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How much does an external quality gate cost? A real-world example with two component types

A Swiss manufacturing company won a high-volume production order: complex aluminium satellite components for satellites providing mobile internet and satellite-to-phone connectivity. Production was ready; the metrology infrastructure required by the end customer was not. A real-world pricing example shows how the cost of an external quality gate breaks down: a one-off initial cost, then a predictable per-lot price.

Quality assurance Christian Schärer · 15 August 2026

About this example

The example comes from a real order placed in 2026 and is fully anonymised. All prices exclude VAT. It is a concrete case, not a generally binding price list — every quote depends on the drawing, the inspection scope and the delivery cycle.

The starting point

Manufacturing technology and production capacity were in place. What was missing was the metrology infrastructure the end customer requires for recurring series inspection. Rather than building a laboratory of its own, the company outsourced the inspection to CSL as an external quality gate. The quality gate acts as an external incoming inspection brought forward: parts are inspected before the delivery lot goes to the end customer.

The order covers two different component types in aluminium, each with complex geometry and its own drawing. Each type therefore needed its own inspection process: its own numbered inspection sketch, its own measurement strategy, its own clamping setup and its own CMM program.

For every delivery lot, the end customer prescribes a sample inspection: two parts of type 1 and two parts of type 2 — four inspected parts per lot.

What a sample delivers: It does not guarantee the conformity of every single part in the lot. It provides the traceable decision basis for releasing the lot, agreed between supplier, customer and end customer.

The one-off initial effort

Before the first lot can be inspected, the inspection process has to exist. For each of the two component types, the following was carried out separately:

Analyse the drawing and inspection characteristics

Create a numbered inspection sketch

Define the measurement strategy

Design a suitable clamping setup and set it up for the first time

Configure and qualify the required styli

Create a separate tactile CMM program

Program and measure 18 tactile inspection characteristics

Carry out conventional inspections

Measure 5 surface roughness characteristics

Stabilise the part at the reference temperature

Evaluate and document the results

Prepare the First Article Inspection report

Check the inspection documents and transmit them to the customer

Each component type is concluded with a First Article Inspection (FAI): it documents that every inspection characteristic on the drawing is covered and that the inspection process is set up for it.

The initial inspection scope in numbers

Initial inspection scope

Scope

Different component types

Separate tactile CMM programs

Separate inspection sketches

Separate clamping concepts

Tactile inspection characteristics

Surface roughness characteristics

First Article Inspection reports

The one-off initial cost

Component type

Initial cost

Component type 1

CHF 690.–

Component type 2

CHF 690.–

One-off initial cost

CHF 1'380.–

These costs do not recur with every delivery lot. As long as the part, the drawing revision and the inspection scope remain unchanged, the CMM programs, inspection sketches, measurement strategies and clamping concepts are reused. The initial effort is a one-off investment in the inspection process.

The recurring series inspection

From then on, the series price applies. Four parts are inspected per delivery lot:

Component type

QuantityQty

Series pricePrice

Cost

Component type 1

CHF 54.–

CHF 108.–

Component type 2

CHF 54.–

CHF 108.–

Order flat fee

—

CHF 100.–

Total per delivery lot

4 parts4 pcs

CHF 316.–

The order flat fee applies to orders below CHF 1'000.–.

The series price is lower than the initial cost because the groundwork is done. Some work still recurs with every delivery lot:

Receive the parts and assign them unambiguously

Stabilise the parts at the reference temperature in the measuring laboratory

Set up both existing clamping setups again

Qualify the required styli again

Inspect both component types with their respective CMM program

Evaluate and check the results

Prepare the inspection report

Store the documents directly in the customer's system

Prepare the parts for return

A predictable process

Fixed delivery windows and defined turnaround times are agreed with the customer. Every delivery lot follows the same sequence:

1Delivery within the agreed time window

2Receipt and identification

3Stabilisation at the reference temperature

4Setup and stylus qualification

5Measurement

6Evaluation and checking

7Documents stored directly in the customer's system

Stabilisation is a fixed part of the sequence for these parts: aluminium expands noticeably with temperature, so measurement only starts at a stable reference temperature in accordance with ISO 1. As soon as measurement and checking are complete, the inspection report and the agreed measurement data are available directly in the customer's system. No manual e-mail dispatch and no subsequent filing by the customer are needed.

What the customer gains economically

The arithmetic price per sample part is the wrong figure to focus on. The economically relevant number is:

CHF 316.–

for the metrological assurance of one delivery lot with two different component types — the four inspected parts are the sample prescribed by the end customer for a much larger production volume.

The customer earns its money by manufacturing and delivering the production parts. The external metrology creates the precondition for that: it fulfils the end customer's quality requirements without the customer having to build up measuring capacity of its own. Without this capacity, the company could not have accepted the high-volume order in this form.

What it would have had to build up itself:

Coordinate measuring machine (CMM)

Conventional measuring equipment

Surface roughness tester

Temperature-controlled measuring room

Measurement software and styli

Fixturing and clamping equipment

Qualified metrology staff

ISO GPS and standards expertise

Additional staff capacity

A documentation process

CSL does not simply inspect four parts. CSL provides the metrology infrastructure that enables the customer to execute a much larger production order.

The same infrastructure is available without a recurring cycle: for individual parts, use our dimensional inspection at the laboratory in Wohlen, Switzerland.

Support when deviations occur

When a deviation occurs, the work does not end with a red measured value. CSL puts the result into technical context and clarifies with the customer:

Is the deviation actually present on the part?

