You rejected the part for THAT??
Rejecting parts for frivolous reasons makes life difficult for everyone.
Some years back I had an experience with a complicated machined part that was purchased by my current employer for approximately $200 each. Very close tolerances were on most features. This part was rejected for an inconsequential feature-removing the burr on an outside edge. After I looked over the drawing, the area that needed deburring called out a radius of approximately .005 inch, which was accomplished with a hand deburring tool. This tolerance was so tight that it would be next to impossible to control this operation with such a crude tool. The purpose of deburring was one more of function rather than appearance.
This part was made from a hard plastic. The deburring operation affected neither the form, fit nor function of the finished piece, and the out of tolerance area was almost impossible to see.
Critical dimensions are one thing but this was ridiculous. If critical dimensions are off, the part will not function as designed. Calling a deburring radius critical would be a total nonsense.
The important thing was that the deburring operation be completed, not whether the radius was out of tolerance. The reason for the deburring was for safety (workers cutting themselves on a sharp edge), not functionality. “Remove all burrs and sharp edges” was a blanket statement I have used with good results, instead of a specific tolerance.
The fault is not with the Part inspectors – they were simply doing their jobs – but with those responsible for calling out the tolerance in the first place!
Years after leaving this company, I ran across a former co-worker. One of the items we talked about was the tendency of managers to reject hardware for almost any reason. The coworker was in a meeting going over a recent build of a part, and one of the managers was insisting on rejecting them. She (co-worker) brought out a sample part and pointed out the supposed “flaw”. It was of no consequence and was hardly noticeable. The meeting broke up with no action taken.
This same company was on the receiving end of some of this behavior by a Japanese customer. The customer had a reputation for rejecting parts in order to get cost concessions. In this instance, the actual part was not at issue, it was rejected because the box it came in had a spot of inconstant coloring in it! I do not recall how this “issue” was resolved. Possibly a short note to the customer stating that the box served its purpose by preventing damage to the purchased part during shipping, and no specifications exist for the issue at hand?
There are more productive ways for us to use our time than this. Irritating a vendor by rejecting perfectly usable parts is no way to build a lasting relationship. The material likely could not be recycled so into the landfill it goes.
Norman T. Neher, P.E.
Analytical Engineering Services, Inc.
Elko New Market, MN
www.aesmn.org