RFQ Checklist for Stamped Parts: What a Die Shop Needs From You
Short answer: a die shop can quote a stamped part accurately from eight inputs — a complete drawing with tolerances, the 3D model, material grade and thickness, annual and per-order quantity, burr and edge requirements, surface finish or plating, secondary operations, and packaging or compliance needs. What you leave out does not disappear; it comes back as the factory's worst-case assumptions, which is how a vague one-line RFQ turns into a quote 30–50% higher than the same part quoted properly. Ten minutes of RFQ discipline saves real money and usually shortens the lead time.
Stamping quotations are built on assumptions, and every assumption the factory has to make is a safety margin charged to you. A die shop that quotes "stainless steel bracket, 100,000/year" without a drawing is not guessing the price — it is quoting the most expensive version of your part it can imagine, because that is the only safe version. This checklist shows exactly what to send so the quote you get is the quote for the part you actually designed.
The Drawing: Complete Views, Critical Dimensions, Real Tolerances
The drawing is the contract. Send a full 2D PDF with all views, section cuts where internal geometry matters, and a clear dimension scheme — then mark which dimensions are critical with explicit tolerances and let the rest default to the general tolerance block (ISO 2768-mK or an equivalent standard stated on the drawing). The single most expensive phrase in stamping RFQs is "tolerance per ISO 2768" with no tolerance block attached, because the die shop must assume the tightest reasonable interpretation on every feature.
Add the GD&T that matters: flatness on seating surfaces, parallelism between coined zones, positional tolerance on holes that will locate the part in assembly. Bent features need angle tolerances and a note on which side is functional, since burr direction and bend springback both attach to sides. If an edge must be burr-free, mark it with an ISO 13715-style symbol; if only one side matters, say so. And include the 3D model — STEP or IGES — because die designers build the strip layout and tool surfaces from the solid, not from the flat view. A part sent as 3D only, with no tolerance callouts at all, is still better than a sketch, but the die shop will flag the missing tolerances back at you rather than silently assume them — that is the professional behavior to look for.
Material: Grade, Temper, Thickness and Grain
"Do not say 'steel' or 'stainless' and stop." The material line of an RFQ needs the grade, the temper or hardness, the nominal thickness with its tolerance, and whether grain direction matters for any bend. These four details change the die design completely: springback compensation, minimum bend radius, burr behavior and tool steel selection all track the material. A terminal quoted on 0.3 mm C2680 brass and run on H62 behaves differently; a bracket quoted on DC01 and substituted with DP600 will miss its bend angles on the first tryout. Specify the standard — ASTM, EN, JIS or GB — and let the factory confirm availability, because stamping material selection is a cost driver before it is a quality driver.
Thickness tolerance matters more than buyers expect. Coil stock arrives with a thickness range — typical cold-rolled strip holds roughly ±0.03–0.05 mm at thin gauges — and the die is built for one point in that range. If your application is sensitive to part thickness (a contact force, a spring rate, a press fit), state the critical dimension and the acceptable thickness window rather than assuming the nominal. Material certificates are available for full traceability when your quality system needs them; say so in the RFQ if that is a requirement.
Quantity, Cadence and Tooling Budget
Volume is the number that decides whether your part should be stamped at all, and if so, what kind of die. Give the annual volume, the order quantity per release, and the forecast horizon — a die shop prices a 500,000-piece-per-year tool differently from a 50,000-piece tool because the die steel, hard-surfacing and maintenance plan differ. Per-order quantity drives the press and setup strategy: 5,000-piece releases on a progressive die are different economics from 200,000-piece releases.
Tooling budget or tooling expectation is the fourth number. Stamping dies are a capital investment — indicative progressive die pricing for a small terminal runs a few thousand US dollars, while a multi-station progressive die for a large bracket can reach five figures — and the die cost is amortized across the part price. If your company needs the die cost shown separately or spread into the piece price, say so. If you have a target piece price, state it and ask what volume and design changes would hit it. And if you are not sure the volume justifies a production die yet, ask about prototype stamping with soft tooling first — it validates the design for a fraction of the production tool cost.
Edges, Finish, Secondary Operations and Compliance
The second half of the RFQ is the surface and service story. State edge and burr requirements per side (or explicitly "no requirement"), surface finish — none, oiled, passivated, plated — and which areas are cosmetic. Plating needs the specification (for example nickel under gold on contact areas) and the plating grade; stamped contacts get their corrosion and wear behavior from the coating system, so an accurate plating spec is a functional spec, not decoration. List secondary operations the die should not do: tapping, insertion, assembly, welding, heat treatment. If the factory does not run an operation you need, better to learn it at RFQ stage than at delivery.
