What Changes After the First Order
Through the quote and the first order, back-drill entry is a paper exercise: HW600 at 0.16 mm with CpK ≥1.33, or HW900 at 0.19 mm with CpK ≥1.67, thickness tolerance ±0.005 mm, AA1100 H18 base. The first production run is where those numbers meet the drilling machine. The claim that matters in back-drilling is stub control, and stub control is a production property — it depends on the entry surface staying consistent lot after lot, which is a supply property. That is why the ramp period on this material is about consistency evidence, not just about getting panels out.
First Production Run: What to Verify
The SOP for the first production run is short and it is all measured on the panels, in the order they come off the line:
- Stub length on first articles. Measure on the first panels of the run and compare against the design window the selection guide set out; this is the one number the whole material choice exists to hold.
- Entry quality. Burr and entry-hole condition on the entry face — the coated surface is doing its job when the entry stays clean across the run.
- Wear trend. Hit count against the tool-life expectation used in the quote; a coated sheet that under-delivers life shows up here before it shows up in rejection.
- Thickness on the lot. Sample-measure against the ±0.005 mm tolerance; a drifting base moves the drill exit before it moves anything visible.
- Traceability. Batch identifiers filed against the PO, so a stub investigation later can be pinned to a press run.
Ramp: From Pilot Panels to Mass Production
The ramp pattern is the same staged implementation used for any drilling consumable: first production run on one high-mix line, stub and wear numbers compared against the sample phase, then widening to the remaining back-drilling lines only when the first line holds. During the ramp, keep the first lot identifiable in the record. A stub drift found in week two is only diagnosable if the record can say which pallet was on the machine when it started.
One ramp decision is specific to this material: HW600 and HW900 do not have to ramp together. A line running standard back-drilling can go to mass production on HW600 while the IC-substrate line stays on its own schedule, as long as the delivery schedule tracks them as two line items.
Delivery Schedule and Shipment Planning
Once the ramp holds, consumption becomes a delivery schedule. The production lead time is about one week and weekly shipping capacity runs to four containers, so the binding constraint is usually the reorder point, not the factory. HW600 and HW900 in one container is the normal plan; the sheet sizes — 940 × 1245 mm and 520 × 620 mm — palletize together, and the MOQ structure (100 sheets on the large format, 200 on the small) is designed to let the two grades move on one schedule.
Each shipment is booked against the schedule and recorded against the batch. When a stub investigation or a price review comes up later, that record is the file both sides open first.
Repeat Orders and When to Re-Quote
A repeat order references the locked specification instead of restating it. Payment stays on the standard 30% deposit with the order acknowledgement and the balance before shipment; production scheduling is reserved from the acknowledgement and the deposit, so a repeat order placed inside the scheduling queue pushes the shipment, not the quality.
Re-quote on triggers: a stub window change on the design side, a sheet format change, an annual volume step that moves the price tier, or a metal-market move — aluminum entry pricing follows the SMM spot price plus a conversion charge, so the coated grade moves with the metal the same way a plain sheet does. Between triggers, hold the price and hold the spec; the stable supply the ramp built is worth more than the last cent of the quote.
From Repeat Orders to Standing Volume
When repeat orders have run cleanly across several quarters, the arrangement graduates to a standing schedule: agreed monthly volume, fixed delivery slots, an annual review. The storage, reorder and expansion discipline that stage needs is in the standing supply and reorder guide. The ramp period is what pays for it: first-article stub records, wear trends and clean repeat orders are the evidence a long-term supply agreement is written on.
What should I verify on the first production run of back-drill entry board
Stub length on first articles against the design window, entry-face burr and cleanliness, hit count against the tool-life expectation used in the quote, lot thickness against the ±0.005 mm tolerance, and traceability — batch identifiers filed against the PO so a later stub investigation can be pinned to a press run.
Do HW600 and HW900 have to ramp into production together
No. A line running standard back-drilling can move to mass production on HW600 while the IC-substrate line stays on its own schedule, provided the delivery schedule tracks them as two line items. The MOQ structure — 100 sheets on 940 by 1245 mm and 200 on 520 by 620 mm — is designed to let both grades move on one schedule.
How is back-drill entry board delivered once production is stable
Against a delivery schedule built from monthly consumption and the one-week production lead time, with weekly shipping capacity of four containers. HW600 and HW900 palletize together in one container as the normal plan; each shipment is booked against the schedule and recorded against the batch.
When should a back-drill entry price be re-quoted
On triggers: a stub window change on the design side, a sheet format change, an annual volume step that moves the price tier, or a metal-market move — aluminum entry pricing follows the SMM spot price plus a conversion charge. Between triggers, hold the price and the specification.
How does a repeat order stay identical to the first order
It references the locked specification on the original PO instead of restating it. Payment stays on the 30% deposit and balance-before-shipment schedule, and production scheduling is reserved from the acknowledgement and the deposit — a late order pushes the shipment through the scheduling queue, it does not change the product.
What evidence supports a long-term back-drill supply agreement
The ramp-period file: first-article stub records, wear trends by lot, incoming thickness measurements and clean repeat orders. A standing schedule — agreed monthly volume, fixed delivery slots, annual review — is written from that evidence, not from the original quotation.