What It Takes to Qualify for Semiconductor Work
Written for machine shops. The machining is rarely the reason a shop loses this work, so this is about the rest of it.
The five things buyers check
In the order they check them. A shop that can answer all five in writing is ahead of most of the market here, whatever machines it owns.
Can you hold it, and can you prove you held it
Calibrated inspection, a first article report with a ballooned drawing, and a measurement method stated for form controls and roughness. A CMM in the corner without a documented method proves nothing to a buyer.
Who does your finishing, and what happens when they are late
Anodize, electropolish, passivation and heat treatment are usually bought outside. Buyers want the finisher named, the batch cycle known and the rework responsibility agreed before the order, not after a part comes back out of spec.
Is cleaning a process or a habit
Write it down: degrease, rinse, dry, pack, and who may touch the part after the last rinse. A shop that can hand over that sheet wins parts from shops with better machines.
Do the documents arrive with the parts
Material certificate for the correct lot, finish certificate, inspection report, packing note. Missing paper is the most common reason a technically good first article fails.
Can somebody answer a technical question in English within 48 hours
One engineer who reads a GD and T drawing and replies clearly is worth more to a foreign buyer than a second machining centre.
Where to start if you are not there yet
None of this needs capital. It needs a week of writing things down.
- Write the cleaning sheetOne page, the real steps, with who signs it off.
- Build one good FAITake a job you already delivered, balloon the drawing, produce the report properly and use it as your sample.
- Name your finishersPut the partner, the distance and the normal cycle in your own capability sheet.
- State what you do not doA declared limit reads as competence. A capability list with no exclusions reads as a risk.
- Set a reply standard48 hours, in English, even when the answer is that you need two more days.
What the work looks like
The requests we see most from buyers in this niche, and the guides that explain what each one demands.
- Jig and fixture plates, usually aluminum, repeat orders on a frozen drawing
- Change kit and test socket hardware, small, precise, mixed material
- Chamber and vacuum parts, welded then finish machined, leak tested
- Gas delivery hardware, where the critical surface is inside the part
- Wafer handling hardware, where edge quality outranks headline tolerance
Questions shops ask about qualifying
Do we need a cleanroom to take semiconductor work?
No. A large share of this work is frames, brackets, jig plates and change parts with ordinary industrial packing. A cleanroom matters for wafer facing and vacuum hardware. Everything else is decided by process discipline and documentation.
Is ISO 9001 required?
It is not a hard requirement for most buyers, and it is not a substitute for a first article report. What buyers check is whether your inspection is calibrated, whether your process is written down and whether the certificates arrive with the parts.
What is the most common reason a shop loses this work?
Claiming a capability that belongs to a subcontractor and then missing the date when that subcontractor is late. Buyers forgive a slower quote far more easily than a surprise in week six.
How do we price a first semiconductor job?
Price the cleaning, deburring, packing and inspection separately so the buyer can see them. Work hidden inside a unit price looks like padding, and work left out entirely turns into a loss when the part comes back.
Ready to see requests that fit your machines?
Register your shop and tell us plainly what you do and do not do. We reply within 24 business hours. Questions first, email .