RFQ and Drawing Checklist

33 items. A drawing that carries them gets quoted in a day, with a narrow number. One that does not gets four rounds of questions, or a price with padding in it to cover what the shop had to assume.

Last checked September 27, 2026. Works whoever you send the drawing to, including shops we have nothing to do with.

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Files

A STEP file carries the geometry. A PDF drawing carries the intent. A shop with only one of them is guessing at the other.

STEP or IGES 3D model, current revision
PDF drawing with a revision number and a date
Drawing shows the datum scheme, not just dimensions
Assembly drawing or photo if the part mates with something

The part itself

What it is and what it bolts to. Naming the interface standard saves a round of questions on its own.

Part name and what it fits
Interface standards named, not measured from a sample
Material and temper spelled out, 6061-T6 not "aluminum"
Any feature that is safety critical, flagged as such

Tolerances

Three to six dimensions genuinely matter. A default of plus or minus 0.02 mm on everything asks the shop to hold every dimension, and you pay for all of them.

General tolerance in the title block, ±0.1 mm is a sensible default
Critical dimensions called out individually and tighter
Surface finish callouts only where they matter, Ra 1.6 on a bearing seat
Positional tolerance on bolt circles, referenced to a datum
Flatness or parallelism on mating faces

Finish

The most common source of argument on a machined and anodized part is whether dimensions apply before or after coating.

Finish type, for example Type II anodize
Color, and whether it must match an existing part
Coating thickness as a range, not just "anodized"
Which surfaces are masked
Whether dimensions are before or after finishing, stated explicitly
Laser mark artwork, position and whether it is applied after anodizing

Quantity and timing

A shop quoting 25 pieces that it knows becomes 250 in spring treats the fixture as an investment rather than a cost to recover immediately.

Quantity for this run, the real number
Whether it repeats and roughly when
Date you need parts in hand, not the date you want to order
Whether several parts can share one finishing batch

Quality and paperwork

These cannot be added to a batch after it is made. Ask up front or do without.

First article inspection report with measured values, before batch release
Mill certificate on the billet, if the part is structural or will be tested
Certificate of conformity naming the drawing revision
Whether the part will be tested to ISO 4210 or EN 15194
Packaging requirement, because an anodized part that arrives marked is a reject

Commercial

Cheap to agree now, expensive to argue about later.

Who owns the fixture and the CAM program
Repeat order price and whether it skips setup
Incoterm and who arranges shipping
What happens to parts found out of tolerance mid-batch
NDA, if the design is not public

What this buys you

Not politeness. A complete RFQ changes the number at the bottom of the quote, because every assumption a shop has to make gets priced with a margin on top of it.

Narrower quotesShops stop padding for the tolerance they cannot see and the finish they had to guess.
Comparable quotesThree shops quoting the same part rather than three interpretations of it.
A drawing that survivesComplete enough that a second shop makes the same part. If it is not, you were relying on the first shop's memory.

Ready to send it?

Our form asks for most of this list. We read it and match up to 3 shops that machine bike components, within 24 business hours.

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