If a magnetic component supplier is certified to the IATF 16949 system and its products pass AEC-Q200 testing, does that make them automotive-grade products?
In the article “What Do You Know About AEC-Q200 Testing for Automotive Electronics?”, we discussed the significant value of AEC-Q200 testing in ensuring the high quality and safety of automotive electronic products, as well as the main test items and key considerations for electronic components. This raises the question: if a magnetic component supplier has obtained IATF 16949 certification and its products have passed AEC-Q200 testing, does that mean the products it offers to customers are necessarily automotive-grade?
1- Key Criteria for Evaluating Automotive-Grade Products
In fact, automotive-grade products are not limited to the requirements of management system audits and AEC-Q200 product test reports. In the automotive industry, the process of product quality control—specifically how to prevent errors (with an emphasis on defect prevention) and reduce quality variation (maintaining product stability and consistency)—is even more important. Therefore, in addition to focusing on management systems and product testing standards, attention should also be given to the process control systems for manufacturing. The following aspects are particularly worth noting when it comes to automotive-grade products.
1.1 Automotive Quality Management System Certification
With the continuous expansion of the global automotive market and the intensifying competition, automotive manufacturers have been striving to improve product quality, reduce costs, and enhance market competitiveness. Against this backdrop, the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) and the International Automotive Task Force (IATF) have respectively developed the VDA and IATF 16949 standards. Both standards emphasize the process approach, which ensures the quality of the final product by controlling and managing every stage of the production process.
VDA standards are mainly applied to German automotive manufacturing enterprises, but they are also widely adopted in Europe and other regions of the automotive industry. They include VDA 6.1, VDA 6.2, VDA 6.3, and VDA 6.5. VDA 6.1 covers quality management system audits, VDA 6.3 focuses on process audits, and VDA 6.5 is for product audits.
The IATF 16949 standard, developed by the International Automotive Task Force, aims to provide a unified quality management system framework for the global automotive manufacturing industry, applicable to both OEMs and component manufacturers. Based on ISO 9001, it incorporates additional automotive-specific technical requirements, making it the recognized quality system standard for the international automotive industry.
1.2 Compliance with AEC-Q200 Standard Requirements
Automotive electronic products must meet AEC-Q200 standard testing requirements to verify the reliability of components under various harsh conditions. Reliability testing includes high-temperature aging tests, temperature cycling tests, vibration tests, shock tests, and more. Some products, although claiming to have undergone AEC-Q200 testing, may in fact only meet one or a few of the required test items.
In the latest AEC-Q200 Rev E standard, AEC-Q200 Table 5 includes over ten test items applicable to magnetic components (inductors/transformers). If a manufacturer’s testing scope does not cover all reliability test items for inductors, its products may not be able to withstand the complex environmental conditions in vehicles, posing risks during actual use.
1.3 Quality Design and Control Requirements for Automotive-Grade Products
In addition to passing AEC-Q200 reliability testing, automotive-grade products must meet other specific standards and regulations. During process design, full consideration must be given to product reliability and stability, with a CPK requirement of at least 1.67 for key processes. The design lifespan is generally required to exceed 15 years, often with a zero-defect target.
Industrial-grade products, by contrast, have relatively lower reliability and allow for a certain fault rate. Although some industrial-grade products may also pass AEC-Q200 reliability tests, they cannot replace automotive-grade products, which must be designed and process-controlled strictly in accordance with automotive quality management system requirements.
1.4 Consistency Between Tested Samples and Mass-Produced Products
In product audits, some companies provide AEC-Q200 test reports, but due to quality control issues in their manufacturing processes, the tested product models may not match the quality of mass-produced units. In other cases, manufacturers may test only certain models but claim that all models have passed AEC-Q200 testing. Both situations can lead to quality risks during subsequent product use.
2- Requirements for Automotive-Grade Product Development and Quality Control
Due to the high-quality demands of the automotive industry, automotive-grade products place stringent requirements on suppliers in terms of quality management systems, process control, raw materials, manufacturing processes, and product reliability. Among these, early-stage product planning, manufacturing process control, and in-process control are especially critical.
2.1 Product Development in Compliance with APQP
Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP) is one of the six core tools in IATF 16949 and an integral part of the quality management system. It is a structured method for defining and establishing the steps necessary to ensure a product meets customer satisfaction. The goal of quality planning is to guarantee product quality and enhance product reliability. Automotive product development must strictly follow the APQP process.
Main APQP Steps include:
◾ Plan and Define
◾ Product Design and Development
◾ Process Design and Development
◾ Product and Process Validation
◾ Feedback Assessment and Corrective Action
Each stage of APQP provides the necessary foundation for the next. This not only ensures product quality and performance but also guarantees efficiency and stability in the manufacturing process. It is precisely this comprehensive and systematic approach that has made APQP widely recognized and adopted in the automotive industry.
