--- title: "Balloon Drawings for AS9102 Form 3 | Olympus Machining" description: "How Olympus produces AS9102-compliant balloon drawings for Form 3 characteristic accountability. Numbering rules, software, and traceability. 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Numbering rules, software, and traceability for ITAR programs.", "url": "https://www.olympusmachining.com/as9102-balloon-drawings", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://www.olympusmachining.com/#website" }, "about": { "@id": "https://www.olympusmachining.com/#organization" }, "inLanguage": "en-US" }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://www.olympusmachining.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "AS9102 FAI", "item": "https://www.olympusmachining.com/as9102-first-article-inspection" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Balloon Drawings", "item": "https://www.olympusmachining.com/as9102-balloon-drawings" } ] }, { "@type": "BlogPosting", "@id": "https://www.olympusmachining.com/as9102-balloon-drawings#article", "headline": "How Balloon Drawings Work for AS9102 Form 3", "description": "How Olympus Machining produces AS9102-compliant balloon drawings for Form 3 characteristic 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Guide](/materials/inconel-cnc-machining-guide) ![Olympus Machining LLC logo — precision CNC machining shop in Hanover, Pennsylvania](/assets/olympus-logo-DbWcTX06.webp) HomeAboutServices[Blog](/blog)Contact[Careers](/careers)[(717) 634-5094 ](tel:+17176345094)[Login](/auth)Get Quote [Back to AS9102 FAI Guide](/as9102-first-article-inspection) # How Balloon Drawings Work for AS9102 Form 3 A balloon drawing is the bridge between an engineering drawing and AS9102 Form 3 (Characteristic Accountability). Every dimension, tolerance, GD&T callout, note, surface finish, and material requirement on the drawing is assigned a unique balloon number, and Form 3 reports actual measured values keyed to those numbers. Olympus Machining LLC — an ITAR-registered, CAGE 9V9P0 CNC machine shop in Hanover, Pennsylvania — produces balloon drawings as the first step of every FAI workflow. ## What Counts as a Balloonable Characteristic AS9102 Rev C requires that every design characteristic be accounted for. That includes: - • Every dimension with a tolerance (linear, angular, radius, diameter) - • Every GD&T feature control frame and datum callout - • Every surface finish callout (Ra, Rz, lay) - • Every drawing note that imposes a requirement (material, finish, marking, packaging) - • Material specification on the title block - • Threads and threaded features (callout method, class of fit) - • Special process callouts (heat treat, plating, anodizing, NDT) ## Numbering Rules Balloon numbers are sequential, unique, and never reused within a drawing. For multi-sheet drawings, balloons typically include the sheet reference (e.g., 1.1, 1.2 for sheet 1; 2.1, 2.2 for sheet 2). When a single feature has multiple sub-characteristics — for example, a hole with a diameter, a position tolerance, and a surface finish — each sub-characteristic gets its own balloon, not a shared one. Reference dimensions are typically excluded from balloon-numbered Form 3 entries (they are not requirements), but Olympus marks them on the balloon drawing as "REF" so the reviewer can confirm they were not overlooked. ## Software and Workflow Olympus Machining produces balloon drawings using High QA inspection planning software. The customer drawing is imported as a PDF; characteristics are identified and ballooned using the software's auto-recognition with manual review. Form 3 is then generated directly from the ballooned drawing — eliminating transcription errors that occur when balloons and Form 3 entries are managed independently. For model-based definition (MBD) parts where the engineering definition lives in the 3D model rather than a 2D drawing, the same characteristic accountability principle applies — characteristics are extracted from the model annotations and balloon-numbered for Form 3. ## Traceability for ITAR Programs For ITAR-controlled parts, balloon drawings carry the same export-control restrictions as the underlying engineering drawing. Olympus Machining handles balloon drawings under the same controlled-document procedures as customer drawings — they are stored in access-controlled job folders, never transmitted through uncontrolled email channels, and are delivered to the customer as part of the FAI package through the customer's specified secure channel. **Related:** [AS9102 FAI guide](/as9102-first-article-inspection) · [Full FAI vs Partial FAI](/as9102-fai-vs-pfai) · [CMM inspection services](/cmm-inspection-services) · [Precision CNC machining](/precision-cnc-machining) · [CNC milling](/cnc-milling) [CNC Milling](/cnc-milling) [CNC Turning](/cnc-turning) [Quality Assurance](/quality-assurance) [Prototype to Production](/prototype-to-production) [Industries Served](/industries-served) [Materials Machined](/materials-machined) [Robotics & Automation Machining](/robotics-automation-machining) [Precision CNC Machining](/precision-cnc-machining) [Careers](/careers) [ITAR CNC Machining for Mid-Atlantic Aerospace OEMs](/itar-cnc-machining-mid-atlantic-aerospace) [CNC Tolerances & GD&T Guide](/resources/cnc-machining-tolerances-gdt-guide) [Reducing CNC Machining Costs](/resources/reducing-cnc-machining-costs) [6061 vs 7075 Aluminum](/materials/6061-vs-7075-aluminum) [Brass vs Bronze Machining](/materials/brass-vs-bronze-machining) [![Olympus Machining LLC logo — CNC machining shop Hanover, PA](/assets/olympus-logo-DbWcTX06.webp)](/) Olympus Machining LLC is a precision CNC machining shop in Hanover, Pennsylvania, providing CNC milling and turning services for OEMs and manufacturers nationwide. Olympus Machining LLC · 639 Frederick St, Suite 1 · Hanover, PA 17331 · (717) 634-5094 Explore all [areas served, industries, and capabilities →](/sitemap) © 2026 All rights reserved.[Admin](/auth) [Compliance & Cybersecurity](/compliance)[Privacy Policy](/privacy-policy)[Sitemap](/sitemap) ITAR-aligned internal controls. Cybersecurity practices aligned with CMMC Level 1 (FAR 52.204-21).