What should you send a manufacturer for a quote, if your design isn't locked down yet?

You don't need a finished design to send a manufacturer a request for quote (RFQ) and get a useful first number. For a rough, or budgetary, estimate, sometimes called an initial or ballpark estimate, send what the product is and does, photos or a video of the working prototype, a draft parts list (bill of materials, or BOM) with the main parts, your quantities and timing, and a list of what's still open. For a firm quote, the one you order against, the manufacturer needs production files: final board files (Gerber or ODB++) and a BOM with manufacturer part numbers, production CAD (STEP) and drawings for each plastic part, how the product is assembled, tested and packed, and the quantities you're ready to order. Send the rough version early, write your assumptions down, and ask for the choices you haven't made to be priced as options.

Rough estimate or firm quote: what's the difference?

A rough or budgetary estimate, sometimes called a rough order of magnitude (ROM), is for planning: whether the product can hit its price, which process fits your quantity, and how much cash a first run needs. It's built from a preliminary parts list and estimated sizes, with the assumptions written down. Many manufacturers give one at no charge, if the request looks like a real project. A budgetary quote for a circuit board whose main parts are settled is typically within 10 to 20% of the final price, according to one maker of circuit-board design software. For a whole product whose case isn't designed yet, expect a wider range, mostly on the molds, which are priced from rough sizes until there's CAD.
A firm quote is what you order against. A firm quote for circuit boards needs a complete design and a locked parts list. For a product with molded parts, boards and assembly, a firm quote often takes two to four weeks to come back. Even a firm quote holds for a limited time, and part prices are usually confirmed again when you order.
You can ask the same manufacturer for both: a rough number now, and a firm quote when the files are ready. If the firm quote lands well above the rough number, ask which assumption moved it; that's usually where to look for savings.

What should you send a manufacturer for a rough estimate?

What the product is, what it does and who uses it, with photos or a video of the working prototype.
A draft BOM with the main parts named, such as the processor, radio, battery, display and sensors, even if some lines say "to be decided, similar to X".
How many boards, their rough size and number of layers.
The rough size of the case, how many plastic parts, and the material and finish you have in mind.
Quantities: the first run and a realistic first year. Asking for two or three quantities, say 500, 1,000 and 3,000, shows how the price moves.
When you need units, and where they ship.
A target price, even a ballpark.
Which parts, if any, you'll buy and send the factory yourself.
A short list of what's still open and what you've assumed.
A request to list one-time costs, such as molds, fixtures and setup, separately from the unit price, and to say who will own the molds.

What goes in a request for quote (RFQ), rough versus firm?

The table compares, part by part, what a manufacturer needs for a rough estimate and for a firm quote.

Part of the request	For a rough estimate	For a firm quote
The boards	Number of boards, rough size and layer count	Final board files (Gerber or ODB++) with drill files and a fabrication drawing (board thickness, copper weight, surface finish, any controlled impedance), the board revision, a pick-and-place file showing where each part goes, an assembly drawing, and the schematic if the factory will write the test
Parts list (BOM)	Main parts named, the rest by type	A spreadsheet, not a PDF, with a manufacturer part number on every line, approved alternates, and quantities that match the board files
Battery	Cell or pack type and capacity	The cell or pack part number, who supplies it, and its UN 38.3 test summary
Plastic and other custom parts	Rough size, how many, the material and finish you have in mind	Production 3D CAD (STEP) and a 2D drawing for each part, with the material by grade, color (a color chip or code), texture, critical tolerances, and how many parts the mold must make over its life
Final assembly	How the parts go together, in a sentence or a photo	An exploded view or assembly steps, and every screw, cable, label, pad and adhesive
Firmware loading	That firmware is loaded at the factory	How it's loaded (a header or test pads), roughly how long per unit, who supplies the firmware file, and whether each unit gets its own serial number, MAC address or security keys
Test	What has to work	A test plan, or a request for the factory to propose one, and whether the quote includes the test fixture
Packaging	Plain shipping carton or retail box	Box and insert drawings, printing, labels, and units per shipping carton
Rules and certification	Where you'll sell	Which markets you sell in (RoHS, the EU's limits on hazardous substances, is the default at most factories; REACH applies if you sell in Europe; California's Prop 65 may require a warning), the workmanship class (IPC-A-610 Class 2 is the default at most contract manufacturers), which certifications the product needs, and who arranges the testing
Quantities and timing	A first run and a first year	The quantities you're ready to order, delivery dates, and delivery terms (where the factory's cost and responsibility end: at its door, at the port, or at your door with duty paid)

For the molded case on its own, the details are in Moving from a 3D-printed prototype to injection molding.

What can you leave open in a quote request?

The test plan. One contract manufacturer's checklist asks whether the test spec is written or still needs writing. "Please propose a functional test" is an acceptable answer, as long as you say it.
Packaging, labels and serial-number labels, the first-article inspection (a full check of the first units built) and certificates of conformance (the factory's signed statement that a shipment meets your spec). One contract manufacturer's checklist marks these as items it can assume at first and settle in follow-up questions.
Choices you haven't made, priced as options: two plastics or two finishes, a plain carton or a retail box, three quantities.
The final firmware file, if the loading method and the time per unit are known.
Certification testing, which a test lab usually prices separately from the factory.

