What gets checked, what gets recorded, and what we can put in a file for your importer. This page is deliberately specific, because a quality claim without a test and a document behind it is just a paragraph.
Inspecting only the finished carton tells you what you already shipped. The checks that matter sit earlier, where a bad batch is still a small batch.
Wire gauge and strand count checked against the bill of materials, connector authenticity checked by supplier lot, and jacket compound verified against the material certificate before a reel goes to the line.
Crimp height and pull force sampled through the run, strip length measured, and moulding parameters logged. A drifting crimp tool shows up here, not at the customer.
100% continuity and pinout on every assembly, with the test record kept against the work order. Visual inspection against the approved sample and the artwork proof.
Carton count, labels, barcode scan check and packaging condition. Export marks and shipping marks verified against the packing list before the container is sealed.
| Test | What it catches | Coverage |
|---|---|---|
| Continuity and pinout | Open, short, crossed or missing connection | 100% of units |
| Hipot (dielectric withstand) | Insulation breakdown between conductors | Per drawing, usually sample or 100% |
| Insulation resistance | Moisture ingress and contaminated compound | Sample, per agreed limit |
| Crimp pull force | Under-crimped or over-crimped terminal | Sampled through the run |
| Insertion and withdrawal force | Contact wear and out-of-tolerance plug shell | Sample per lot |
| Mating cycle life | Contact plating and retention over time | On request, destructive |
| Flex and bend | Jacket cracking and conductor fatigue at the strain relief | On request, destructive |
| Salt spray | Plating and terminal corrosion | On request, hours per drawing |
| Dimensional | Length tolerance, overmould envelope, print position | Sample plus first article |
The parameters, not just the test names, are what you should ask for. "Hipot tested" means nothing without the voltage, the duration and the pass threshold, and those are agreed on the drawing.
Tell us the document set at quotation. Reconstructing a declaration after a container has sailed is slow, and an importer who cannot clear goods does not place a second order.
Most supplier sites carry a row of approval logos whether or not they hold any of them. Buyers have learned to discount all of it, which harms the factories that do hold certificates. This is our position.
We build to the standard you name. If your drawing specifies a UL style, a VDE cable type, an IPC class or a USB-IF test, we source to that specification and document the build against it.
We do not display a listing we do not hold. Where a certificate belongs to the material supplier or the connector manufacturer, you get their document, not our logo on a copy.
We tell you when an approval has to be in your name. Several markets register the approval to the brand rather than the factory. That is a different process with a different cost, and it belongs in the quotation rather than in a surprise.
Ask a supplier for the certificate number and the holder's name. If the answer is a picture of a logo rather than a document, you have your answer.
These are the six that account for most returns in this category. Each one is a decision made at quotation, which is why the specification conversation is worth having.
| What the customer sees | What actually happened | Where it was decided |
|---|---|---|
| Charges slowly, or not at 100W | No E-Marker, or a marker declaring less than the charge contract needs | Bill of materials |
| Gets hot at the plug | VBUS conductor too thin for the current over that length | Conductor gauge |
| Jacket splits at the strain relief | Rigid PVC where the cable flexes, or a mould that grips instead of relieving | Compound and tooling |
| Data drops to USB 2.0 speeds | Shield coverage below what the rate needs, or an unterminated drain | Construction |
| Connector feels loose after a year | Gold flash too thin, contact spring relaxed | Plating specification |
| Fails a retail compliance test | Phthalate plasticiser in low-cost PVC, or a declaration that does not match the actual BOM | Compound selection |
None of these can be inspected into a finished cable. They are all decided before the first metre is cut, which is the argument for spending the time on the drawing rather than on the price.
Yes, and it is a reasonable thing to do on a first order. Tell us the booking date when you have it and we will have the goods staged and the records ready. We do not schedule production around the inspection in a way that leaves nothing to inspect.
You get the electrical test record for the run, which shows the parameters tested and the result. Destructive tests such as flex life, salt spray or mating cycles are quoted per request because they consume samples, and the report names the sample size so nobody mistakes a lot test for a qualification.
A record of the first parts off a new or changed build: every dimension on the drawing measured and written down, the materials used, and the result. It is what turns "it looked right" into a document both sides can point at when the tenth run is questioned.
No. ISO 9001 certifies a management system, meaning the factory documents and follows its processes. It says nothing about whether a particular cable meets a safety standard. A supplier who offers ISO 9001 as proof that the product is approved is either confused or hoping you are.
Records for a production run are kept so a repeat order can be built against the same reference, and so a question raised months later can be answered with data rather than memory. If your programme has a retention requirement, state it in the purchase order and it will be honoured.
Tell us the market and the tests your importer will ask about. We will send the actual file set we can provide, including the parts we cannot, before you commit to anything.