Why an Instant Quote Changes After CAD Review
What Does It Mean When an Instant Quote Changes After CAD Review?
Buyers ask why does an instant quote change after cad review? when the second number does not match the first click. The first online number is tied to the file and RFQ fields you sent. A later number reflects a new file, a corrected field, or a manufacturability note found in review.
The first quote was not wrong. It was incomplete relative to the reviewed package. For how accuracy is defined, read is an instant quote accurate. Stay here when the question is only why the estimate moved after CAD review.
An instant quote is a CAD-driven estimate of tooling and molded part pricing. Review is the human check that aligns that estimate with a released solid and complete notes. That check is DFM review before tooling. Those two steps use the same platform. They do not use the same information set.
Key Facts
- An instant quote is an estimate tied to one CAD revision and the RFQ fields next to it.
- Review can change the number when the solid, the notes, or the DFM assumptions change.
- A missing material, quantity, or tolerance field is a common reason the next pass differs.
- A DFM flag is a manufacturability note, not a refusal to quote.
- Keep quote IDs tied to revision IDs when you compare two numbers.
- No prices, lead times, or cavity counts appear on this page.
- Upload the next package through the injection molding instant quote platform.
Three Reasons the Number Moves
Most deltas fall into three classes. Name the class before you argue the number.
File change: same geometry, different solid
You sent a new solid, a unit or scale fix, or a different export. The engine reads a different volume, a different shutoff, or a different number of bodies. The old quote still describes the old file.
RFQ change: same file, new assumptions
Material, quantity, finish, or tolerance notes were empty on the first click and filled on the second. The geometry can be identical. The assumptions are not. See what to upload for a quote for the file set that belongs next to those fields.
DFM change: steel scope the first click could not see
Review found a slide, a keep-out, or a section note that the first click could not see. The steel scope changed. The piece-price line may move with it, or it may not. Read the flag against a named face before you treat the delta as a surprise.
Two classes can fire on the same package. A new STEP and a completed material field are two deltas. Write them as two lines so sourcing does not blend them into one complaint.
What Did Not Go Wrong
The first click used the package you sent that day. If that package was a mesh, a part without units, or a form with blank quantity, the estimate could only be as complete as those inputs.
The first click was a planning number, not a PO
A later number is not a hidden surcharge. It is a new package. Teams that treat the first click as a purchase order create a conflict the portal cannot resolve. Treat the first click as a planning number bound to a revision ID.
The steps to generate the first number live on how to get an instant quote. Do not rewrite that flow here. Use it when a teammate has not uploaded yet.
If the solid did not change and the RFQ fields did not change, ask which DFM note changed steel scope. If no note changed scope, the two records should be compared as the same package. If they still differ, send both quote IDs with the same revision ID so a reviewer can see the inputs side by side.
RFQ Checklist Before You Compare Two Quotes
Numbered steps:
- Write the CAD revision on both quote records.
- Confirm material, first-order quantity, and annual volume match.
- Confirm finish, inserts, and tolerance notes match.
- Read any DFM flag and say accept or change.
- Upload the same package through the injection molding instant quote platform.
If step 2 or 3 fails, you are not comparing two quotes. You are comparing two programs. Fix the fields, then look at the number.
A Worked Example
A housing goes out as revision A with material pending and no annual quantity. The first click returns a planning number. Two days later the team exports revision B with a logo keep-out, types ABS in the material field, and enters a first-order quantity. The second number is different. That delta has three causes, not one.
Write the table before the meeting. Row one: revision A, material pending, quantity blank. Row two: revision B, ABS, first-order filled. The file changed. The RFQ changed. If review also asked for a gate keep-out on the show face, that is a third line. Sourcing can then decide which line they want to argue.
If the team only changed the logo and left every RFQ field identical, the comparison is cleaner. The delta is the solid. If they also "cleaned up" quantity while they were in the form, the comparison is not clean. Re-quote once more with the old quantity if they need to isolate the logo.
Common Mistakes
Treating the first click as a purchase order. The portal cannot hold a number still while the package moves.
Comparing two exports as if they were one revision. A STEP from the assembly and a STEP from the part file are two files even when the filename looks close.
Emailing a new solid and leaving the old quote record alive. The next person to open the record will defend the old number. Upload the new package so the record and the file match.
Asking for a lock before DFM flags are closed. A lock on an incomplete package only creates a second argument later.
What to Tell Sourcing
Send both quote IDs, both revision IDs, and a one-line cause class: file, RFQ, or DFM. If more than one class fired, send one line per class. Do not send a screenshot of the second number with no package list.
If finance asks which number is "real," the answer is the record that matches the solid you intend to buy and the RFQ fields you can stand behind. The older record is history. Keep it. Do not delete it. History is how you explain the delta next month.
If a teammate wants to hold the first click, ask which input they refuse to update. If they refuse to name one, they are asking for a lock on an incomplete package. That lock will break at tooling release.
Point them at the injection molding instant quote platform for the next upload. A side-channel file does not update the record they are arguing about.