Four things shouldn't stay vague in a quote request, because they move the price or the schedule most: your quantities, which parts you'll supply, real part numbers for the expensive parts, and the battery, meaning which cell or pack, from whom, and whether it has passed UN 38.3 testing, without which a product with a lithium battery can't legally ship in production quantities.

How do you get quotes when different suppliers make different parts?

Every manufacturer's checklist covers its own process. When a molder, a board assembly house and a final assembly shop each quote a piece, the pieces have to fit:

The case and the board have to fit. The molder's design-for-manufacturing (DFM) review often changes walls, bosses and snaps. Check every change you accept against the board outline, mounting holes and connector positions before the mold is cut, and send the final assembly shop both.
The final assembly shop needs to know what arrives from whom: molded parts from the molder, boards from the board assembler, and any parts you buy yourself.
Packaging depends on the finished unit: its size and weight, and how the final assembly shop packs it.
Every supplier needs the same revision. Keep one list of which revision each supplier has.
Ask each supplier what it assumed about the others, such as who tests the boards before final assembly and who pays for freight between suppliers.

Who buys which parts is in Who buys the parts for a first production run, and the gaps between suppliers in What falls between suppliers in a first production run.

Why do manufacturers ignore some quote requests?

The basics are in Most factories say they're at capacity. Where can a small hardware team get bids?: a real description, real quantities, one request per shop and fast replies. Four more mistakes come from the files themselves:

Requirements copied from a generic form, such as asking for a medical-device quality system (ISO 13485) for a consumer gadget.
A parts list with generic descriptions and no manufacturer part numbers.
Files of different revisions from different people on your team.
STL files only: fine for 3D printing, but a toolmaker can't reliably measure or edit a mesh.

Do you need an NDA before sending files to a manufacturer?

Usually not for the first message. A common path is to send the overview, photos, quantities, timing and draft parts list first, and the board files, full CAD and schematics once an NDA is signed. Many manufacturers have a standard mutual NDA, or will sign yours; some insist on their own template, and legal review can add days. Send manufacturing files, not firmware source code. An NDA is only as strong as your ability to enforce it where the manufacturer is. With a factory in China, the form usually recommended is an NNN agreement (non-disclosure, non-use and non-circumvention) written to be enforced in Chinese courts, because the main risk there is the factory using your design, not disclosing it.

Example: an email asking a manufacturer for a rough estimate

This is an illustration, not a customer project. The product and the numbers are made up.

Product: a handheld air-quality monitor for home use, with a display and a rechargeable battery. Photos and a 30-second video of the working prototype are attached.

Electronics: one main board, about 60 × 40 mm with four layers, plus a small display board. The draft parts list is attached: the processor, Wi-Fi module, sensors, display and battery are chosen; eight lines of small parts and connectors are still open. The battery is a one-cell lithium-ion pack from the maker that supplied the prototype, and it has a UN 38.3 test summary.

Case: two molded parts, a button and a clear window over the display, about 110 × 70 × 30 mm. We're thinking of PC/ABS with a light texture, in one color.

Quantities: 500 for the first run and about 3,000 in the first year. Please price 500, 1,000 and 3,000.

Timing: units in the US by the end of next May, shipped to one warehouse in Ohio.

Target: about $45 a unit from the factory. Please list molds, fixtures and setup separately from the unit price.

Parts we supply: none. We'd like you to buy everything.

Open items and assumptions: we haven't written a test plan, so please propose one. The sensors come calibrated from their maker, so the line needs a functional check, not a calibration. Packaging is a printed retail box with one insert. FCC testing will be arranged separately.

Decision: we'll choose a manufacturer within five weeks of receiving quotes. Board files and CAD can follow under NDA.

That's enough for a rough number and a first conversation. The firm quote follows when the board files, CAD and test plan are ready. What a quote should contain when it comes back is in What's actually in a production quote.

Where we come in

If your design isn't locked down yet, this is one of the situations Anamor takes on. You don't need the full package to start: send whatever you have, such as photos or a video of the working prototype, CAD files, the parts list and how many you plan to make. A plain-language description is fine.

Anamor takes US hardware teams with a working prototype into their first production run: we redesign the product for production, line up partner factories and suppliers in the US and overseas, price it at your quantities, and run the build through to shipping.

Need an NDA? We'll send our mutual NDA, or review yours, before you send files. Within two business days, a real person on our team will reply with a free first look at your production run and a few times to talk.

Frequently asked questions

What information does a manufacturer need for an initial estimate?

What the product does, photos or a video of the working prototype, a draft BOM naming the main parts, the rough size of the boards and case, the materials, quantities, timing, a target price and a list of what's still open. Production files such as board files and STEP models can follow for the firm quote.

How accurate is a budgetary quote from a manufacturer?

For a circuit board whose main parts are settled, a budgetary quote is typically within 10 to 20% of the final price, by one estimate. For a whole product whose case isn't designed yet, expect a wider range, mostly on the molds. Treat it as a planning number for price, process and cash; you order against the firm quote.

What file formats does a manufacturer need for a firm quote?

For circuit boards: Gerber or ODB++ files with drill files, a fabrication drawing and a pick-and-place file. For the parts list: a spreadsheet, not a PDF, with a manufacturer part number on every line. For plastic and other custom parts: 3D CAD in STEP plus a 2D drawing for each part. Send the same revision to every supplier.