What a good RFQ package looks like
We read RFQs every day. The fast, accurate quotes almost always start from the same handful of ingredients — and the slow ones are missing the same ones. Here is the whole list.
1. A STEP file and a PDF — both
The STEP file carries the geometry; the PDF carries the intent. A quote made from geometry alone is a guess about your tolerances, threads, and finishes. A quote made from a PDF alone means someone re-models your part just to program it.
Send both and the shop can price the part you actually want. If you only have one, send it anyway and say so — but expect a question or two back.
2. The quantity — and the quantities
Unit price bends sharply with volume, because setup time gets divided across the batch. If you're deciding between 10 and 50, ask for both prices in the same RFQ. Price breaks cost nothing to ask for and often change the decision.
If this is a repeat part, say that too. A shop that knows an order recurs will plan the job differently — and often quote it better.
3. Material, by grade
"Aluminum" is a family, not a specification. 6061 and 7075 differ in price, machinability, and what happens at the anodizing tank. If you know the grade, name it. If you don't, describe the job — loads, environment, what the part touches — and let the shop propose one. Both work; silence doesn't.
4. The finish, on the RFQ
Finishing affects dimensions (coatings have thickness), masking (threads and datum faces usually must stay bare), and lead time. A finish added after the quote is a re-quote. One line — "black anodize, mask M4 holes" — saves all of it.
5. The tolerances that actually matter
Every drawing has a title-block tolerance; only a few dimensions genuinely need better. Flagging them — even informally in the email — does two things: it focuses inspection on what counts, and it stops a shop from pricing your entire part like a bearing seat.
A tolerance is a cost multiplier. Spend it where the function is.
6. Anything you're unsure about
The best RFQs often end with a sentence like: "Wall thickness on the rib might be too thin — open to suggestions." That sentence turns the quote into a design review. Any shop worth using will engage with it; shops that ignore it have told you something useful too.
What you can leave out
- Native CAD files — STEP travels better than SolidWorks or Fusion formats.
- Long specification documents — unless they apply, in which case, point to the clauses that do.
- A target price — optional. It can speed things up on cost-driven parts, but no shop needs it to quote honestly.
The two-minute checklist
- STEP + PDF for every part number
- Quantity (or several quantities)
- Material, by grade — or the job description
- Finish, including masking
- The critical dimensions, flagged
- Your questions, asked out loud
That's the whole package. It takes a few minutes to assemble and routinely saves a week of clarification email — on our side and yours.
Have a package ready? Send it through the quote form or straight to sales@ensi-presicion.com. If something on the drawing will fight the process, you'll hear about it in the reply — before it costs anything.