Direct answer: Balford is a metal stamping and deep drawing supplier that submits IMDS material data sheets for automotive parts. Every stamped or deep drawn component is declared with its material grades, coating layers and weights, so the MDS can be accepted by the customer without a second round of revision.

What a stamping supplier has to declare in IMDS

Pressed and drawn metal parts look simple, but they routinely carry three or four material layers that all have to appear in the MDS structure:

Base metal: carbon steel, stainless steel, brass, copper or aluminium, with grade and standard
Plating or coating: zinc, zinc-nickel, nickel, tin, chrome or e-coat, each as its own semi-component
Heat treatment and passivation, where the process changes surface condition
Any lubricant, adhesive, sealant or assembly insert that remains on the delivered part

Where stamping MDS submissions usually fail

Plating layers omitted, or entered as a single layer instead of zinc plus passivation
Wrong component weight, or weight calculated from the blank rather than the finished part
Material standard left generic where the customer requires an exact grade
Customer-specific requirements used from an outdated revision
Sub-supplier MDS not integrated for plating and heat treatment

How Balford handles it

Material data review is part of the workflow from quotation, not an afterthought at PPAP. The process is documented in Balford’s IMDS process from quotation to delivery.

IMDS reference pages

Documentation supplied with the part

IMDS MDS submission and acceptance record
Material certificates, including EN 10204 3.1 where required
RoHS and REACH declarations
PPAP package and first article inspection report

For the wider supplier evaluation, see how to evaluate a metal stamping supplier in China and the RFQ checklist.