What to Put in a CNC Quote Request to Get a Price Back the Same Day

Most quote requests that come back slow are not slow because the shop is busy. They are slow because one of the six details below is missing, and the person pricing the job has to stop and ask. Send all six in the first message and, in our experience, a standard turned or milled part can be priced the same day.

1. A drawing, a 3D file, or a photo with sizes

PDF, DWG, STEP and IGES all work for us. A 2D drawing with tolerances is the most useful because it also tells us what actually matters on the part. If you only have a 3D model, send it anyway — we will ask about the tight dimensions instead of guessing.

If you have no file at all, send a photo of the old part next to a ruler, plus the key sizes: length, diameter, thread, bore. We quote from samples and photos regularly. It is not as precise as a drawing, but it is enough to give you a realistic number.

2. Material, and whether the temper matters

Aluminium 6061 and 7075 machine very differently. Stainless 304 is friendly, 316 is not much worse, but 17-4PH will change your price. If you write "stainless steel" and we assume 304 while you meant 316, the number you get back is wrong and you will have to re-quote.

Say the grade, and say if it is free-issue material you are shipping to us — that changes the quote and the lead time.

3. The tolerances you actually need

This is the single biggest lever on price. A general tolerance of ±0.1 mm on a turned part is routine. Asking for ±0.01 mm across a 200 mm length is a different job: slower passes, more checking, maybe a different machine.

Be specific where it matters — a bearing seat, a mating face, a dowel hole — and leave the rest general. Parts marked all over with tight tolerances are usually more expensive than they need to be.

4. Quantity, including how many you might need later

One piece and fifty pieces are priced differently, and not only because of the material. Setup, programming and fixturing are paid once. If you tell us the prototype is likely to become a run of 200, we will quote the prototype in a way that makes the run cheaper later.

5. Surface finish and any post-processing

As-machined is the default. Anodising, bead blasting, passivation, plating, heat treatment and laser marking all add steps and usually add a few days. Tell us the finish at the quoting stage, not after the parts are made, because some finishes change the dimensions we have to leave for them.

6. Where the parts are going

Delivery to Singapore, Jakarta or Hamburg changes packing, paperwork and freight, even when the part price does not change. A destination in the first message means we can quote delivered, not just ex-works, and you avoid a second round of emails later.

What a good request looks like

Something as short as this is enough to price the job:

"Stainless 304 stepped shaft, drawing attached (PDF). 20 pcs, then 200 pcs a quarter. ±0.05 mm on the two bearing seats, general tolerance elsewhere. As-machined, no finish. Need them in Surabaya by mid-November. Please quote both quantities."

Six lines, one attachment, one price back. If you want to test it on a real part, send the drawing through the inquiry form or on WhatsApp and we will come back with a number and a date.