7 Important Details to include when requesting a quote at First Part(3d printing companies)
Requests for a quote is a very integral part of any product development cycle. Quotes serve as reasonable estimates, providing cost guidelines for every project, and may be needed for a number of reasons. For one, you may just be getting started and looking to pick the best supplier from your list of options. Alternatively, you might already have a supplier of choice, and simply looking to understand the total cost, expected unit price and individual breakdown of the cost of each phase of the project. Here are 5 important details to prepare when requesting a quote from First Part or any other supplier to ensure you get a quick, precise and reliable estimate.
1:Product Design Specifications
Although design specifications covers a broad range of things, this information largely relates to the technical drawings and design iteration of the product in both 2D and 3D. The 2D drawings should be very accurate as it required to understand the exact tolerances, size and dimensions of all parts of the product. The design specifications is best presented in both 2D and 3D as the latter allows a more robust view of the project. 3D drawings also allows for a closer inspection of the complexities of the part geometries, internal structures and features that will enable more accurate raw material use, final part weight, angles and curves.
2:Material
Every project has a material that is best suited for its production. In your request for quote, you will need to specify the desired material that you intend to be used in the manufacture of your final part of prototype. There is a non-exhaustive list of plastic, resins and metals to make production parts and rapid prototypes. Each class of material have unique physical, chemical and mechanical properties. There are also slight variations between different options within the same class of materials. Specifying the desired or intended material may help you receive a more accurate quote than an open-ended option.
3:Volume/Quantity
When requesting for a quote from any supplier, you will need to include the total or expected number of units to be produced. The quantity to be produced serves as a guide to determining a lot of cost-based metrics. For instance, the total number of parts or prototype required will determine the volume of materials to be purchased, the shipping/logistics cost and most importantly, the most ideal manufacturing technique.
In an instance where you only require a small number of prototypes, techniques like vacuum casting or additive manufacturing may be more suitable for rapid turnaround. For mass production, injection molding or CNC machining will be more cost-effective. At First Part, we can produce for rapid prototyping, low-volume manufacturing and mass production with ranges anywhere between 10 to 500,000+ units of your final part.
4:Purpose/Application
Providing information about the end-use and application of your product will help us provide accurate suggestions about the best-fit material for the production of your part. It will also help in determining the most appropriate production method that will not compromise the quality and functionality of your part.
5:Colour and other Finishing preferences
Depending on the type of product you wish to manufacture, your choice of colour can be an innovative way to boost the success of your product in the market. Today, colours are hardly ever accurately described by using primary names such as Red, blue, green and the likes. Instead, each colour shade, chroma, light, tone, hue, depth and more are all conveyed most accurately using RAL or Pantone numbers.
When requesting a quote, be sure to include this Pantone number into your documentation to allow the supplier look up and match the exact colour you have in mind. Depending on your designing software, you should be able to find these Pantone numbers or RAL figures in the colour docker or properties tab. If you are unable to obtain these colour details, you may provide the supplier with a physical sample of any product matching the desired sample.
After you have specified the desired colour for your part, you will need to provide some details about your desired surface finish. The surface finish refers to the final texture of your part after it has been manufactured. At First Part, there are a number of surface finishes you can use to give your part the desired texture, functionality and even protection.
Requesting for a quote at First Part is easy and straight forward. By providing us with all of the above-listed details, you will make your request significantly faster. This will also serve as a concise documentation for all the information required to provide you with a more precise and accurate estimate for the cost of your project.
