CNC RFQ Software

For a lot of CNC shops, RFQ intake still means a stream of emails with STEP files, PDFs, and one-line messages buried in a shared inbox. It works, until volume goes up and something gets missed — a drawing that never got opened, a quantity that got mistyped, a buyer who never heard back. RFQ software exists to take the guesswork out of that first step.

What CNC Shops Commonly Need

Most shops we look at handle RFQs through a generic "Contact Us" form or a plain email address printed on the site. Neither one asks for the information an estimator actually needs up front — material, quantity, process, tolerance requirements, target lead time — so that information either arrives incomplete or gets exchanged over a back-and-forth email thread before estimating can even start.

File handling is usually the weakest point. A standard contact form either has no file upload at all, or a basic one that silently fails on large STEP files or rejects formats it wasn't configured for. Buyers who hit that friction don't always email around it — some just move on to the next shop on their list.

What This Solution Includes

• A structured RFQ intake form built around what a CNC estimator actually needs — process, material, quantity, tolerances, target dates, and notes — instead of a single open text box.
• File upload support for the formats CNC buyers actually send: PDF, STEP, IGES, DXF, native CAD files, and multi-file ZIP archives, with reasonable file-size limits that don't silently fail.
• Routing logic that sends each RFQ to the right estimator or inbox based on process, part type, or shop location, rather than one general mailbox everyone has to sort through.
• A record of every submission — what was sent, when, by whom, and with which files — so nothing depends on an email thread staying intact.
• Validation that flags incomplete submissions (missing quantity, no file attached) before they reach an estimator, instead of after.
• Integration with your existing quoting system or CRM where feasible, so RFQ data doesn't have to be re-typed into a second system.

Specific CNC Examples

A prototyping shop that handles a lot of one-off aluminum and plastic parts might need an RFQ form that makes it easy to submit five or six different part files in a single request, each with its own quantity and material note — rather than forcing a buyer to submit five separate emails.

A shop running both milling and Swiss turning might route RFQs differently depending on the process selected on the form — turned-part RFQs to one estimator, milled-part RFQs to another — instead of everything landing in one inbox where sorting by process happens manually, after the fact.

How Xigmapro Approaches It

We start by mapping your actual RFQ intake process today — where requests currently arrive, what information estimators say they're missing most often, and what your current quoting or ERP system can and can't connect to. From there we design the intake form and file handling around your real fields and formats, not a generic template. This is one of the areas covered in the free CNC Growth Score assessment, and it's covered in more depth in the CNC Growth Playbook. RFQ software is closely related to, but distinct from, quote automation — this page is about the intake form and file handling itself; automation is about what happens to that submission once it's in.

What to Check Yourself

RFQ software pairs closely with quote automation, broader custom software, and RFQ generation — good intake software makes sure the RFQs you're already generating actually get captured and estimated correctly.