How to Quote a New Part You Have Never Made: Method and Example
November 3, 2026
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A repeat part is easy to quote: you have the program, the fixture, the cycle time from the last batch and a price the customer already accepted. A part you have never made has none of that. The drawing looks like something you know, the deadline for the quote is tomorrow, and the temptation is to copy the price of the closest part in the archive.
That shortcut is where many small shops lose money without noticing. The first batch of a new part carries costs a repeat order does not, and the features that make it new are exactly the ones nobody has timed yet. This guide shows how to quote a new part step by step, with a worked example in EUR that compares the "copy the old price" quote with one built properly.
Why a new part costs more than its closest analogue
Four kinds of cost appear only, or mostly, on the first batch:
- Programming. A new CAM program, plus the time to check it. On a repeat order the program already exists.
- Fixturing. Soft jaws, a dedicated plate, a modified vise setup. Paid once, used on every later batch.
- Prove-out and first article. Running the first piece slowly, measuring it, adjusting offsets, and, if the customer asks for it, a full first article inspection report.
- Learning scrap. One or two pieces lost while the process settles is normal on a new part and rare on a repeat one.
On top of that, the features that differ from the analogue (a tighter bore, an extra setup, a new material) have no measured time. Their estimate is a guess, and a guess needs a stated margin of error, not a silent one.
Step 1: find the nearest part you have already made
Search the archive by part family, material, envelope size and number of setups, not by customer. The best analogue has the same material and stock form, a similar size and the same machine. Write down its real figures from the last batch: cycle time per operation, setups, programming hours, scrap. If you have compared quoted and actual cost on that job, use the actual figures, not the quoted ones.
Step 2: list what is different and estimate its machining time
Put the two drawings side by side and list every difference: added features, tighter tolerances, a different finish, an extra face to machine, a heat treatment, a thinner wall. For each difference, estimate the extra time bottom-up: tool path length over feed, number of holes times time per hole, an extra setup at your standard setup time. The CNC cycle time estimation guide shows the method for each operation type. Tolerances deserve their own check, because a tighter callout changes the process and not only the time; see how tolerances drive cost.
Step 3: price the one-off costs separately
Programming, fixtures, prove-out and first article inspection are paid once. List them as their own lines, then decide how to show them to the customer: spread over the first batch, or as a separate one-off charge. Showing them separately has two advantages: the unit price stays comparable with the repeat order, and the customer sees why the first order costs more. The tooling and fixture amortization guide covers the options.
Step 4: put a contingency only on what is uncertain
"Add 15% because it is new" overprices the parts of the job you know well and may still underprice the part you do not. Put the contingency only on the time of the new features, where you have no history, and write it down as its own line. When the first batch is done, the actual time replaces the estimate and the contingency disappears from the repeat quote.
Worked example: a housing you have never made
A customer sends a 6082 aluminium housing, 40 pieces, anodized. You have never made it, but you regularly make a similar housing: same material and envelope, two setups, 14-minute cycle. The new part adds a third face with four M6 tapped holes and an H7 bore that needs a boring pass. Rates: machining center €65/h, CAM €60/h, bench work €40/h, inspection €55/h.
Per piece (same for every batch):
| Line | Calculation | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Material, 6082 blank | 2.1 kg × €6.50/kg | €13.65 |
| Sawing | 2 min × €40/h | €1.33 |
| Machining cycle | 18 min (14 + 2.5 + 1.5) × €65/h | €19.50 |
| Deburring | 3 min × €40/h | €2.00 |
| In-process inspection | 1 min × €55/h | €0.92 |
| Anodizing, subcontract | €3.20 + 10% handling | €3.52 |
| Per piece | €40.92 |
One-off and first-batch costs:
| Line | Calculation | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| CAM programming, new program | 4 h × €60/h | €240.00 |
| Setups, three operations | 3 × 1 h × €65/h | €195.00 |
| Soft jaws for the third face | 1 h machining + material | €90.00 |
| Prove-out of the first piece | 1.5 h × €65/h | €97.50 |
| First article inspection report | 1.5 h × €55/h | €82.50 |
| Learning scrap, 2 extra pieces | 2 × (€14.98 + €19.50) | €68.96 |
| Contingency on the new features | 25% of 4 min × 40 pcs × €65/h | €43.33 |
The first batch costs €705.00 of one-off lines, plus 40 × €40.92 = €1,636.80, plus €68.96 of scrap and €43.33 of contingency: €2,454.09, or €61.35 per piece before margin.
Now the shortcut. Copying the analogue (14-minute cycle, two setups, a first-piece check, no programming, no fixture) gives €36.59 per piece plus €157.50 per batch (two setups at €65.00 and a 0.5 h first-piece check at €55/h): €1,621.10, or €40.53 per piece. The new part really costs about 51% more on its first batch. A quote built on the analogue would have sold it at a loss even after a normal margin.
The repeat order is cheaper: program and soft jaws exist, there is no prove-out or report, and the contingency goes once the new features have been timed. Three setups, a first-piece check and the per-piece costs give €1,859.30, €46.48 per piece. If you show the one-off lines separately (programming, soft jaws and first article report, €412.50), the first-batch unit price is €51.04: closer to the repeat price, and easier for the customer to compare.
Write the assumptions on the quote
A new part is quoted on assumptions: the material and stock size, the finish specification, which tolerances are critical, the inspection report requested, the batch size. Write them on the quote. If the customer changes one of them after the order, you have a clear basis to re-quote instead of absorbing the difference. A clear quote template makes this routine instead of an exception.
After the first batch
Compare the actual hours with the estimate, feature by feature. The new features now have a measured time: put it in the repeat quote and remove the contingency. If the gap is large, change the standard you used for that type of feature, so the next new part starts from a better number.
FAQ: quoting a new part
How do you quote a part you have never made? Start from the nearest part you have already made, with the same material, size and machine. List every difference between the two drawings, estimate the extra time of each difference bottom-up, add the one-off costs of a first batch (programming, fixtures, prove-out, first article inspection, learning scrap) and put a contingency only on the time of the new features.
Why does the first batch of a new part cost more than a repeat order? Because programming, fixtures, prove-out, first article inspection and the scrap of the first pieces are paid once. On a repeat order the program and the fixture already exist and the cycle time has been measured.
Should one-off costs be shown separately on the quote? It is often clearer. A separate one-off line for programming, fixtures and the first article report keeps the unit price comparable with later orders and shows the customer why the first order costs more. Spreading them over the first batch is also correct, as long as the repeat price drops accordingly.
How much contingency should a new part carry? Only as much as the uncertainty justifies, and only on the new features. A percentage on the estimated time of the features you have never made, written as its own line, is better than a flat surcharge on the whole quote.
Quoting a new drawing with QuoteBuddy
QuoteBuddy starts from the drawing, which is what a new part has. It reads the technical drawing, prices the stock at your material prices and builds each operation as its own line, with setup kept apart from cycle time and CAM programming as a separate line, at the hourly rates of your own machines. Finishes and treatments called out on the drawing become their own lines, with your uplift when the process is outsourced. When something on the drawing cannot be confirmed, such as a material whose family has no price in your list or a weight that looks implausible, the estimate says so and asks for a review instead of hiding it in the total. Every line can be changed and locked, so your judgement on the new features stays in the quote, and several quantities on one estimate show how the unit price moves with the batch.
To see it on a drawing of your own, try QuoteBuddy free for 30 days: unlimited quotes, no credit card. For shops that quote machined parts every day, see quoting software for CNC machine shops.