How to Quote a Multi-Part or Family Tool
A Product Name Is Not a Tool Plan
A family tool quote needs one solid, one part number, and one quantity per molded SKU. Uploading the assembly root and typing one kit quantity forces review to invent piece-price lines. State resin and color as shared or split, mark overmold as a second shot, and let DFM decide whether the parts share steel.
Open family injection molding fit criteria after the SKU list is visible. Open family mold vs multi-cavity mold when the question is one part repeated versus different parts in one tool. This page only covers how to send the RFQ.
Kit, assembly, or carton is not one molded SKU
Charging kit is a shipping label, not a tooling plan. A housing, a door, a button, and a latch are four molded SKUs if they are four solids. A shared carton does not make them one line.
Assembly root upload plus one quantity is an incomplete package
Uploading the assembly root and typing one quantity asks review to invent piece-price lines from a single file. That package is incomplete. A family tool is a DFM outcome, not a checkbox you apply because the parts ship together.
What Review Needs Per SKU
Part number, revision, and a released solid
Each molded SKU needs a part number, a revision, and a released solid. Name the files so a reviewer can match them without opening every body. housing_A_revC.step, door_B_revC.step, and latch_C_revB.step are usable. kit_asm.step plus the three green bodies is not. If an assembly file helps show fit, attach it as reference and still upload the released part solids.
Quantity is per SKU, not per kit
One kit quantity hides three different reorder patterns. A first order of N kits is not the same as N of every part if the kit uses one housing, one door, and two latches. Write each SKU qty separately, or the annual equivalents.
Resin and color: shared or split, in writing
All parts PC-ABS black is a family-compatible note. Housing PC-ABS, door PP, latch POM is a split-the-tools note. A second color in the same family is still a second process setup. Write it. Do not hide a resin change inside a color callout.
Worked example: a dock kit has a base, a cradle, and a clip. The buyer uploads dock_asm.step and types 500. Review cannot see which body is molded, which body is purchased hardware, or how many clips ship per base. The complete package is three solids, three part numbers, and base 500, cradle 500, clip 1000, all PC-ABS black, family tool if DFM allows.
Common mistakes on the upload:
- Sending only the assembly root because everything is in there.
- Using one quantity field for a kit that does not use parts one-for-one.
- Mixing a purchased metal pin into the molded SKU list without saying it is not molded.
- Changing one child solid and re-uploading the old assembly as if the child had updated.
- Writing same as last year instead of the current revision IDs.
What to tell sourcing: make a four-column list before the portal opens. SKU, revision, solid filename, first-order quantity. Annual quantity sits in a fifth column when they have it. That list pastes into notes. The assembly file is optional context. The child solids are not optional. A kit quantity is not a minimum order. It is a split that review still has to price per SKU.
When the Family Tool Splits Itself
Different resin or color means separate tools
Different resins cannot share a shot. A PP door and a PC-ABS housing are two tools or two programs, not one family nest. Write split the tools in notes so review does not spend a cycle proposing a shared steel set that the resin list already forbids.
Different cosmetic class is still one RFQ, not one steel set
A high-visibility housing with a tight texture keep-out does not pair cleanly with a hidden clip that can take any witness. You can still send both SKUs in one RFQ. The note should say the housing is cosmetic-critical and the clip is not, then leave fit to DFM.
Volume mismatch is a planning note, not a slogan
If one SKU is a spare that you order rarely and another is the every-build housing, say so. Reviewers use that pattern to decide whether shared steel helps or hurts. They do not need a ratio. They need the two quantity fields.
Revision risk means separate clocks, separate tools
A family tool ties revision clocks together. If the button changes weekly, do not let it drag the housing. Write housing released, button in flux, prefer separate tools. Separate tools let the stable part proceed.
Common mistakes on the split:
- Assuming a shared carton means a shared tool.
- Hiding a resin change because the parts look like a set.
- Forcing a changing child onto a released parent to save a tool conversation.
- Using the compare article as a quote, instead of sending the solids.
What to tell sourcing: if resin, color, volume pattern, or revision risk is not shared, write quote separate tools, family only if DFM still recommends it. That sentence keeps the first review honest. It does not decide steel for you.
Overmold Is Not a Family Child
TPE grip is a second shot, not a fourth family child
A second material is not a family question. Soft-touch over a housing is overmolding or two-shot. Do not put the skin in the family list as if it were another child part in the same shot. Read how to quote overmolding or two-shot, then mark substrate and second shot on that SKU.
Worked example: the dock kit adds a TPE grip on the base. That grip is not a fourth family child. Keep base, cradle, and clip as the family question, and send the grip as an overmold note on the base.
RFQ Paste Block
Use these numbered steps as the paste block for the quote notes.
- List every molded SKU with revision.
- Attach one solid per SKU.
- Enter quantity by part.
- Confirm one resin and one color, or say split the tools.
- Upload the package through the injection molding instant quote platform.
A complete note looks like this: SKUs: housing A-revC first-order qty / annual band, door B-revC first-order qty / annual band, latch C-revB first-order qty / annual band (latch may differ). Resin and color: PC-ABS black on all three. Family tool if DFM allows, otherwise separate tools. Assembly dock_asm_revC.step is reference only.
For the tooling line versus the piece-price line on each SKU, read tooling and piece price on a quote.
If one child changes, re-export that child and update its revision in the list. Do not re-upload only the assembly and assume the child followed.
Common mistakes on the checklist:
- Listing SKUs in a spreadsheet that is not attached.
- Attaching two revisions of the same child and not saying which wins.
- Entering kit quantity in every part field, including the part that ships two-per-kit.
- Writing family as the only note and skipping resin and color.
If step 2 or step 3 is missing, the package is not a family quote yet. It is an assembly upload. NetProto can review family fit only after each molded SKU is visible.