What Is Actually Inside a CNC Machining Quote
A machining quote arrives as one number, which is why it is so hard to argue with. Underneath it are six or seven lines, and knowing how each one is built tells you which question to ask and which change to your drawing will actually move the price.
This is what a shop is adding up when it quotes your part.
1. Programming and setup
CAM programming, fixture design, making or modifying soft jaws, first part proving and the tool changes needed to run your job. This is paid once per order, regardless of quantity.
On one to ten pieces, setup is often most of the price. On a thousand, it disappears into the per piece figure. This is why a shop quoting a prototype and a shop quoting production sound like they are pricing different parts. They are.
What increases it: more setups, unusual fixturing, first time running your part, tight first article requirements.
What you control: giving the shop a repeat order so setup is amortised, and designing the part so it can be held in fewer setups.
2. Material
The raw stock the part is cut from, not the weight of the finished part. A part that finishes at 200 grams may start as a 1.2 kilogram block, and you pay for the block.
Three things drive this line:
- Grade and form. A common aluminium bar held by local stockists is quoted fast and cheap. A specific temper, a tool steel or a nickel alloy that has to be imported adds both cost and weeks.
- Stock size. If your part is 52 mm across and the stockist holds 50 mm and 60 mm bar, you are buying 60 mm and cutting most of it away.
- Waste. A part machined from solid with a large internal pocket generates expensive chips.
What you control: writing “or equivalent” next to the grade, and adjusting a non critical dimension so the part fits standard stock.
3. Cycle time
The actual machine minutes per part, multiplied by the shop’s hourly rate. The rate covers the machine, the operator, tooling, power and overhead.
Cycle time is driven by how much material has to be removed, how fast it can be removed in that material and how much of the time is finishing passes rather than roughing. A tight tolerance or a fine surface finish adds slow finishing passes, which is why tolerance is expensive in a way that is not obvious from the drawing.
What you control: removing unnecessary tight tolerances, opening internal corner radii so a larger tool can be used and avoiding deep narrow pockets that need long thin tools run slowly.
4. Tooling
Standard cutters are inside the hourly rate. Anything special is not: a form tool, a custom reamer, a long reach cutter for a deep feature, a thread mill in an unusual size.
Ask whether special tooling is quoted as a one off charge or amortised into the piece price, and ask who owns it afterwards. If you paid for it, it should be available for your repeat order rather than re-quoted.
5. Secondary processes
Anodising, plating, passivation, heat treatment, painting, laser marking and deburring beyond normal edge break. Almost all of these are subcontracted, so the shop is passing on a supplier price plus handling plus transport plus the risk of a batch coming back wrong.
This line often carries the longest lead time in the whole order, and it is the one most likely to slip. See the lead time breakdown for how it fits into the schedule.
What you control: specifying “as machined” when you do not need a finish, and choosing a common finish over a specialised one.
6. Inspection and documentation
Measuring parts costs machine and operator time, and producing paperwork costs more.
| Level | What it involves |
|---|---|
| In process checks | Operator measures key dimensions during the run. Usually inside the price |
| First article report | Every dimension on the drawing measured and recorded on the first piece |
| Full dimensional report | Every dimension measured on a sample, or on every piece for critical features |
| Material certificate | Passed through from the mill. Cheap unless the shop has to buy certified stock specially |
| Certificate of conformity | A statement, effectively free |
Ask for the documents you will read. A full dimensional report on a bracket nobody will ever measure is money spent to fill a folder. A first article inspection on a fitted part is the best value in this table.
7. Packing and shipping
Export packing, VCI bags, pallets, crating and whatever portion of the freight your Incoterm puts inside the price. A DAP quote contains all of the transport. An EXW quote contains none of it, which is the main reason two quotes for the same part can differ by a third.
What a good quote looks like
| Line | 50 pcs | 500 pcs |
|---|---|---|
| Programming and setup | One off | One off, spread further |
| Material per part | Same | Slightly lower with bulk stock |
| Machining per part | Same | Slightly lower as the operator gets efficient |
| Secondary process per part | Same or lower | Lower, batch minimums met |
| Inspection | Fixed plus per part | Fixed plus per part |
| Packing and freight | Per shipment | Per shipment |
Notice that only setup drops dramatically with quantity. That is the shape of the curve, and it explains why the jump from 10 pieces to 100 changes the piece price far more than the jump from 500 to 1000.
Questions worth asking about a quote
- Is setup a separate line or inside the piece price?
- How many setups does the part need as drawn?
- What stock size are you buying, and is there a size that suits it better?
- Which line would drop most if I opened the general tolerance?
- Is any special tooling included, and who owns it?
- What is excluded: packing, documents, freight?
- Is the lead time from purchase order or from material arrival?
Question four is the useful one. It turns a negotiation about price into a conversation about design, which is where the real money is. The design changes guide covers what to change once you know.
When you want itemised quotes rather than one number, say so on the RFQ. Send the drawing here and up to three shops in Vietnam will quote it.
Frequently asked questions
Should I ask shops to itemise their quotes?
Yes, and most will. An itemised quote tells you which line to attack, and it makes two quotes comparable even when the totals differ. A shop that refuses to break down a price is either hiding a large margin or has not worked out the cost itself.
Why did the price per piece barely fall when I doubled the quantity?
Because setup was already spread thin and the remaining cost is cycle time and material, which scale almost linearly. Big drops happen between 1 and 50 pieces. Beyond a few hundred, only a process change or a design change moves the number much.
Is a cheaper quote always worse?
Not always, but check the scope before the price. Cheaper quotes often exclude inspection documents, export packing or a finish that the other quotes included. Normalise the scope first, then compare.
Need a quote for a part like this?
Send the drawing. We shortlist up to 3 machine shops in Vietnam, manage the order if you want us to and reply within 24 business hours.
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