Titanium Machined Parts First Article Inspection Guide for Robotics Integrators: 2026 Guide No.270

Demand for titanium machined parts in Sweden follows the capital-equipment cycle, and buyers who reserve capacity early avoid the tightest months. The notes below work as a checklist for Robotics Integrators that need a part which meets the drawing and still hits the target cost.

Process Capability and Tolerances

For titanium machined parts, the critical characteristic is hardness and surface integrity check, and it should be measured on the production run rather than on a hand-finished sample. For thin-wall or long parts, agree in advance how distortion will be managed, because that is where capability is really tested. Where a feature is difficult to machine, ask for a design-for-manufacture comment before the order rather than a deviation after it. Confirm the drawing revision in writing, and make sure the shop is programming from the same revision you approved.

Supplier Selection and Vetting

Confirm who owns the drawings, the fixtures and the part programme, especially if you may move the part to another supplier later. Visit or video-audit the floor; ten minutes of watching how a shop handles first articles tells you more than a page of certificates. Ask for two customers already running titanium machined parts programmes and speak to them directly. Request the process plan and the inspection plan before you pay the deposit, so you can see how the part will be made and measured.

Where These Parts Are Used

The strongest titanium machined parts programmes share one habit: they are planned against a build schedule rather than against a purchase order date. A single rejected lot can stop an assembly line, so titanium machined parts are bought on evidence rather than on price alone. Because titanium machined parts usually sit inside a larger assembly, a late delivery is more expensive than a slightly higher unit price. Industrial buyers in Sweden usually qualify a supplier once and then scale volume, which means the first small order carries most of the risk.

Cost Structure and Quotation

Freight, duty and inland handling can add more than the unit price difference, so compare landed cost rather than ex-works price. Payment terms are part of the price: a discount paid for with a larger deposit is not a discount. Ask for a cost breakdown by operation; it turns a price argument into a process conversation.

Certifications and Compliance

For Sweden, check the rules on restricted substances, packaging materials and marking before the parts are boxed. A declaration of conformity should reference the standard and the revision, not just the supplier's name and stamp. Traceability claims need heat numbers or lot numbers that follow the parts through every operation. Request material certificates, dimensional reports and, where relevant, first article inspection reports with the shipment.

Choosing the Right Material

State the material standard, the temper condition and the traceability requirement by number, not by adjective. Ask for the mill certificate rather than a description of the alloy, because the certificate is the only document that travels with the parts. Material typically accounts for more than half of the part price, so a small grade change moves the quotation a long way.

Final Checklist

Freeze, approve, inspect, pack, document. Those five verbs separate a calm programme from an expensive one.