Quoting Jobs That Need NDT

When a request for quote includes non-destructive testing (NDT) requirements, many estimators either pad the price with a wide safety margin or push the line item to an outside lab without fully understanding the scope. Both approaches hurt win rates and margins. The shops that win NDT-inclusive work consistently are the ones who break down the requirement, map it to their process, and price each step with the same rigor they apply to machining or printing time.

What NDT actually means for your quote

NDT isn’t a single service — it’s a family of inspection methods, each with different equipment needs, operator qualifications, throughput rates, and documentation requirements. The most common methods in digital manufacturing include:

• Visual inspection (VT) — lowest cost, fastest turnaround, but limited to surface defects.
• Dye penetrant (PT) — good for surface-breaking cracks in non-porous materials; adds consumable cost and dwell time.
• Magnetic particle (MT) — ferromagnetic materials only; requires magnetization equipment and UV lighting for fluorescent particles.
• Ultrasonic (UT) — volumetric inspection; needs trained Level II/III technicians, calibration blocks, and coupling media.
• Radiographic (RT/X-ray) — highest detail for internal features; involves radiation safety protocols, licensing, and often off-site or shielded-enclosure requirements.
• Computed tomography (CT) — 3D volumetric data; expensive, slow, but invaluable for complex additive parts with internal channels.

Each method carries different per-part costs, setup times, and documentation overhead. Quoting “NDT” as a lump sum is a recipe for margin erosion.

Questions to ask before you price

Before adding a line item, clarify these points with the customer or your quality lead:

1. Which method(s) are required? The drawing or spec (ASTM, ASME, AMS, NADCAP) usually dictates this. Don’t assume.
2. What acceptance criteria apply? Reference standards (e.g., ASME Section V, ASTM E1444) define rejectable indication sizes. Tighter criteria mean more re-inspection risk.
3. Who performs the inspection? In-house certified staff, a subcontracted lab, or customer-source inspection? Each changes your liability and scheduling.
4. What documentation is needed? Simple pass/fail report, full technique sheets, raw data files, or NADCAP-compliant records? Documentation can take longer than the inspection itself.
5. When in the sequence does NDT happen? Post-build, post-heat-treat, post-machining? Rework after a failed NDT result multiplies cost.
6. Are there sampling plans or 100% inspection? Statistical sampling (e.g., MIL-STD-105) reduces cost but requires lot traceability.

Building the quote line by line

Once you have answers, structure the NDT portion of your quote as discrete, defensible line items:

• Setup & calibration — reference blocks, machine warm-up, technique qualification.
• Per-part inspection time — based on method, part geometry, and coverage requirements. UT scanning a 10-inch titanium weld takes far longer than PT on a small aluminum bracket.
• Consumables — penetrant, developer, couplant, film, storage phosphor plates.
• Technician labor — Level II hourly rate vs. Level III review/sign-off.
• Documentation & reporting — allocate time for report generation, image archiving, and customer-specific formatting.
• Subcontract markup — if outsourcing, apply your standard vendor management fee (typically 15–25%) to cover coordination, receiving inspection of reports, and liability gap.
• Re-inspection contingency — a separate line (or percentage) for parts that fail and need rework + re-test. Make it visible so the customer sees the risk.

Scheduling and capacity traps

NDT often becomes a bottleneck because it’s treated as an afterthought. Two practical fixes:

• Block capacity in your MES. Treat NDT stations (or lab drop-off/pick-up) as constrained resources with their own calendars. If your UT tech is only available two days a week, the quote lead time must reflect that.
• Sequence for flow. Schedule NDT after the highest-risk operation but before low-cost finishing. Catching a defect before anodizing or coating saves the rework cost of stripping and re-finishing.

When to walk away (or push back)

Some NDT requirements signal a mismatch between the customer’s ask and your shop’s sweet spot:

• NADCAP-required RT on a one-off prototype — the qualification cost alone may exceed the part value.
• 100% CT scanning on high-volume production — throughput rarely justifies the machine time unless you have dedicated CT capacity.
• Customer insists on their own unqualified inspector — liability gray zone.

In these cases, a transparent conversation about alternative acceptance methods (e.g., process control + statistical sampling + targeted NDT) often preserves the relationship and the margin.

How Solvi helps

Solvi lets you create NDT-specific quote templates with pre-built line items for each method, consumable kits, technician rates, and documentation tiers. Your MES calendar treats inspection stations as first-class resources so lead times stay honest. And the job board surfaces overflow NDT work from shops that have certified capacity you don’t — turning a constraint into revenue. See how it works.