How to Prepare Your Inquiry Drawing for Our Engineers
A clear and complete drawing can shrink your quote turnaround from 24 hours down to 2 hours. Six practical tips to make your inquiry email more efficient, with a copy-paste template.
How an inquiry engineer reacts to your drawing decides whether the request flows through the full pipeline or bounces back and forth in clarification. A well-prepared inquiry email can shorten response time from 24 hours to 2 hours.
Email Subject Line + Attachment Format
A good subject example:
[RFQ] Z-2301 gearbox housing / 1 sample + 50 small batch / July delivery
This subject line contains: part type (gearbox housing) + quantity + expected delivery. The engineer immediately knows it is an inquiry, not just business correspondence.
Attachments: STEP (preferred) > DWG/DXF > PDF. 3D files let engineers extract critical dimensions directly.
Six Required Fields
| Field | Example | Consequence When Missing |
|---|---|---|
| Company name | Zhongshan Mechatronics Co. | Cannot gauge batch potential |
| Contact + email | John Smith / sales@xxx.com | No way to reply |
| Country / destination | Hamburg, Germany | Risk of quoting domestic logistics |
| Part drawing | STEP file | Repeated requests for the file |
| Quantity | 1 sample + 50 pieces | Cannot tier pricing |
| Expected lead time | 2026-08-15 | Quote becomes meaningless |
Critical Dimensions and Tolerances
Do not write “high precision” — without concrete numbers the engineer cannot judge cost. Specify clearly:
Φ30 ±0.02 mmLength 50 ±0.1 mmRa 1.6(surface roughness)
If the drawing corner says “see table” — always send the table as a separate file.
Material Grade
“Stainless steel” is not a material. Specify the grade:
- ❌ Stainless steel
- ✅ 316L (medical grade) / 304 (general) / 17-4PH (high strength)
Surface Treatment
| Treatment | Abbreviation | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Anodizing | ANO | Aluminum appearance parts |
| Blackening | BL | Steel fasteners |
| Zinc plating | ZN | General steel parts |
| Nickel plating | NI | Stainless steel anti-rust |
| Powder coating | PCM | Sheet metal appearance |
Quantity vs. Unit Price
Tiered pricing is industry standard:
- 1–10 pieces: highest unit price (includes first-piece engineering fee)
- 10–100 pieces: medium unit price
- 100+ pieces: significantly lower unit price
- 1000+ pieces: tooling-based production becomes worthwhile
Without a quantity, engineers can only quote the most conservative “single-piece” price, which often scares buyers away.
Email Template (Copy & Paste)
[RFQ] Part type / Quantity / Lead time
Company: [Company name]
Country: [Destination]
Contact: [Name] / [Phone] / [Email]
Part: see attachment
Material: [Specific grade]
Quantity: [N samples + M batch]
Lead time: [YYYY-MM-DD]
Surface: [Required?]Fill in these 8 lines plus a STEP drawing attachment and the engineer can return a complete quote within 2 hours.
Summary
An inquiry is not asking for help — it is the start of a business negotiation. A well-prepared inquiry email:
- Cuts response time from 24h → 2h
- Reduces clarification rounds from 5+ → 1–2
- Delivers a more accurate quote (without excessive engineering-fee padding)
Copy this template into your next inquiry email and try it out — we are waiting.