Does Blue Dog make us AS9100 compliant?

No. Compliance is an organizational responsibility. Blue Dog provides tools that support the traceability, change documentation, and configuration management AS9100 expects. Your team owns the design procedures, the review criteria, the qualification of personnel, and the decisions about which changes are approved. Blue Dog records that these procedures were followed and preserves the evidence. To achieve certification, you'll need to document your design procedures, conduct internal audits, and work with your quality system. But Blue Dog eliminates the friction of maintaining audit-ready design histories and change records.

Can OpenVault handle large CAD assemblies?

Yes. OpenVault routes large binary files (SolidWorks parts and assemblies, STEP, IGES, STL) through Git LFS, so they stay fast and histories stay clean. An assembly with 500+ components syncs efficiently. You can diff two revisions of a large assembly to see what geometry changed without downloading the entire file twice. For teams with even larger datasets or distributed teams, ToolCrib Cloud provides hosted storage.

How does OpenVault handle multi-site or distributed engineering teams?

Engineers can work offline and sync when connected, so distributed teams don't face network latency or lock-out issues. ToolCrib Cloud provides a central repository with role-based permissions, so engineers in different locations see the same approved design state. The 3D viewer and approval workflows are web-based, so remote reviews are as fast as in-person ones.

What CAD tools does OpenVault work with?

OpenVault is CAD-agnostic and works with files from SolidWorks, Fusion, CATIA, NX, KiCad, Altium, and FreeCAD. It also works with interchange formats like STEP and IGES. Your team can use mixed CAD without format conversion friction. If you need to convert between formats for compatibility, ToolCrib CLI provides format conversion and batch automation.

Can we integrate Blue Dog with our existing change-request process?

Yes. Your formal change-request process (ECNs, configuration boards, requirement links) can reference the OpenVault commits and ToolCrib pull requests. Commit messages can include ECN numbers or requirement IDs, creating traceability. Some teams map their ECN workflow to OpenVault branches or use ToolCrib pull request metadata to encode approval authorities. The tools are flexible enough to layer on top of existing governance procedures.

How does Blue Dog support NADCAP special processes?

NADCAP audits special processes like plating, heat treatment, and welding. Blue Dog's role is tracking changes to design specifications that invoke these processes and recording the traceability between the design and the supplier's process capability. ToolCrib Cloud's audit logs show when processes were added to designs, who approved them, and when they were released. Your team owns the relationship with suppliers and the verification of their process capability. Blue Dog provides the infrastructure to make that relationship auditable.

Aerospace Engineering

Version control and audit trails for AS9100 design control

AS9100 demands change traceability, configuration management, and design history. OpenVault and ToolCrib Cloud deliver the Git-native version control and audit logs aerospace teams need to meet these expectations. Your team owns the design decisions. We own the governance infrastructure.

Design control in aerospace

AS9100 Quality Management Systems add critical design-control requirements on top of ISO 9001. The aerospace industry has learned, over decades, that product safety depends on knowing exactly what changed in a design, when, by whom, and whether it was approved before production.

Design control under AS9100 requires:

Design input and definition: All design requirements must be documented and reviewed before design work begins.
Design development and output: The design process must be controlled, with outputs verified to meet input requirements.
Design review: Changes must be reviewed by qualified personnel before implementation.
Configuration management: Designs must be uniquely identified and controlled. Every revision must be traceable.
Design history and change documentation: The path from initial design intent to final specification must be reconstructable. Why was this tolerance set? Who approved the material change? When did we finalize the geometry?

Many aerospace teams manage this with a mix of PDM systems, spreadsheets, and formal change-request workflows. The PDM records file check-ins. The spreadsheets track ECN (Engineering Change Notice) approvals. Design reviews happen in meetings with redlined PDFs. When an audit or failure investigation begins, the work of reconstruction can take weeks.

How OpenVault and ToolCrib Cloud address AS9100 expectations

OpenVault is Git for engineering data. Every design change becomes a commit: the CAD model, the drawing, the BOM, and any supporting files all version together. The commit carries an author, timestamp, and message. You can branch to explore design variants without affecting the main design. You can diff two revisions to see exactly what geometry changed. You can review the full history of any file.

For aerospace teams, this means:

Configuration management. Each commit is a unique, timestamped configuration. Every STEP file, assembly, and drawing has a complete version history with no gaps. You know what revision was built, by whom, and when. There are no orphaned files or ambiguity about which drawing revision goes with which CAD model.

Design history and change reconstruction. Every change comes with an author, timestamp, and rationale in the commit message. If a tolerance was changed, the commit shows the old value and the new value. The message explains why. Three years later, when someone asks how we arrived at this specification, the answer is already in the repository.

Change documentation. Branching enables a workflow where design changes happen on feature branches, get reviewed before merge, and only enter the main design tree once approved. This creates an audit trail of approvals and can integrate with formal change-request processes like ECNs.

Offline work and resilience. Engineers can work anywhere: in the lab, on an airplane, between network connectivity changes. All changes are preserved locally. When you sync, everything becomes part of the cloud record.

For teams that want human workflows on top of version control, ToolCrib Cloud adds web-based review and approval. Engineers propose design changes on branches. Manufacturing engineers, quality leads, and design leads see a 3D visual diff, leave comments, and approve before merge. The entire review session is recorded. Approvals are timestamped. Role-based permissions can enforce that changes above a certain risk level require two signatures. This creates a reviewable, approvable design process with an immutable record.

What teams own

Blue Dog provides the infrastructure: version control, audit logs, 3D visualization, and approval workflows. Your team owns the design process itself.

