Guide
What Has to Move When Transferring a Machined Part from a Domestic Job Shop to an Overseas Plant?
Transferring a machined part is the move of a mature part from the shop that has been making it, usually in small lots, to a new plant that will make it at production volume, and what has to move is more than the drawing. The short answer: the old shop holds know-how that is not on the print, so collect its setup sheets, programs, gauges and deviation history, find out which dimensions it actually held, buy bridge stock from it before you announce the move, and do not release it until the new plant has passed a full first article and a measured trial lot.
By Saola Manufacturing engineering team · Published · Updated
Practitioner guidance for operations and sourcing teams. Ownership of programs, fixtures and data depends on your purchase orders and agreements; confirm with counsel before you ask for or move them.
This guide is for an operations or sourcing manager moving a part that a U.S. job shop makes in small lots to an overseas supplier for a run of ten to twenty thousand parts a year. It differs from adding a second source: here you are leaving an incumbent, and the incumbent is the only holder of undocumented knowledge about the part. The guide gives the inventory to collect, how to find the dimensions the old shop really held, a bridge-stock plan and the gate to pass before the old shop is released. It does not give prices or schedules.
On this page
Why is transferring a mature part different from adding a second source?
Because the incumbent shop has been solving problems on this part for years without writing them down. A second source starts from your documents, while a transfer has to recover what the first shop learned.
A mature part carries history: drawing revisions that were never reissued, a bore that always gets a second finishing pass, tool offsets tuned until the mating pin fits, a verbal waiver on a cosmetic surface. The drawing in your files may describe a part that the incumbent has not made for years. Adding a second source tests whether a new supplier can build to the print; a transfer tests whether the print is complete in the first place. The dual-sourcing trade-offs are in the guide on single source versus dual sourcing.
The U.S. Federal Acquisition Regulation states the same logic for first article testing. It says testing and approval may be appropriate when the contractor has not previously furnished the product, when there have been subsequent changes in processes or specifications, or when production has been discontinued for an extended period (FAR Subpart 9.3). A new overseas plant is in the first case on day one, and a part with undocumented process drift is in the second. Treat the transfer as a first-time build, whatever the part's history.
What does the old shop owe you, and what should you collect?
Collect the controlled drawing and model with every revision, the setup sheets and operation sequence, the tool list, the inspection plan and records, the gauge and fixture list, the material and finishing specifications, and the list of every deviation or informal agreement. Anything the new plant cannot see, it cannot repeat.
The table is a transfer inventory. Check each line against your agreements first, since what the old shop must hand over, and who owns programs and fixtures, depends on what the purchase orders and any tooling agreements say.
| Item | What to ask for | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Drawing and model | Current revision, the full revision history and the native model files | The drawing and model are what the new plant will build to; Y14.5 covers drawings, models and related documents |
| Setup sheets and sequence | Work holding, datum scheme, operation order, tool list and offsets | Reveals how the part was really located and cut |
| Programs | Machine programs and the machine and control type they run on, if your agreement entitles you to them | Saves rework, but programs rarely run unchanged on another machine |
| Fixtures and gauges | Fixture and gauge drawings, or the items themselves where you own them | A gauge can hide an unwritten requirement the print does not state |
| Inspection plan and records | Features checked, methods, frequency, the last several lots' results, last first-article report | Shows what the old shop measured and what it held |
| Material and finishing | Material specification, mill source, certificates, coating or finishing specification and who applied it | Material and finishing history change how the part cuts and fits |
| Deviations and concessions | Every waiver, concession and verbal agreement on this part | Informal deviations are the main source of surprises |
| Defect history | Scrap and rework causes, customer returns, features that need watching | Tells the new plant where this part bites |
Which dimensions did the old shop actually hold?
Measure them: take parts from the incumbent's recent lots and from your own stock, measure every drawing dimension, and compare the results with the print. The gap between the print and what the old shop produced is the specification you have really been buying.
Start with the incumbent's own inspection records, then check them on parts you hold. For each dimension, note whether the old shop ran near the middle of the tolerance, ran to one side, or ran much tighter than the print needs. A bore that always sits at the low end of its tolerance may mean the mating shaft was selected to suit it. Parts that fit in your assembly because of a habit, not a drawing, will fail when the new plant runs to the middle of a looser tolerance.
Where you find an informal practice, decide whether it is a real requirement. If it is, put it on the drawing through a formal change, approved by your engineering, before the new plant sees the print. If it is not, record that the print is correct and the habit is not needed. Both decisions belong in the transfer file, because the new plant's first article will be judged against the print alone. ASME describes Y14.5 as the standard that establishes symbols, rules, definitions and recommended practices for stating and interpreting dimensioning and tolerancing on drawings, models and related documents (ASME Y14.5-2018), and a requirement that is outside those documents is outside what any plant will build.
Mating parts deserve a test, not just a measurement. Build an assembly with the incumbent's parts and with the new plant's first articles, and compare function. For judging whether a new plant's capability on the critical features is real, the NIST handbook defines capability as comparing the output of an in-control process to the specification limits, and says about 50 independent values is generally large enough (NIST process capability); the way to report it on small lots is in the guide on SPC for lots of a few hundred parts.
