Why your hard-material RFQ sits unquoted for two weeks

Ryan, founder 9 September 2026

A machine shop that cuts titanium and Inconel is not short of work. When an RFQ lands, someone spends about ninety seconds deciding whether to quote it now, quote it later, or quietly not quote it at all.

Incomplete packages get pushed down the pile. Not out of rudeness — quoting a nickel alloy part properly takes an engineer two to four hours, and no estimator spends that on a drawing that raises more questions than it answers.

Here is what actually gets checked in those ninety seconds.

1. A 3D model, not just a PDF

A PDF drawing tells the estimator what you want. A STEP file tells them how long it takes. Without a model, someone has to rebuild your geometry before they can run a cycle-time estimate, and that alone can add a week.

Send STEP (AP214 or AP242) plus the dimensioned PDF. The PDF still matters — it carries the tolerances, the datums and the notes that the model does not. The model is also what lets an estimator plan the setups, which on a multi-face part is where most of the cost sits — when five-axis actually pays.

2. Material specified by grade and condition

“Titanium” is not a material specification. “Inconel” is not either.

Write the grade, the standard and the condition: Ti-6Al-4V, annealed, per AMS 4928. Inconel 718, solution treated and aged, per AMS 5663. 17-4 PH, H900.

Condition changes the process route, the tooling and sometimes the price by half. An estimator who has to guess will either guess expensive or not quote.

3. Tolerances that mean something

The most common cost driver on an exotic alloy drawing is a blanket tight tolerance applied because it felt safe.

Call out ISO 2768-m or ISO 2768-f as the general tolerance, then tighten only the features that mate, seal or locate. On a titanium part, moving one non-critical dimension from ±0.01 mm to ±0.1 mm can remove a whole finishing operation.

If everything on the drawing is critical, say why. Estimators price uncertainty as risk, and risk is expensive.

4. Quantity, and whether it repeats

One-off, 50 pieces and 500 per year are three different manufacturing problems with three different prices per part. A shop will tool up differently for a repeating order, and the unit price reflects that.

Say the quantity for this order and the expected annual volume. If you do not know the annual volume, say that too — it is a legitimate answer and it beats silence.

5. Surface finish, by surface

Ra 0.8 µm across an entire nickel alloy part is a request for a large invoice. Ra 0.8 µm on the two sealing faces, Ra 3.2 µm elsewhere, is a normal part.

Mark the finish on the faces that need it and leave the rest at the general callout.

6. Heat treatment and coating, with the sequence

If the part is heat treated, say who supplies it, what specification applies, and where in the process it happens. Machine-then-treat and treat-then-machine are different quotes.

Same for anodising, passivation, plating or painting. Note whether masked areas are required and whether the shop is expected to manage the outside process or whether you will.

7. Inspection and documentation requirements

This is where quotes quietly double. Decide upfront:

First article inspection report, and to what standard (AS9102, or your own format)
Material certificates and heat-lot traceability
CMM report on all dimensions, or on the critical ones only
Certificate of conformance
Whether your own source inspection is required before shipment

A part needing full AS9102 FAI costs meaningfully more than the same geometry with a certificate of conformance. Both are reasonable. Deciding after the quote is not — mill certs, heat lots and FAI sets out what each document proves and what it costs.

8. The date, stated as a date

“ASAP” is not information. A real date lets a shop tell you whether the constraint is machine capacity or material availability — and those have completely different fixes.

Exotic alloy stock is the silent lead-time killer. Common Grade 5 titanium bar and 625 plate are usually available. ELI grades, large diameters, unusual sections and anything on an approved-source list can be six to ten weeks from the mill. That is not the shop being slow, and it is worth knowing before you commit to a customer date of your own — the lead time is the metal.

9. Incoterm and destination

EXW from Vietnam and DDP to Ohio are not the same number. Say which you want quoted and where the parts are going. If you have a freight forwarder, name them.

The package that gets quoted first

Put all of it in one email, in one place:

STEP file and dimensioned PDF
Material grade, standard and condition
Quantity for this order plus annual estimate
Required date
Inspection and documentation requirements
Incoterm and destination
Anything about the part’s function that explains the tight tolerances

That is maybe fifteen extra minutes on your side, and it removes most of the reasons identical drawings come back at wildly different prices — why the same drawing comes back at three different prices. It routinely takes a week off the quote and removes the two or three rounds of clarification emails that otherwise eat the same week anyway. The four-stage version of this list, with the checks before the RFQ and before shipment, is the exotic alloy RFQ checklist.

What we do with it

When a drawing package lands here, our engineer checks it against this list before anything else happens. If something is missing, you get one email asking for it, not three separate shops each asking you the same question a week apart.

Then you get one priced quote from us, within 24 business hours. If you order, the work is placed with an audited shop in the network we manage, the engineer follows it, you get a written update every week and we inspect before packing. One PO to us, one invoice from us.

Send the drawing and we will tell you what is missing before it costs you a week.