What to Send for a CNC Quote — and Why a Drawing Beats a Photo

The One Thing You Must Send: a Drawing

To quote accurately we need a drawing that shows the shape, dimensions, tolerances, material and surface finish. Those five things decide machine time, tooling, inspection and price. A clear PDF is enough; a CAD model is better but not required.

File Formats We Accept

PDF, STEP, IGES, STL, XT, DWG or DXF all work. Our browser-side instant quote tool even parses your drawing on your own device, so the file never leaves your computer during quoting. If you only have a paper sketch, that is fine too — see below.

What If You Only Have a Photo or a Sample?

A photo or a physical sample helps us understand the part, but it does not contain the dimensions and tolerances needed to machine and price it. We can discuss the design from a photo, but we cannot give a reliable quote without the numbers. Send the sample and we will measure it, but the fastest path is a marked-up drawing.

What If You Only Have a Hand Sketch?

A sketch is enough to start if it shows the measurements. Mark every dimension, tolerance, hole and material on it, and our engineers will turn it into a production drawing before quoting. Without dimensions and tolerances we can only talk design, not price.

Information Beyond Geometry

Along with the drawing, tell us the material and grade if you know it, the quantity and whether this is a one-off, a sample or the start of a recurring order, plus any tolerance, finish or deadline that matters. That is everything needed for a real quote.

Keeping Your Design Confidential

We sign an NDA before any technical file is exchanged — use ours or yours — and the instant quote tool keeps your file on your device. Drawings are deleted from our servers on request. For the kind of small, first-time jobs this applies to, see our small orders page.