Balford has published IMDS filing guidance aimed at formed metal parts rather than at the database in general. The pages now state what an entry contains when the part is a stamped or deep-drawn component: the declared mass is the mass of the finished drawn part and not the blank from which it was formed, coatings and passivation are filed as their own components instead of being folded into the base metal, and the material composition is taken per heat from the mill certificate.
The guidance covers the four part families that most often need an entry — sensor housings, solenoid valve housings, deep-drawn enclosures, and washers, cups and brackets — and lists the typical grade and the data filed for each. It is published on the English, Japanese, Brazilian Portuguese and Latin American Spanish IMDS pages, with a buyer-facing companion page describing what the customer has to confirm before an entry is submitted.
Why the part-specific version matters
An IMDS entry for a formed part is not a formality. A drawn housing can carry a base metal, an annealing condition and one or more surface layers, and the mass that goes into the declaration is the finished part, not the blank. Suppliers who file the blank weight, or who fold a plating layer into the base metal, produce an entry that comes back for correction — which is where the delay lands, not in the filing itself.
- Declared mass is the finished drawn part, not the blank weight
- Coating, plating and passivation layers are filed as separate components
- Composition is taken per heat from the mill certificate, not typed from memory
- When the part is formed on Balford's own presses the data comes from Balford's own mill certificates and process sheets
Where a customer needs the entry together with PPAP, Balford asks to be told at quotation so filing is planned alongside first article rather than after it.
At a glance
IMDS filing guidance for stamped and deep-drawn parts is now published in four languages. The part-specific point: for a drawn component the declared mass is the finished part, and every coating layer is its own component.
About Balford
Balford (Zhejiang Balford Mechatronics Co., Ltd.) is a metal forming and machining manufacturer in Zhuji, Zhejiang, producing deep drawn, stamped and machined metal components for automotive, sensor, solenoid valve, HVAC and industrial customers. Capabilities include deep draw metal stamping, progressive die stamping, precision stamping, CNC machining, sheet metal fabrication and tube bending, with in-house tool design and build. ISO 9001:2015 certified, with quality controls aligned to IATF 16949 requirements. Website: https://balford.net/
Media contact: shawn@balford.net · balford.net
IMDS data for deep drawn and stamped parts