Knowledge base
Price any part the way a good estimator would.
40 articles on what makes manufacturing work cost what it does, how to quote it quickly, and how to design parts that are cheap to make. Written for estimators, shop owners and engineers.
How a manufacturing price is built, and how to quote faster without giving away margin.
CPQ for manufacturing: what it is, what it is not, and how it differs from ERP
Configure, price, quote: what CPQ software does for manufacturers, where generic CPQ falls short on made-to-print parts, and how it differs from quoting in an ERP.
Quoting and pricingThe RFQ process in manufacturing, from request to purchase order
What a buyer's RFQ should contain, how a supplier triages, clarifies, estimates and submits, and the checks between a quote and an accepted purchase order.
Quoting and pricingLead-time pricing: how to price rush and economy orders
A rush order costs overtime, expediting and the work it pushes back. How to price rush and economy lead times from capacity, with a worked example of the rush floor.
Quoting and pricingQuantity pricing: how set-up and batching shape the price curve
Why the unit price falls steeply and then flattens as quantity rises, with a worked price table from 1 to 500 parts and the traps in tiered quantity breaks.
Quoting and pricingMargin vs markup for manufacturers, with a conversion table
Markup is a share of cost, margin a share of price. The formulas, a conversion table, and the mistakes that quietly cost a manufacturer a few points on every job.
Quoting and pricingOverhead allocation for job shops, without fooling yourself
Labour-hour, machine-hour and activity-based overhead allocation compared on the same two jobs, plus how under-absorption quietly eats a job shop's profit.
Cost drivers and quoting for FDM, resin, SLS, MJF and metal printing.
Print farm pricing: utilisation, failures and the real hourly rate
How to work out what a print farm hour really costs: utilisation, failed prints, labour per plate and overhead, with a worked example and tables you can reuse.
3D printingWhat drives the cost of metal 3D printing (DMLS and LPBF)
Metal 3D printing cost explained: laser hours, powder, supports, stress relief, plate removal and finishing, with a worked example for a plate of steel parts.
3D printingFDM vs SLA vs SLS: choosing a 3D printing process
FDM, SLA and SLS compared on tolerance, surface finish, strength, cost, lead time and typical parts, with a simple way to choose the right process for a part.
3D printingMJF vs SLS: cost, quality, materials and when to choose each
MJF and SLS both make nylon parts from a powder bed. How they differ on cost per part, surface, colour, materials and lead time, and how to choose between them.
3D printingSLS pricing: build share, packing density, refresh and cool-down
How to price SLS parts from the cost of a whole build: build share, nesting efficiency, packing density, powder refresh and the cool-down most quotes forget.
3D printingResin printing cost: how to price SLA, DLP and MSLA prints
How to price resin prints: layer-based machine time, resin and supports, wash and cure labour, and the tank and screen wear most quotes leave out.
What makes a milled or turned part expensive, and how to estimate it.
3-axis vs 5-axis machining: cost and capability
A 5-axis machine costs more per hour but can finish a part in one set-up. When that trade pays off, with a worked example that finds the break-even batch size.
CNC machiningHow tolerances drive machining cost (and when to loosen them)
Tight tolerances slow the cut, add inspection and raise scrap. How each tolerance band changes a CNC price, and which dimensions you can safely loosen.
CNC machiningSet-up time in CNC: the hidden cost in small batches
Why one CNC part can cost ten times a part from a batch of a hundred: set-up and programming explained, with a unit cost table from 1 to 100 parts.
CNC machiningCNC milling vs turning: which process for which part
Milling moves a spinning cutter over a fixed part; turning spins the part against a fixed tool. How to tell which one a part needs, and what it does to the price.
CNC machiningWhat drives CNC machining cost, and how estimators work it out
Stock, set-ups, programming, cycle time, tooling, tolerances and finishing: how a CNC estimate is built, with a worked example for one part at two batch sizes.
Laser, waterjet, plasma and press brake work, priced from the flat pattern up.
Waterjet vs laser vs plasma cutting: thickness, accuracy, edge and cost
Laser is fastest in thin sheet, plasma is cheapest in thick steel, waterjet cuts almost anything with no heat. How to choose, with a comparison table and a cost example.
Sheet metal and cuttingNesting and material utilisation: how much of the sheet you really sell
Nesting decides how many parts fit on a sheet, and the skeleton left over is material you paid for. Three ways to charge for it, compared with a worked example.
