The components of a quote
Material, setup, run time, secondary operations, finishing, inspection, packaging and overhead with margin. Setup is amortized across the batch, which is why small quantities carry high unit prices.
- Material: grade, form, availability and scrap
- Setup: fixturing, programming, first article
- Run time: cycle time multiplied by quantity
- Secondary: deburr, finish, assembly, packaging
Where cost actually hides
Blanket tight tolerances, unnecessary surface finish callouts, exotic materials chosen out of habit, and low order quantities on setup-heavy processes. Each is negotiable in design; none is negotiable after the print is released to production.
Legitimate ways to reduce price
Increase batch size or commit to blanket releases, relax non-functional tolerances, standardize material, simplify finishing, and give suppliers more lead time. Asking for a discount without changing anything rarely works twice.