| RFQ item | Send this | What it prevents |
|---|---|---|
| Drawing + GD&T | Full 2D with tolerance block, critical dims marked | Worst-case tight tolerances quoted everywhere |
| 3D model | STEP or IGES solid | Die built from misread flat views |
| Material | Grade + temper + thickness tolerance + grain note | Wrong die steel, wrong springback allowance |
| Volume | Annual + per-order qty + forecast | Wrong die type and press plan |
| Edges | Burr limits per side, ISO 13715 marks | Burr-free-all-over pricing on every edge |
| Finish/plating | Spec + grade + cosmetic areas | Over-specified cosmetic plating, under-specified function |
| Secondary ops | List of operations outside the die | Missing operation discovered after tooling |
| Compliance | RoHS/REACH, PPAP level, certificates, Incoterm | Documentation surprises at first delivery |
Compliance is last but not trivial: state whether parts need RoHS/REACH declarations, IMDS entries, PPAP at a specific level, or material certificates. PPAP expectations belong in the RFQ, not in the first delivery argument — our stamping PPAP guide covers what documentation levels actually cost and require. State the destination country and Incoterm so freight is priced into the comparison, and name the delivery target month so the factory can slot the tool build honestly.
What a Vague RFQ Costs You — and the Signals of a Good One
An incomplete RFQ does not get you a cheaper quote; it gets you a padded one. The die shop covers its risk: unspecified material becomes the expensive grade, unspecified tolerance becomes the tight class, unspecified edges become burr-free everywhere, unspecified volume becomes small-batch pricing on a progressive die that should be amortized over a million parts. Add 30–50% across those assumptions and you have the "mystery quote" that looks nothing like the part you thought you sent.
| Cost driver | Padded assumption (vague RFQ) | Accurate input (complete RFQ) |
|---|---|---|
| Material | "Steel" becomes the expensive grade | Exact grade and temper price the right metal |
| Tolerance | Everything quoted at tight class | Critical dims only, general block for the rest |
| Edges | Burr-free all over, every edge | Per-side limits, no unnecessary finishing |
| Volume | Small-batch pricing per piece | Annual and release quantity amortize the die |
| Finish | Cosmetic plating everywhere | Functional spec and marked areas only |
| Documentation | Discovered at first delivery | PPAP level and certificates stated upfront |
The signals of a well-run stamping inquiry cut the other way. A good die shop responds to a complete RFQ with questions only where the drawing is genuinely ambiguous, states its assumed material, tolerance and edge conditions back to you in the quotation, shows the strip layout and material utilization, and separates tooling cost from piece price. That transparency is what you are really buying when you source from a factory rather than a trading desk — and it is the standard we work to at BQUQ in Dongguan, where the same team quotes precision stamping, CNC and spring work and can tell you honestly when another process beats stamping for your part. Send the complete package to sc@bquq.com; a detailed quotation comes back within 12 working hours.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What documents do I need to send for a stamped parts quote?
A: A 2D drawing with a tolerance block and critical dimensions marked, a 3D STEP or IGES file, material grade and thickness, annual and per-order quantities, edge and finish requirements, and compliance needs. Eight minutes of assembly saves weeks of quoting back and forth.
Q: How much does a stamping die cost?
A: Indicatively, a small progressive die for a terminal or contact can start around a few thousand US dollars, while a multi-station die for a large bracket commonly runs into five figures. The right question is cost per part across your volume: a production die amortized over 500,000 parts usually beats soft tooling economics quickly.
Q: What is the minimum order quantity for stamped parts?
A: There is no fixed MOQ — it depends on the tooling path. Prototype stamping with soft dies suits hundreds to low thousands of parts; a production progressive die is economical only after the volume covers its cost. Share both your pilot quantity and your annual forecast so the factory proposes the right tooling strategy.
Q: Should I specify tolerances on every dimension of my stamped part?
A: No. Mark the critical dimensions with explicit tolerances and let the general tolerance block cover the rest. Specifying tight tolerances everywhere raises the quote and can complicate the die for no functional gain — the die shop needs to know which features matter, not which numbers to copy.
Q: Do you need PPAP for a stamped part order?
A: Only if your quality system or customer requires it. Say the PPAP level in the RFQ if you need it — Level 3 with full documentation costs more than a standard FAI and dimensional report. Our stamping PPAP guide explains the levels; a complete RFQ lets the factory quote the documentation honestly instead of discovering it later.
Related Resources
- Stamping PPAP and FAI guide: what first-article and production-part approval actually require.
- Prototype stamping guide: validate the design with soft tooling before the production die.
- Precision metal stamping services in China: capabilities, tolerances and lead times from a Dongguan source factory.
- About BQUQ: ISO9001-certified source factory in Dongguan running stamping, CNC, springs and heat sinks.
- Contact us: send the complete RFQ package for a quote within 12 working hours.
Authored by the BQUQ Engineering Team. BQUQ is an ISO9001-certified source factory in Dongguan, China, running CNC machining, metal stamping, custom springs, heat sink and collet lines under one roof. Send drawings to sc@bquq.com or WhatsApp +86 13713157787 for a quote within 12 working hours. www.bquq.com
