With defence products, a technically sound weld is not enough on its own. What counts is whether a manufacturer has the whole welding process under qualified control: from material and filler metal through procedure specification and personnel qualification to traceability, testing and documentation. That is exactly what the DIN 2303 manufacturer qualification stands for.
stainlesstec is recorded in the official DIN 2303 register with qualification classes Q1 and Q2, component class BK2, and defined material groups and welding processes.
DIN 2303 Q2 · BK2 · laser beam welding · MIG · TIG · material groups 8.1 / 8.2
DIN 2303 sets out the quality requirements for manufacturing and repair shops for welding and related processes on defence products. The qualification therefore looks at more than the individual welder. The prerequisites examined include:
qualification of welding coordinators, welders and operators
suitable welding equipment
material traceability
defined filler metals
adherence to welding procedure specifications
qualified welding procedures
testing and assurance of weld quality
A craft welding task thus becomes a governed, repeatable and verifiable process.
What does Q2 mean?
DIN 2303 distinguishes several manufacturer qualification classes: Q1 covers general requirements, Q2 the particular requirements of certain materials and of welding them.
For Q2 the German armed forces name, for instance, liquid-quenched steels such as HY80 and HY100, non-magnetisable austenitic steels such as 1.3964, and certain Al-Zn-Mg alloys.
One important point: Q2 is not a blanket approval for every Q2 material. Which material and which welding process a manufacturer actually covers follows from its own certificate. For stainlesstec, the official register currently shows material groups 8.1 and 8.2 to DIN CEN ISO/TR 15608.
Q2 and BK2 are not the same thing
The two are easily confused: Q2 describes the manufacturer qualification with regard to particular materials and to joining them. The component class BK, by contrast, classifies the defence product itself by criteria such as loading, safety significance and operational capability.
stainlesstec is currently qualified for component class BK2. In practice that means the material alone does not decide whether an order falls within the scope of the qualification: the component class, the welding process and the product specification have to fit as well.
stainlesstec’s certified scope
Q1 / Q2
Manufacturer qualification
BK2
Component class
52 · 131 · 141
Welding processes
8.1 / 8.2
Material groups to DIN CEN ISO/TR 15608
SLV Hannover
Certification body
04/2028
Valid until 1 April 2028
Welding processes: 52 – laser beam welding · 131 – MIG welding with solid wire electrode · 141 – TIG welding with solid wire or rod filler. These details correspond to the entry currently published in the official DIN 2303 register.
With special materials in particular, several factors can be critical at once. A suitable parent material alone is no guarantee of a suitable part. Also relevant can be:
material condition
filler metal
heat input
welding sequence
forming
Finishing
foreign material ingress
Testing
The process is therefore defined before production starts: parent material, filler metal, procedure, procedure specification and personnel qualification all have to be matched to the task in hand.
Non-magnetisable austenitic steels are a particularly clear example of Q2. The German armed forces expressly name material 1.3964, among others, as an example of the particular requirements of class Q2.
In applications like these it is not enough simply to buy a suitable stainless steel: the required properties have to survive the whole of production, because machining and welding in particular can affect material properties. Depending on the project specification, the points to consider include:
Material origin → material condition → material handling → machining → welding process → filler metal → post-weld work → testing
Non-magnetisability thus becomes a requirement on the process.
That matters above all in certain naval and defence applications.
Traceability starts with the material
DIN 2303 projects call for a clear allocation of the materials and filler metals used. Depending on the project, what may be required includes:
material certificates
unambiguous batch allocation
marking
records for filler metals
Welding procedure specifications
welder qualifications
Procedure qualification tests
inspection records
The DIN 2303 information sheet states expressly that parent materials have to be evidenced by certificates to DIN EN 10204; defined evidence requirements apply to filler metals as well.
Traceability is therefore not a documentation step at the end. It has to begin at goods inwards.
From specification to qualified process
01
Check the scope of qualification
First we check whether the component class, material group and welding procedure fall within our existing certificate.
02
Bring the requirements together
Drawing, revision status, material, technical delivery conditions and customer requirements are all considered.
03
Fix the welding process
Welding procedure, procedure specification, filler metal, personnel qualification and test requirements are matched to one another.
04
Build under control
Cutting, forming, welding and post-weld work follow the defined sequence.
05
Test and document
The agreed tests and records are allocated unambiguously to the order and the part.
The result is a part whose quality has not merely been inspected but safeguarded throughout the process.
What DIN 2303 Q2 does not mean
A Q2 manufacturer qualification is not a general approval for every defence part. Whether a given order can be carried out depends on, among other things:
Component class
material
welding process
part geometry
technical delivery conditions
customer approvals
test requirements
further codes, where applicable
Before quoting, we therefore check whether the task falls entirely within the scope of our qualification.
The certificate defines the prerequisites. The product specification defines the order.
Typical projects
Within the relevant specification, our qualified manufacturing suits, for example:
Welded assemblies
With particular material and documentation requirements.
enclosures and housings
For defence systems.
Frames, brackets and mounts
As single parts or small batches.
Non-magnetisable components
For the relevant naval applications.
Bespoke special structures
Where standard manufacturing and standard materials will not do.
On development projects, spares, variants and small batches in particular, stainlesstec combines the process reliability required with flexible manufacturing.
What we need in order to assess it
For a sound assessment, please send us where possible:
drawing and revision status
Component class
material and material group
quantity
the welding procedure required
technical delivery conditions or customer specification
test requirements
traceability requirements
scope of documentation
particular material properties, e.g. magnetisability
We will then check whether the project can be carried out within our certified scope and which additional requirements have to be allowed for.
Your partner for manufacturing to Q2
Do you want a defence part made with particular requirements for material, welding process or documentation?
Send us the drawing and the specification. We will check the scope of qualification and develop a sound manufacturing, testing and documentation process from it.
Let’s talk about your project.
Send us your drawing or CAD data by email – together with material, batch size and your requirements. We will come back to you with a sound assessment.
