An RFQ, or request for quotation, gives a manufacturer the information needed to price a product, component, or manufacturing requirement. It may include engineering drawings, CAD files, specifications, quantities, materials, tolerances, and other requirements. The...
A drawing set can contain nearly everything a team needs to make a technical decision: dimensions, components, quantities, specifications, notes, symbols, and revisions. But when that information is needed for a takeoff, quote, BOM, P&ID review, or drawing...
AI in preconstruction is moving from experimentation to practical use as more companies invest in AI. Preconstruction covers everything a project team reviews and decides before construction starts. AI is becoming part of that process, helping teams move through dense...
A drawing lands in an RFQ inbox. Someone runs it through an OCR tool, or pastes it into a generic AI tool and asks for the dimensions. The answer looks reasonable. It’s often wrong in ways nobody catches until the quote is already out. Neither tool is broken....
Quote turnaround time gets blamed on pricing. In most shops, that’s not where the delay actually comes from. The RFQ usually waits on the experienced estimators who can read the print correctly. Tolerances need checking. A casting might only have a 2D drawing to...
A shop wins an RFQ for a part that starts as a permanent mold casting. It gets machined next, then moves to assembly. The quoting software prices the machining step well. It has no framework for the casting cost or the assembly labor. Another shop gets a different...
