Injection Molding Quote: What to Send for a Fast Accurate Bid

A fast, accurate injection molding quote depends entirely on what you send in the first email. A complete RFQ lets the supplier quote once; an incomplete one triggers three rounds of clarification, each costing 1-2 days. Based on thousands of quotations at MOLDITQUICK, here is exactly what to include so your first quote is your final quote — plus the questions that expose whether the supplier actually understands your program.

Send us the 3D model (STEP preferred, STL acceptable), the 2D drawing with critical tolerances, the target quantity and annual volume, the resin you want (or let our materials team recommend), the surface finish requirement, and the delivery destination. That is the complete minimum set. Everything else — color, packaging, inspection requirements — can be added later, but these six items determine 90% of the price.

The Six Data Points That Drive the Price

Quantity matters more than any other input because it decides the tooling strategy. Below ~10,000 parts, rapid tooling or a single-cavity soft tool is usually the rational choice; above that, multi-cavity hardened steel pays back. If you only know a range, say so — we model the tooling-vs-volume crossover and tell you which strategy wins, the same tradeoff covered in our injection molding cost guide.

Tolerance is the second lever. Every ±0.01 mm you tighten adds steel, inspection time and scrap risk. Mark the truly critical dimensions on the drawing and leave the rest at standard molding tolerances (±0.1 mm typical) — a supplier who quotes tight tolerances on everything is either padding the price or planning to fail. Material is third: the resin grade changes shrinkage, cycle time and price. Surface finish is fourth — SPI A-1 polish costs tooling time and money; SPI B-2 or a texture is dramatically cheaper. Delivery destination matters for freight, and the requested lead time tells us whether the schedule is realistic.

What a Serious Supplier Does With Your RFQ

You can judge a supplier by the questions they ask back. A serious molder reviews the DFM — draft angles, wall thickness, gate location, ejection — before quoting, because those decisions live in the tool. They should ask about your tolerance priorities, your annual volume curve (not just the first order), your inspection requirements and your PPAP needs. They should tell you the tool steel, the cavity count, the estimated cycle time and the lead time for both tool and parts. If a quote arrives with no DFM comments, no cavity plan and no cycle estimate, it is a number, not a quote.

At MOLDITQUICK, quotations include the DFM findings, the tooling plan, the per-part price at your stated volume, the lead time (7-12 days for low volume, 25-30 days for production) and the quality deliverables — first-article inspection report, material certificates and, for automotive programs, PPAP documentation under IATF 16949. Our quoting engineers have access to the 21 Sodick presses, the in-house mold shop and the 280-person plant in Dongguan, so the quote reflects the shop that will actually run your job.

Ready to get a real number? Contact us with your 3D file and the six data points above — you will have a DFM review and a quotation within 24 hours.

The lead time question deserves its own line on the checklist. Ask for two numbers: the tooling lead time and the production lead time, separately, and ask what happens if the schedule slips by a week mid-program. A supplier who quotes "6-8 weeks" for everything is telling you they do not know their own bottleneck; a supplier who can name the tool shop, the machine and the inspection step for your part is telling you the schedule is real. Our standard numbers are 7-12 days for low-volume runs and 25-30 days for production tooling and parts, and we commit to them in writing with the quote.

Need a quote? Contact us — upload your 3D file for a fast DFM review.