by Chris Anjel | Jul 13, 2026 | Quoting & Estimating, Shop Operations
Most shops treat prototype quotes and production quotes as separate events. The RFQ comes in, you price the first article, the customer approves, and months later a new request lands for the production run. By then the context is gone, the estimator has moved on, and...
by Chris Anjel | Jul 13, 2026 | Materials & Pricing, Quoting & Estimating
Every digital manufacturer knows the feeling: an RFQ lands with “ASAP” in the subject line. The part is straightforward, the material is in stock, and the machine has an opening tomorrow. It’s tempting to say yes just to keep the customer happy and...
by Chris Anjel | Jul 13, 2026 | Materials & Pricing, Quoting & Estimating
Most shop owners start out quoting every job themselves. It makes sense early on: you know the machines, the materials, and the margins better than anyone. But as volume grows, that habit becomes a bottleneck. You end up quoting at 9 p.m., rushing through RFQs between...
by Chris Anjel | Jul 13, 2026 | Materials & Pricing, Quoting & Estimating
Every digital manufacturer knows the drill: a customer sends an RFQ for a machined part, but the real work doesn’t stop at the mill. Heat treatment, anodizing, CMM inspection, thread inserts, and sub-assembly all live downstream. If you quote them as separate...
by Chris Anjel | Jul 13, 2026 | Quoting & Estimating, Shop Operations
A customer sends an RFQ. You start quoting. Halfway through, they email a revised STEP file — “small tweak, same part.” Now your nest is wrong, your cycle time is off, and your material calc is trash.Mid-quote revisions are normal in digital manufacturing....
