Buyer guide Inspection
Acrylic inspection is a comparison, not a feeling. The standard is the signed sample and the frozen drawing. “Looks clear” under frontal showroom light is not a criterion. Light the part from the side, check size against the drawing, and write the result against a list. This page is that list. It is not a laboratory method, and it is not a factory sales page.
What the inspection standard is
Working rule. A custom acrylic part passes if it matches the signed sample and the frozen drawing, within tolerances written on that drawing. It does not pass because it is transparent, or because it resembles a competitor’s photo.
If there is no signed sample, there is no visual standard. Freeze one before bulk, and note every accepted deviation on the sign-off. Process differences — flame polish on the sample, laser-left-as-cut on bulk — belong on that sheet, not in a claim after delivery.
How to set up the check
- Use the signed sample, the frozen drawing, and the live SKU if the part has a pocket.
- Put the part on a flat table. Warp is easier to see against a known plane.
- Light faces from the side, not only from the front. Side light shows haze, pits, and joint blush.
- Leave protective film on until you are ready to check that face. Peel only the area you are inspecting, then note whether film comes off clean.
- Have a scale or calipers for overall size and wall thickness if the drawing calls them out.
Do not inspect a polished cube in a brightly lit showroom and call it done. That light is designed to hide the defects side light finds.
The checklist
| Item | Compare with | A fail looks like |
|---|---|---|
| Overall size | Frozen drawing | Outside the tolerance on the drawing, or no tolerance and a visible mismatch |
| Pocket or well | Live SKU, including cable or tether | Product does not sit, or the tether path is blocked |
| Sheet identity | Quote and job card: cast or extruded, tint | Wrong route, unexpected tint, obvious inclusions |
| Faces | Signed sample, side light | Scratches through film, pits, adhesive residue, haze |
| Flatness | Flat table | Rocker or bow the sample does not have |
| Edges | Agreed finish on the sign-off | Chips, laser burn, saw marks where polish was specified, stress whitening |
| Joints | Signed sample, side light | Blush, starved glue, squeeze-out on the camera face, misaligned walls |
| Holes and hardware | Drawing and sample | Magnet in the wrong place, weak close, screw bind, liner lifting |
| Print or engraving | Approved artwork and placement | Wrong spelling, wrong position, ink that smears on a wipe test if the part will be wiped |
| Function | Signed sample and the product | Lid does not seat, tray flexes under a stand-in load, stand tips with the SKU |
| Pack | Agreed carton method | Film off optical faces, unprotected corners, wrong carton mark |
Thickness is a drawing check, not a universal number. If the drawing says 5 mm walls, measure walls. Do not substitute a generic “acrylic is 5 mm” rule.
What matters more by product
Five-sided box or cube
Joints and corners first. Side-light the seams. A chip on a cube corner is both a cosmetic fail and a pack fail.
Tray or brochure holder
Flatness and lip height. A bowed base or a lip that does not hold the stack fails even if the faces are clean.
Electronics well
Fit against the live device, including the tether. A pretty pocket that blocks the cable is a fail.
Printed face
Placement, spelling, and a wipe if the face will be cleaned in store. Ink on the wipe path needs a rub check, not only a look.
Those constructions are the usual subjects: boxes, trays, and display stands.
Sampling versus 100 percent
On a first article and on a new construction, check the signed piece fully, then spot-check the lot against it. On a repeat of an unchanged drawing, many buyers use attribute sampling.
ISO 2859-1 is a sampling procedure. It becomes a rule only when the purchase order names the inspection level and the AQL. “AQL” alone is not a standard. “100 percent inspected” without a written list is the same claim as “we looked at them.”
How to record a result
A usable record has five fields:
- Drawing revision and sample number.
- Quantity checked and quantity in the lot.
- Each failed item, with a photo in side light.
- Disposition: accept, rework, or reject.
- Who signed, and the date.
Accepting a deviation without writing it down creates a new, undocumented standard. The next lot will be judged against that silence.
What this checklist is not
- Not a substitute for a food-contact declaration if the program needs one. That is a document check, against the destination market, not a visual check.
- Not an outdoor-weathering test. A clear face in the warehouse does not predict tint shift in sun.
- Not a tensile or impact number. Those need a grade and a test method. A display inspection does not generate them.
- Not a factory audit. Walking the bench is a different job. This list is for the parts.
FAQ
Can I inspect acrylic from photos the factory sends?
Photos in side light can screen faces and joints. They cannot confirm pocket fit against the live SKU, warp on a table, or pack. Use them to reject an obvious fail, not to accept a first lot.
Why do scratches appear after I peel the film?
Some were under the film. Some are from the peel, the bench, or stacking faces together. Note whether the scratch was visible with film on. That separates a factory face defect from handling.
Is a small joint blush a fail?
If it is worse than the signed sample, or if it sits on the camera face and was not accepted in writing, yes. If the sign-off allowed it, it is the new standard. Write that down.
Should incoming inspection include a lab test?
Only when the specification requires a named grade or a food-contact document. For a retail fixture, fit, edge, joint, and pack against the signed sample are the inspection.
Who should sign the golden sample?
The buyer who will accept the lot, or a named delegate. A factory-only sign-off is the factory inspecting against itself.
What if the factory has no written checklist?
Use this one, attach it to the purchase order, and require results against the signed sample. Absence of a list is a process gap, not a reason to skip the check.
Sources
Visual inspection of a fabricated part is not the same as a sheet test. The references below are the sheet standard a job card may cite, and the sampling standard some buyers name on a purchase order. They do not replace a signed sample.
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