Is the characteristic unambiguously specified?

Do the datum system, the alignment or the measurement strategy influence the result?

Where is the deviation located and how large is it?

Are additional measurements required?

Does the sample need to be extended?

Are sorting, 100 % inspection, rework or a drawing correction the sensible next step?

The release decision stays with the customer. CSL provides the reliable metrological basis for that decision. Where the inspection process itself is in question, a measurement process capability study clarifies whether the measuring system and the measurement strategy are up to the characteristic.

The example in brief

Two different component types, two separate CMM programs and inspection processes

One-off initial cost of CHF 1'380.–

Recurring CHF 316.– per delivery lot for four prescribed sample parts

No in-house measuring machine and no measuring room required

Fixed delivery windows and defined turnaround times

Documents directly in the customer's system, support when deviations occur

The external metrology became the precondition for the customer to accept and execute a high-volume production order.

Next step

Do you need recurring inspection for your delivery parts?

Send us the drawing, quantities, delivery cycle and the prescribed sample size. We review the measurement task and prepare a transparent quote.

Go to the Quality Gate →

How much does an external quality gate cost? A real-world example with two component types

Quality assurance

Christian Schärer · 15 August 2026

About this example

The starting point

For every delivery lot, the end customer prescribes a sample inspection: two parts of type 1 and two parts of type 2 — four inspected parts per lot.

The one-off initial effort

Before the first lot can be inspected, the inspection process has to exist. For each of the two component types, the following was carried out separately:

Analyse the drawing and inspection characteristics

Create a numbered inspection sketch

Define the measurement strategy

Design a suitable clamping setup and set it up for the first time

Configure and qualify the required styli

Create a separate tactile CMM program

Program and measure 18 tactile inspection characteristics

Carry out conventional inspections

Measure 5 surface roughness characteristics

Stabilise the part at the reference temperature

Evaluate and document the results

Prepare the First Article Inspection report

Check the inspection documents and transmit them to the customer

Each component type is concluded with a First Article Inspection (FAI): it documents that every inspection characteristic on the drawing is covered and that the inspection process is set up for it.

The initial inspection scope in numbers

Initial inspection scope

Scope

Different component types

Separate tactile CMM programs

Separate inspection sketches

Separate clamping concepts

Tactile inspection characteristics

Surface roughness characteristics

First Article Inspection reports

The one-off initial cost

Component type

Initial cost

Component type 1

CHF 690.–

Component type 2

CHF 690.–

One-off initial cost

CHF 1'380.–

The recurring series inspection

From then on, the series price applies. Four parts are inspected per delivery lot:

Component type

QuantityQty

Series pricePrice

Cost

Component type 1

CHF 54.–

CHF 108.–

Component type 2

CHF 54.–

CHF 108.–

Order flat fee

—

CHF 100.–

Total per delivery lot

4 parts4 pcs

CHF 316.–

The order flat fee applies to orders below CHF 1'000.–.

The series price is lower than the initial cost because the groundwork is done. Some work still recurs with every delivery lot:

Receive the parts and assign them unambiguously

Stabilise the parts at the reference temperature in the measuring laboratory

Set up both existing clamping setups again

Qualify the required styli again

Inspect both component types with their respective CMM program

Evaluate and check the results

Prepare the inspection report

Store the documents directly in the customer's system

Prepare the parts for return

A predictable process

Fixed delivery windows and defined turnaround times are agreed with the customer. Every delivery lot follows the same sequence:

1Delivery within the agreed time window

2Receipt and identification

3Stabilisation at the reference temperature

4Setup and stylus qualification

5Measurement

6Evaluation and checking

7Documents stored directly in the customer's system

What the customer gains economically

The arithmetic price per sample part is the wrong figure to focus on. The economically relevant number is:

CHF 316.–

for the metrological assurance of one delivery lot with two different component types — the four inspected parts are the sample prescribed by the end customer for a much larger production volume.

What it would have had to build up itself:

Coordinate measuring machine (CMM)

Conventional measuring equipment

Surface roughness tester

Temperature-controlled measuring room

Measurement software and styli

Fixturing and clamping equipment

Qualified metrology staff

ISO GPS and standards expertise

Additional staff capacity

A documentation process

CSL does not simply inspect four parts. CSL provides the metrology infrastructure that enables the customer to execute a much larger production order.

The same infrastructure is available without a recurring cycle: for individual parts, use our dimensional inspection at the laboratory in Wohlen, Switzerland.

Support when deviations occur

When a deviation occurs, the work does not end with a red measured value. CSL puts the result into technical context and clarifies with the customer:

Is the deviation actually present on the part?

Is the characteristic unambiguously specified?

Do the datum system, the alignment or the measurement strategy influence the result?

Where is the deviation located and how large is it?

Are additional measurements required?

Does the sample need to be extended?

Are sorting, 100 % inspection, rework or a drawing correction the sensible next step?

The example in brief

Two different component types, two separate CMM programs and inspection processes

One-off initial cost of CHF 1'380.–

Recurring CHF 316.– per delivery lot for four prescribed sample parts

No in-house measuring machine and no measuring room required

Fixed delivery windows and defined turnaround times

Documents directly in the customer's system, support when deviations occur

The external metrology became the precondition for the customer to accept and execute a high-volume production order.

Next step

Do you need recurring inspection for your delivery parts?

Send us the drawing, quantities, delivery cycle and the prescribed sample size. We review the measurement task and prepare a transparent quote.

Go to the Quality Gate →