consistency in requirements. Training records are maintained centrally, providing visibility into global workforce qualifications.
For companies with customers ranging from Formula 1 teams to military contractors, this standardization proves quality capability across the entire organization rather than varying by location.
"If a company is looking for improvement — whether in standardization, resource allocation, time management, or eliminating quality bottlenecks — then 1factory is a powerful one-stop quality control solution." — Andrew Styman, Head of Quality, PWR Advanced Cooling Technology
Design for Manufacturability (DFM) Feedback: Custom product manufacturers benefit from tight integration between engineering and quality. When new designs are being developed, quality teams need to provide rapid feedback on inspectability, process capability, and measurement requirements. Traditional systems delay this feedback until first articles are produced, potentially requiring design changes after tooling investments have been made.
With 1factory, quality engineers can create preliminary inspection plans during design reviews, identifying potential measurement challenges early. They can flag features that will be difficult to inspect, suggest design changes that improve manufacturability, and estimate inspection time and cost before committing to designs. This early involvement prevents costly redesigns later in the product development cycle.
Return on Investment
The primary ROI for custom product manufacturers comes from scrap prevention. Catching process issues in real-time rather than after job completion eliminates the catastrophic scrap events that plague custom manufacturing. For products with substantial material costs or long production cycles, preventing even one or two scrap events per year can justify the software investment.
Engineering efficiency improves dramatically. Reusable inspection libraries mean new product introduction doesn't require starting quality planning from scratch. Library-based approaches let quality teams support increasing SKU counts without proportionally increasing headcount.
Operator effectiveness increases when inspection requirements are crystal clear rather than ambiguous. Rework rates decrease. Time spent troubleshooting quality issues drops because root causes are identified faster with complete traceability data.
The business impact extends to competitive advantage. Custom manufacturers can quote new products faster because quality planning time is reduced. They can scale product portfolios without scaling quality teams proportionally. Customer audits reveal consistent, professional quality systems that differentiate them from competitors still operating on paper.
For companies where quality is a genuine competitive differentiator — not just a compliance checkbox — this systematic approach to quality management directly impacts customer relationships, win rates, and business growth.