2.2 Process Quality Standard Requirements
Automotive-grade electronic components are subject to very high process quality standard requirements, which typically include raw material selection, manufacturing process control, packaging technology, reliability testing, electrical performance testing, visual inspection, quality certification, environmental compliance, process monitoring, and statistical control.
Among these, manufacturing process control and in-process monitoring are particularly critical. In terms of manufacturing process control, automotive-grade products impose extremely strict requirements on production lines. They must be manufactured on strictly defined production lines, and under conditions where process capability and measurement equipment stability are ensured, deviations should be minimized as much as possible. Each batch’s production process must be inspected to ensure effective quality control and to detect potential defects in advance.
For process monitoring and statistical control, automotive-grade products require the use of Statistical Process Control (SPC) methods to monitor and analyze key parameters during production, enabling timely identification and resolution of potential quality issues. These high-level process quality requirements are intended to ensure that automotive-grade electronic components can operate reliably and stably for extended periods in complex and harsh working environments.
CODACA Automotive-Grade Product Production Workshop
3- General Standard Documentation Requirements for Automotive-Grade Products
3.1 PPAP
PPAP (Production Parts Approval Process) is the standard process for ensuring the quality of automotive components. It is designed to confirm that the supplier has properly understood all requirements in the customer’s engineering design records and specifications during actual mass production, and to assess whether the supplier has the capability to consistently meet those requirements.
The goal of PPAP is to ensure quality during the design and production of automotive components. All parts used in the automotive supply chain are required to have complete and detailed data and documentation to support the customer’s production approval process and related risk assessments.
PPAP has five submission levels:
Level 1 – Part Submission Warrant (PSW) only.
Level 2 – PSW with product samples and limited supporting data.
Level 3 – PSW with product samples and complete supporting data (most comprehensive documentation).
Level 4 – PSW and other requirements defined by the customer.
Level 5 – PSW with product samples and complete supporting data, reviewed at the supplier’s manufacturing location.
CODACA can provide PPAP Level 3 documentation or meet other customer requirements. Level 3 documentation includes:
◾ Part Submission Warrant (PSW)
◾ Datasheet Approval
◾ Engineering Change Documents
◾ Design-FMEA (Failure Mode and Effects Analysis) – DFMEA
◾ Process-FMEA – PFMEA
◾ Control Plan
◾ Measurement System Analysis (MSA) studies
◾ Process Flow Chart
◾ Test Results – AEC-Q200 Reliability Test Report
◾ Material and Performance Test Results
◾ Initial Process Studies
◾ Sample Product
◾ REACH / RoHS Documentation
3.2 IMDS/CAMDS (Raw Material Substance Composition) Requirements
To restrict or prohibit the use of certain substances harmful to the environment and human health, the automotive industry effectively manages and controls the materials and components used in its products — this is where IMDS plays an important role.
IMDS (International Material Data System) is a raw material data system used by multiple automotive manufacturers and about 120,000 suppliers. It contains data on all materials and their chemical compositions, with all materials used in automotive manufacturing being collected, updated, analyzed, and archived in IMDS. It serves as a guideline for OEMs and their suppliers to comply with national and international regulations, standards, and laws. CAMDS is the Chinese version of IMDS.
IMDS helps improve the quality, safety, and environmental performance of automotive products, while also fostering innovation and competitiveness in the automotive industry. CODACA can provide IMDS/CAMDS documentation according to customer requirements.
3.3 Environmental Requirements
To protect the environment and ensure sustainable industry development, the automotive electronics industry requires products to comply with environmental regulations such as RoHS, REACH, and Halogen-Free. As a competitive manufacturer of magnetic components, CODACA fully recognizes the importance of environmental protection, and all its product designs meet international environmental standards.
4- Other Requirements
In recent years, the demand for automotive electronic products has increasingly reflected a customer-oriented development trend. In addition to meeting the above standard system requirements, some customers may also request that manufacturers provide product portfolios, roadmaps, and other related information to assess the company’s overall strength in the automotive electronics field.
With 24 years of expertise in inductor development, CODACA offers low-loss, high-reliability automotive-grade inductor solutions for the automotive electronics sector. CODACA strictly manages product quality in accordance with the IATF 16949 automotive quality management system, and German customers apply the VDA 6.3 standard.
CODACA carefully selects raw material suppliers, strictly follows the APQP process in product development, and employs an advanced Manufacturing Execution System (MES) to enhance production process control, material management, and quality traceability. Through digital management, production efficiency is improved, and full-process product quality traceability is achieved. The company operates a CNAS-accredited laboratory capable of conducting comprehensive in-house AEC-Q200 testing.
With over 20 years of industry experience and continuous technological innovation, CODACA has the capability to independently develop inductor core materials and customize products. Its experienced magnetic component R&D team can quickly develop customized inductor products according to customer requirements, meeting the automotive electronics industry’s needs for diverse, flexible, and innovative solutions.