Vendor selection and QC sign-off — separating real nitriding houses from job shops

A small non-Nadcap shop can be the right vendor for low-volume work where the Nadcap overhead does not pencil. The bar is the same as for any other vendor: closed-loop atmosphere control or a credible substitute, microhardness on-site, willingness to run a witness coupon, photo and traverse on the certificate. A small shop with those capabilities and direct phone access to the metallurgist running the cycle is often a better partner than a large shop that buries the same part under three layers of customer service. Size is not the disqualifier; open-loop atmosphere, no on-site QC, no witness coupon, and no traverse on the certificate are, and those gaps cannot be closed by a friendly relationship.