by Chris Anjel | Jul 13, 2026 | Quoting & Estimating
You sent the quote. The customer said they’d review it. Days pass — no reply. Do you email again? Call? Wait longer? Most estimators and shop owners wrestle with this daily. Follow up too soon and you look desperate. Wait too long and the job goes elsewhere.The data...
by Chris Anjel | Jul 13, 2026 | Materials & Pricing, Quoting & Estimating
You open an RFQ, spend 45 minutes analyzing wall thicknesses, draft angles, and tolerances, then send a quote — only to hear nothing back. Or worse, the buyer asks why there is a $150 “engineering review” line item they never expected. Why the Conversation...
by Chris Anjel | Jul 13, 2026 | Materials & Pricing, Quoting & Estimating
Injection molding shops know the drill: a new RFQ lands, and the quoting process splits into two tracks. One estimator tackles the mold tooling — cavities, steel selection, surface finish, expected life. Another calculates the piece-part price — cycle time, material...
by Chris Anjel | Jul 13, 2026 | Industry Guides, Quoting & Estimating
Most shops can quote a laser-cut bracket or a CNC-machined housing in minutes. Add welding, and the confidence drops. Fit-up time, distortion control, post-weld machining, and finishing steps turn a straightforward estimate into a guessing game — unless you have a...
by Chris Anjel | Jul 13, 2026 | Materials & Pricing, Quoting & Estimating
Every shop has taken a job that felt too small to bother with — a single bracket, one turned part, a handful of laser-cut blanks. On paper it looked like easy money. In reality, the setup, handling, and admin ate every cent of margin. A well-chosen minimum order value...