AS9100 compliance depends on your design procedures. Blue Dog supports these procedures by providing tools to capture decisions and changes. Your team defines:

Design procedures: How will design changes be initiated, reviewed, and approved? How many approvals are required for different types of changes? What criteria must a design meet before it enters production?
Configuration management strategy: Which files are configuration items? What is the identification scheme? What branching strategy will your team use? How will branches map to design phases (prototype, pre-production, release)?
Qualification and authority: Who is qualified to approve changes? Who owns manufacturing constraints? Who signs off on safety-critical tolerances? These decisions are yours, encoded in your procedures and roles.
Design validation and verification: Blue Dog records that a test was run and who ran it. It does not run the test or certify the results. Your test procedures and acceptance criteria are your responsibility.
Traceability to requirements: Blue Dog can link commits to requirement IDs if you use commit messages for that traceability. Your requirements and their mapping to design outputs remain your responsibility.

What Blue Dog does supply: a structure that makes these procedures auditable, a history that proves they were followed, and tools for the human decisions that drive them forward.

A workflow for aerospace design control

Here's how a typical aerospace design change flows through OpenVault and ToolCrib Cloud:

Design input and review. New requirements come in with a specification document. Your team reviews them against existing designs to understand the scope. This input review happens in your existing system (requirements management tool, PDM, meeting notes). No change yet to the CAD.

Development on a feature branch. An engineer creates a branch for this work: feature/landing-gear-actuator-v2. They edit the model, update the drawing, revise the BOM. Each logical step becomes a commit with a message: "Update cylinder bore to meet 5000 psi spec" or "Add secondary seal per safety review feedback." They work offline if needed; everything syncs when connected.

Design review. When development is complete, the engineer submits a pull request in ToolCrib Cloud. The title references the ECN or requirement number. The description includes the design rationale, any manufacturing notes, and the traceability to input requirements. Manufacturing engineers see a 3D visual diff. Quality leads review the change against acceptance criteria. Design leads verify that the design rationale is sound.

Comments happen inline. "This tolerance won't hold on our CNC; suggest +/- 0.005 inch." "Confirm material source for the new spring." The engineer addresses each comment, updates the design, and re-commits. The pull request updates to show the new state.

Approval and merge. Once all reviewers sign off, the merge happens automatically or manually depending on your procedure. The moment of merge is recorded with timestamps and signatures. The commit that was reviewed is the commit that enters the main design. There is no gap between the approved version and the released version.

Production release. The released commit is tagged with a release number: v2.3.0. This tag becomes the authoritative configuration for production. Every file that goes to manufacturing is traced back to this tag. If a manufacturing issue surfaces, you can query the repository: "show me every change between v2.2.1 and v2.3.0" and see exactly what changed.

This entire flow creates an immutable record. Three years later, in an audit or investigation, you can replay the design history. You can answer: "This tolerance was changed on 2024-03-15 by Sarah Chen. The reason was to meet the 5000 psi spec. It was reviewed and approved by manufacturing on 2024-03-17. The change was released in v2.3.0 on 2024-03-20."

Aerospace design control questions

Does Blue Dog make us AS9100 compliant?: No. Compliance is an organizational responsibility. Blue Dog provides tools that support the traceability, change documentation, and configuration management AS9100 expects. Your team owns the design procedures, the review criteria, the qualification of personnel, and the decisions about which changes are approved. Blue Dog records that these procedures were followed and preserves the evidence. To achieve certification, you'll need to document your design procedures, conduct internal audits, and work with your quality system. But Blue Dog eliminates the friction of maintaining audit-ready design histories and change records.
Can OpenVault handle large CAD assemblies?: Yes. OpenVault routes large binary files (SolidWorks parts and assemblies, STEP, IGES, STL) through Git LFS, so they stay fast and histories stay clean. An assembly with 500+ components syncs efficiently. You can diff two revisions of a large assembly to see what geometry changed without downloading the entire file twice. For teams with even larger datasets or distributed teams, ToolCrib Cloud provides hosted storage.
How does OpenVault handle multi-site or distributed engineering teams?: Engineers can work offline and sync when connected, so distributed teams don't face network latency or lock-out issues. ToolCrib Cloud provides a central repository with role-based permissions, so engineers in different locations see the same approved design state. The 3D viewer and approval workflows are web-based, so remote reviews are as fast as in-person ones.
What CAD tools does OpenVault work with?: OpenVault is CAD-agnostic and works with files from SolidWorks, Fusion, CATIA, NX, KiCad, Altium, and FreeCAD. It also works with interchange formats like STEP and IGES. Your team can use mixed CAD without format conversion friction. If you need to convert between formats for compatibility, ToolCrib CLI provides format conversion and batch automation.
Can we integrate Blue Dog with our existing change-request process?: Yes. Your formal change-request process (ECNs, configuration boards, requirement links) can reference the OpenVault commits and ToolCrib pull requests. Commit messages can include ECN numbers or requirement IDs, creating traceability. Some teams map their ECN workflow to OpenVault branches or use ToolCrib pull request metadata to encode approval authorities. The tools are flexible enough to layer on top of existing governance procedures.
How does Blue Dog support NADCAP special processes?: NADCAP audits special processes like plating, heat treatment, and welding. Blue Dog's role is tracking changes to design specifications that invoke these processes and recording the traceability between the design and the supplier's process capability. ToolCrib Cloud's audit logs show when processes were added to designs, who approved them, and when they were released. Your team owns the relationship with suppliers and the verification of their process capability. Blue Dog provides the infrastructure to make that relationship auditable.

Build aerospace design governance today

OpenVault is free and open source. Start with Git for your CAD files. Add ToolCrib Cloud for team workflows, approvals, and audit logs when you are ready.

Get started with OpenVault