How to Quote First Article Inspection

First Article Inspection (FAI) requests are becoming standard on more RFQs — not just in aerospace and defense, but increasingly in medical, automotive, and high-mix commercial work. Yet many digital manufacturing shops treat FAI as a line-item afterthought, adding a flat fee that barely covers CMM time, let alone the documentation, administrative burden, and rework risk that come with it.

If you’re quoting FAI the same way you did three years ago, you’re likely leaving money on the table or, worse, winning jobs that lose margin once the inspection report lands on your desk.

What FAI Actually Entails

FAI isn’t “just inspection.” A complete First Article Inspection Report (FAIR) per AS9102 (or PPAP for automotive) typically includes:

• Ballooned drawing with every characteristic numbered
• Dimensional inspection results for every feature — often 50–200+ characteristics
• Material certs, heat treat certs, coating certs, and process certs
• CMM program creation and validation
• First article sample parts (usually 1–5 pieces)
• FAIR forms (Form 1: Part Number Accountability, Form 2: Product Accountability, Form 3: Characteristic Accountability)
• Non-conformance disposition if any feature is out of tolerance

Each of these steps consumes engineering time, quality staff time, machine time, and administrative overhead. Quoting a flat “$500 FAI fee” covers almost none of it.

Break the Quote Into Four Cost Buckets

Build your FAI quote from the bottom up using these categories:

1. CMM Programming & Run Time

Programming a CMM routine for a new part takes 2–8 hours depending on complexity. Add 1–3 hours of machine run time for the actual inspection. Use your actual CMM hourly rate (machine depreciation, maintenance, operator wage, overhead) — not a generic shop rate.

2. Documentation & Form Completion

Ballooning the drawing: 1–3 hours. Populating AS9102 Forms 1–3: 2–5 hours. Chasing material/process certs from vendors: 1–4 hours of admin time. Assign a realistic hourly rate for your quality engineer or inspector.

3. Sample Parts & Rework Risk

FAI requires dedicated first article parts. If you’re running a 5-piece FAI sample, that’s 5x the setup and run cost of a single prototype. Build in a rework contingency: if 10–15% of FAIs have at least one non-conformance, factor the expected rework cost (scrap + rerun + re-inspect) into the quote.

4. Administrative & Project Management Overhead

Coordinating with the customer on drawing revisions, managing cert collection, reviewing the FAIR package before submission — this is 2–6 hours of PM/quality lead time that rarely gets captured.

Price by Complexity Tier, Not Flat Fee

Create three FAI tiers in your quote engine so estimators (or your automated quoting tool) can select the right one fast:

• Tier 1 — Simple: <30 characteristics, single material, no special processes. Typical price range: $800–$1,500.
• Tier 2 — Standard: 30–100 characteristics, 1–2 special processes (heat treat, coating), standard tolerances. Typical price range: $1,500–$3,500.
• Tier 3 — Complex: >100 characteristics, GD&T heavy, multiple materials/processes, tight tolerances requiring extended CMM time. Typical price range: $3,500–$8,000+.

These ranges reflect real shop data. Adjust for your labor rates and equipment costs, but the tier structure prevents underquoting complex FAIs while keeping simple ones competitive.

Watch for These Scope Creep Traps

Customers often assume FAI includes things it doesn’t. Clarify exclusions in your quote:

• Design changes after FAI starts — new ballooned drawing + re-inspection = change order
• Customer-supplied material without certs — you’re not liable for missing traceability
• Statistical process capability (Cp/Cpk) studies — that’s a separate PPAP element, not standard FAI
• Expedited FAI turnaround — charge a rush premium (25–50%) for <5 business day delivery

Spell these out in the quote notes. It protects margin and sets expectations before the PO arrives.

Bundle FAI Into the Part Price for Repeat Production

For jobs moving to serial production, consider amortizing the FAI cost over the first production lot (e.g., add $X per part for the first 500 units). This lowers the sticker shock of a $4,000 FAI line item while ensuring you recover the full cost. Show it as a separate line so the customer sees the value, but make it clear it’s a one-time charge.

Automate the FAI Quote Logic

If your quoting process still relies on a spreadsheet or tribal knowledge, FAI will stay inconsistent. A quoting engine that lets you define FAI tiers, map them to part complexity rules (characteristic count, GD&T density, special processes), and auto-calculate CMM time, documentation hours, and rework contingency turns a 30-minute estimation into a 2-minute selection.

Solvi’s instant quoting engine supports exactly this — customizable pricing rules tied to your processes, materials, and inspection requirements — so FAI quotes are accurate, consistent, and fast. See how it works at https://www.solvi.io.