How much bridge stock should you buy before the cutover?
Enough finished parts from the old shop to cover the whole requalification period, including transit and one failed attempt, bought before you tell the shop the part is leaving. Sizing is arithmetic on your own forecast, not a rule of thumb.
Write the period out: the time for the new plant to quote, tool up and make first articles, the time to evaluate them, the trial lot and its transit and customs clearance, the time to assemble and test, and an allowance for a rework or a second first article. Multiply your weekly demand by that period and add a safety margin for demand uncertainty. If the part also feeds an approved or regulated assembly, add the stock for any re-approval you need.
Order before you announce. A shop that learns it is losing the part may raise prices, slow its schedule or stop answering calls. Place the bridge order, and the order for the samples and records below, in the normal course of business, and give notice only when the stock is in your control. Whether you may ask the shop for retained golden samples and limit samples, and how to use them, is in the golden sample guide.
Keep the money at risk small until the gate is passed. The federal rules describe the principle: acquiring materials or starting production before first article approval is normally at the contractor's own risk (FAR 9.305), and the first article approval clause adds that if the first article is disapproved the contractor makes the changes or repairs, or selects another first article, and bears the cost of repeat tests (FAR 52.209-3). Mirror that in your purchase order: the new supplier carries the cost of a failed first article, and a full production material buy waits for approval unless you agree who bears the risk.
How should the new plant be requalified before the old shop is released?
Run a full first article inspection on every dimension, a measured trial lot, a side-by-side comparison with incumbent parts and a fit test in your own assembly, and set the gate in writing: the old shop stays in place until the new plant passes all four.
The first article should cover every drawing dimension and the material and finish documents, per the practice in the guide on first article inspection for an overseas supplier. The trial lot then shows whether the process repeats; the changes between a prototype and a production run are covered in the prototype-to-production guide, and non-automotive approval packages are in the PPAP guide.
Do not waive the first article because the part has a long history. The federal clause allows the Government to waive the test when identical or similar supplies were previously furnished and accepted, but the history in your transfer belongs to a different plant. A long record at the incumbent says nothing about the new one (FAR 52.209-3).
Write the pass criteria before the samples arrive: dimensions within the print, material documents matching, fit in your assembly, and the agreed number of consecutive conforming lots. Keep the incumbent as a second source for a defined period after approval, or permanently, and stop the bridge buy only when the criteria are met.
What else has to be settled before the part moves?
Ownership and shipping of fixtures and gauges, the confidentiality terms with the new supplier, revision control of the transfer drawing, and who communicates with the old shop. These are cheap to settle early and expensive to settle in the middle of a dispute.
Fixtures, gauges and programs paid for by you may sit in the old shop; get a written list of what is yours, and agree how and when each item ships. Agree with the new supplier how drawing changes are controlled, who may approve a deviation and how it is recorded, and what confidentiality terms apply; the choice of agreement is covered in the guide on NNN agreements and NDAs with a Vietnam manufacturer.
Finishing steps that the old shop bought from its own vendors, such as anodizing or plating, need an owner in the new plan. Saola arranges those steps through partner plants it manages; details are on the surface finishing page.
What should you send an overseas supplier with the RFQ?
The drawing and model, the incumbent's inspection records, the list of known deviations and the mating-part information. A supplier who sees the whole picture can flag the features where print and practice may differ before the first article, not after.
Saola quotes CNC turning and CNC milling from its lead plant in Vietnam. Send the transfer package through the quote page and say plainly that the part is moving from another shop, so the quote and the manufacturability note can address the known risks.
Frequently asked
Should I tell the old shop early that the part is moving?
Buy the bridge stock, samples and records first, in the normal course of business, and give notice after that. Early notice changes the shop's incentives while you still depend on it.
Do I need the old shop's CNC programs?
They are useful as a record of sequence and tools, but they rarely run unchanged on a different machine or control. Setup sheets and tool lists carry more transferable value. Check what your agreement entitles you to before you ask.
Can I skip first article inspection because the part has run for years?
No. The history belongs to the old shop. The FAR first article rules treat a contractor that has not previously furnished the product as a case where testing may be appropriate, and a new plant is that case.
How long should I keep the old shop as a source?
Until the new plant has met the written pass criteria, and preferably longer. Keeping the incumbent as a qualified second source is a common choice; the trade-offs are in the dual-sourcing guide.
What if the old shop will not share setup sheets or records?
Measure parts from your stock and from the shop's recent lots, build a fit test, and put what you learn on the drawing. Records speed the work but are not the only route to the real requirement.
Sources
- Federal Acquisition Regulation Subpart 9.3, First Article Testing and Approval, U.S. General Services Administration, accessed 2026
- FAR 9.305, Risk, Acquisition.gov, accessed 2026
- FAR 52.209-3, First Article Approval - Contractor Testing, Acquisition.gov, clause dated September 1989, accessed 2026
- ASME Y14.5-2018, Dimensioning and Tolerancing, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, 2018 (reaffirmed 2024)
- 6.1.6. What is Process Capability?, NIST/SEMATECH e-Handbook of Statistical Methods, National Institute of Standards and Technology, accessed 2026