Writing an RFQ a Machine Shop Can Actually Price
A machining quote that takes two weeks is usually not a slow shop. It is a shop that asked a question on day one and got an answer on day nine. Everything in this guide exists to remove that round trip.
The single biggest cause of a bad quote
When a shop cannot tell how much work a part is, it quotes for the worst case. That is not dishonesty, it is survival. Every gap in your RFQ is a risk the shop prices in, and you pay for that risk whether or not it materialises.
So the goal of an RFQ is not to be complete for the sake of it. It is to remove the specific unknowns that make a quote go up.
What every machining RFQ needs
Geometry. A STEP file and a PDF drawing. The STEP gives shape, the PDF gives intent. If you only have one, send the drawing, not the model.
Critical versus general. Mark which features actually matter. A drawing where everything is tolerance controlled is quoted as if everything matters, and that is often two or three times the price of the same part with three critical dimensions called out and a sensible general note. This is the highest leverage line in the whole document.
Material and temper. Name the grade. Add “or equivalent” if a substitute is acceptable, because that one phrase can remove weeks of import lead time when a specific grade is not stocked locally. The materials guide covers what is typically stocked and what has to be ordered in.
Surface finish. An Ra value and which faces it applies to. “Smooth” is not a specification.
Coating, plating or heat treatment. The specification and the colour or class. If none is needed, write “as machined” so nobody quotes a finish you did not ask for.
Quantity now and annual usage. These are different numbers and both change the price. A shop quoting 50 pieces prices the setup differently if it knows 50 comes back four times a year.
Date you need parts in hand. Not the date you would like them. Shops plan backwards from this, and an honest date sometimes lowers the price because it lets the shop slot your job into a gap.
Destination and shipping term. The country, and whether you want a price to the shop door, to the port or to your address. Two quotes on different Incoterms are not comparable.
Inspection documents. Say which ones must travel with the shipment. A first article report, a full dimensional report and a material certificate are each work, and each has a cost.
Packing requirements. If you need heat treated pallets, individual bagging or corrosion protection, say so now rather than after the first shipment arrives marked.
The template
Copy this into an email or a form and fill it in. It is deliberately short.
PART
Part number / name:
Revision:
Files attached: STEP / PDF drawing / other
WHAT MATTERS
Critical features: (list them, with the datum)
General tolerance: (e.g. +/-0.1 mm unless stated)
Surface finish: (Ra value, which faces)
Finish or coating: (spec and colour, or "as machined")
MATERIAL
Grade and temper:
Equivalent acceptable: yes / no
QUANTITY
This order:
Expected per year:
Repeat frequency:
TIMING
Parts needed in hand by:
Is a partial first shipment useful: yes / no
COMMERCIAL
Destination country and city:
Shipping term wanted: EXW / FOB / DAP / not sure
Target budget range: (optional, a range not a number)
DOCUMENTS
First article report: yes / no
Full dimensional report: yes / no
Material certificate: yes / no
Certificate of origin: yes / no, and which form
OTHER
NDA required before files are shared: yes / no
Packing requirements:
Anything a shop should know:What to leave out
Your entire assembly. Send the part being quoted, plus context only where it explains a fit. A shop does not need your product.
A hard price target. See the FAQ above.
Boilerplate terms on a first enquiry. A twelve page supplier agreement attached to an RFQ slows the quote and tells you nothing. Send it when you are placing the order.
Every part number at once. If you have twenty parts, quote three representative ones first. You learn what the shop is good at without waiting for twenty prices.
How to read the replies
The number is the least informative part of a quote. Look at:
- Did they ask anything? A part with a genuine ambiguity that came back with no questions was guessed at.
- Is the quote itemised? Setup, material, machining, finishing, inspection and packing as separate lines tell you where the money is and what to attack. A single number tells you nothing. The quote breakdown guide explains what each line should contain.
- Is the lead time measured from the purchase order? Some shops quote from the date material arrives, which is not the same commitment.
- What is excluded? Export packing, pallets, documents and freight are the usual omissions.
- Did they flag anything on the drawing? A shop that suggests opening one tolerance to save money has read the part properly.
The version that takes five minutes
If the full template is more than the enquiry deserves, this is the minimum that still gets a usable number:
Attached: STEP and PDF drawing, revision B. Material 6061-T6 or equivalent. Critical: the two 12H7 bores and the 0.05 mm flatness on face A. Everything else plus or minus 0.1 mm. As machined, no coating. 250 pieces now, around 1000 a year. Needed in hand in 8 weeks. Shipping FOB, destination Rotterdam. Please quote with a first article report and a material certificate.
Six lines, and nothing important is missing.
When your RFQ is ready, send it here and we will pass it to up to three machine shops in Vietnam that run that material and quantity. They quote you directly, and you get a reply from us within 24 business hours either way.
Frequently asked questions
Is a STEP file enough without a drawing?
For a simple part with no critical fits, sometimes. For anything with a tolerance, a finish requirement or a thread callout, no. The STEP file carries geometry. The drawing carries intent, and intent is what the shop needs in order to decide how much work your part is.
Should I tell shops my target price?
Give a budget range rather than a target. A range lets a shop tell you honestly that your part cannot be made for that, which saves everyone a round. A hard target invites shops to quote to the number and find the difference later in material or inspection.
How many shops should I send an RFQ to?
Three that fit beats twenty that might. Shops triage requests, and a drawing that clearly went to a long list gets a fast, high, safe number or no number at all. Send fewer, chosen better.
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.
Send my RFQ