Fine Tubes (www.finetubes.co.uk), a Plymouth-based manufacturer of high-quality precision tubing for critical applications, has been awarded a Nadcap accreditation for chemical processing (this covers the key manufacturing and production processes used win the aerospace industry).

This is the company’s fourth Nadcap approval; very few companies hold four simultaneously. Moreover, it expects to receive another accreditation — for fluid distribution systems — shortly.

Fine Tubes’ first accreditation was for heat treating in 2004, followed by non-destructive testing (ultrasonic testing) in 2005 and fusion welding in 2013.

Chemical processing is a critical part of the company’s production process. Tubes must be chemically milled after the cold-working and heat-treating processes to ensure that they meet the customer specification requirements.

Technical team member David Killoran said: “The tubing we manufacture is designed to withstand in-process fatigue loading, so failure is not an option. When aircraft manufacturers need tubing, they inevitably look for suppliers who can demonstrate the most-stringent quality standards.

“Nadcap accreditation is widely viewed as confirmation of that, so with every Nadcap accreditation that we earn, we further enhance our ability to win new contracts.”

To achieve its latest accreditation, Fine Tubes underwent an intensive on-site inspection and investigation by a Nadcap auditor, covering all aspects of the process — the machinery, consumables and methods employed, plus the qualifications and experience of the staff involved in the process.

Fine Tubes and its US-based sister company, Superior Tube, have supplied the aerospace industry with high-performance tubes for more than 50 years — for use in airframes, aircraft engines and aerospace instrumentation.