Sheet metal and cuttingSheet metal fabrication cost: cut, bend, insert, finish
How a sheet metal part is priced, step by step: cutting the flat pattern, press brake set-up and bends, inserts, welding and finishing, with a worked example.
Sheet metal and cuttingHow to price laser cutting: cut length, pierces, material and sheet use
Laser cutting is priced from cut length, pierce count, material and how much of the sheet a part uses. The method, with a worked example for a steel flange.
Tooling, amortisation and the arithmetic of short and long runs.
When to switch from 3D printing to injection moulding
Find the quantity where a mould beats printing: a worked break-even with a table, the sensitivity to tool cost and print price, and what besides price should decide.
Moulding and castingVacuum casting vs injection moulding for low volumes
Silicone moulds or a hard tool? How vacuum casting and injection moulding compare on cost, lead time and quality for tens to hundreds of parts, with a worked break-even.
Moulding and castingInjection moulding cost: tooling, cycle time, resin and the break-even
How an injection moulded part is priced: the tool, the cycle, the resin and the setup, with a worked example of tool amortisation across four batch sizes.
Walls, tolerances, file formats and the checks that save a remake.
Surface finishes and what they add to cost
As-printed, sanded, bead blasted, dyed, vapour smoothed, painted, anodised and powder coated: what each finish does, which parts it suits, and how it is priced.
Design for manufacturingMinimum wall thickness by process: FDM, SLA, SLS, MJF, metal, CNC, sheet, moulding
Typical minimum walls for FDM, resin, SLS, MJF, metal printing, CNC, sheet metal and injection moulding in one table, and why height and material matter too.
Design for manufacturingSTL vs STEP vs 3MF (and OBJ, DXF, IGES): which file to send for a quote
Which CAD file to send for a manufacturing quote: what STL, STEP, 3MF, OBJ, DXF and IGES each carry, what they lose, and which one each process needs.
Design for manufacturingDesign for sheet metal: bend radii, reliefs, hole distances and flanges
Sheet metal design rules that stop parts cracking or distorting: bend radii, reliefs, hole-to-edge and hole-to-bend distances, flanges, and a worked flat pattern.
Design for manufacturingDesign for CNC machining: the rules that cut cost
Internal radii, pocket depth, thin walls, holes, threads and tolerances: the CNC design rules that decide machining time, and how to apply them to a real part.
Design for manufacturingDesign for 3D printing: walls, overhangs, holes, clearances and orientation
The design rules that decide whether a 3D printed part works and what it costs, with typical limits for FDM, SLA, SLS and MJF in one table.
Rates, capacity, sales channels and software for job shops and bureaus.
Quote win rate: why buyers go quiet after a quote, and what to measure
How to calculate quote win rate, the usual reasons a buyer never replies, and the funnel measures that tell you whether you lost on price, speed or something else.
Running a shopQuoting, ERP and MES: what each system should own and how they connect
Quoting owns the price, ERP owns the commercial record, MES owns the shop floor. Where each one stops, what crosses between them, and how actual job data flows back.
Running a shopSelling manufacturing services online: website, quoting widget, e-commerce, marketplaces
The four ways a shop sells custom parts online, who sets the price and owns the customer in each, and what a shop website needs before it can take orders.
Running a shopHow to choose instant quoting software: a buyer's checklist
Fifteen questions to ask before you put an instant quote on your shop's website: processes, accuracy, cost model, testing, embedding, orders, price and lock-in.
Running a shopStarting a 3D printing service business: machines, pricing, channels, the first year
What to buy first, how to set prices that cover the machine and your time, where the first orders come from, and what the first year of a print service looks like.
The words, defined plainly.
From build share to kerf, from STEP to tool amortisation: the vocabulary of quoting manufactured parts, one term at a time.
- 3-axis machining
- 3MF
- 5-axis machining
- Anisotropy
- Backtesting
- Bend radius
- Bend relief
- Binder jetting
- Build share
- Build volume
- Burden rate
- Calibration
- Capacity planning
- CNC milling
- CNC routing
- CNC turning
- Cost-plus pricing
- CPQ
- Cut length
- Cycle time
- Deburring
- DFM
- DLP
- DMLS
- Draft angle
- Drain hole
- DXF
- EDM
- ERP
- Expedite fee
- FDM
- File units
- Fillet
- Fixture
- Flat pattern
- GD&T
- Hollowing
- IGES
- Infill
- Injection moulding
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