Before PPAP Submission: Stamped Electrical Terminals Compliance Audit Checklist

Stamped Electrical Terminals

A PPAP package lands on the customer SQE desk with 19 signed documents and a Cpk compliance letter — but no capability study data. The submission is rejected within 24 hours, and your production start date moves back six weeks.

In this checklist, you will verify dimensional capability study reports, material certification traceability, testing standards documentation, and IMDS submission completeness before the PPAP package leaves your supplier.

Go through every document.

Capability Data

  • Confirm the supplier provides a Cpk capability study report — with control charts, histogram, and subgroup data — not a signed compliance letter alone.
  • Verify that Cpk values meet or exceed 1.33 for all critical-to-function dimensions and 1.67 for safety-critical characteristics per the customer SOR.
  • Audit the dimensional layout report to confirm measurements cover the contact zone, the crimp barrel, and the mounting feature — three zones minimum per terminal.
  • Check that the measurement system analysis — Gage R&R — shows total variation below 10 percent for the CMM or vision system used on the stamped electrical terminals inspection.
  • Confirm the sample size for the capability study follows the AIAG PPAP manual requirement — typically 100 pieces from a continuous production run spanning at least one hour.
  • Validate that the control charts show no out-of-control points, no runs of seven consecutive points on one side of the mean, and stable process variation.

[Gate Condition]: Do not proceed to material documentation until the full Cpk capability study — including control charts, histogram, Gage R&R, and dimensional layout — is reviewed against all critical-to-function dimensions.

Material Traceability

  • Confirm the mill certificate references the heat number, the full chemical composition, and the mechanical properties of the copper alloy coil.
  • Verify that the heat number on the mill certificate matches the heat number recorded in the incoming coil log and the reeler log — zero gaps in the chain.
  • Audit that the production lot traceability links each reel of finished terminals back to the original coil heat number through the production traveler.
  • Check that the IMDS submission — required for automotive terminals — references the specific substrate alloy and plating chemistry, not a generic material class entry.
  • Confirm the supplier holds a valid IATF 16949 certificate and that the certificate scope covers precision metal stamping — not just general manufacturing.
  • Validate that the material cert for the plating chemistry — tin, gold, silver, or nickel bath composition — is included in the PPAP package alongside the substrate cert.

[Gate Condition]: Do not proceed to testing documentation until the full heat number chain — from mill cert through coil log, reeler log, and production traveler — is documented with zero gaps and the IMDS submission is verified.

Testing Compliance

  • Confirm the PFMEA documents all potential failure modes for the terminal — including burr formation, springback, plating peel, and hydrogen embrittlement — with RPN values.
  • Verify the control plan references the specific testing standard — IEC 60512, EIA-364, or MIL-STD-1344 — that governs each electrical and mechanical test method.
  • Audit that the testing lab report includes contact resistance measurements with the specified test current, mating connector, and number of insertion cycles.
  • Check that the progressive die tooling preventive maintenance schedule is documented in the control plan with stroke-count-based intervention thresholds.
  • Confirm the packaging and labeling specification meets the customer requirement — including reel quantity, interleaving material, and barcode label format per AIAG B-10.
  • Validate that the appearance approval report includes photographs of acceptable and borderline conditions for plating finish, burr limits, and surface defects.
  • Review the part submission warrant to confirm all 18 elements of the PPAP Level 3 package are checked and the warrant is signed by the supplier quality representative.

[Gate Condition]: Do not submit the PPAP package until all 18 Level 3 elements are complete, the testing lab reports are filed per standard, and the part submission warrant is signed by an authorized quality representative.

Audit to PO

A signed PPAP warrant with a capability study run on prototype tooling collapses at volume ramp-up when the production die performs differently. Kravzik builds every PPAP package on production tooling, with in-process SPC monitoring at 20-minute intervals across the full production run, so capability study data reflects the actual process.

Send us your terminal drawing for a complete PPAP readiness audit with capability study verification and IMDS submission support, delivered within 48 hours.