What to Include in a Custom Micro Tool Inquiry
A complete inquiry halves the quotation time. Here is the exact information we need to quote a custom micro cutting tool properly, and why each item matters.
Most of the delay in custom tooling is not manufacturing — it is back-and-forth asking for information that was available at the start. This page is the checklist we use on our own quotations, so you can send it in one message.
The essential six
- Drawing or sample. PDF, STEP, IGES, DWG or a dimensioned sketch. A physical sample is equally good and often better, because it removes ambiguity.
- Workpiece material and hardness. "Steel" is not enough. Alloy and hardness change the coating and the point geometry.
- Feature size and depth. Diameter and depth as a multiple of diameter. This alone determines whether a spiral or straight flute is appropriate.
- Machine and spindle. Maximum spindle speed, collet, and whether the machine can hold rigidity at that speed.
- Estimated volume. Annual, not per-order. Setup cost is amortised differently at 100 tools and 100,000.
- Target. Tool life, tolerance, surface finish, or cycle time — whichever one matters.
Helpful to have
- Coolant arrangement: flood, mist, through-spindle, or dry.
- Existing tool, if there is one — we can benchmark against it.
- Tolerance and the inspection method you use to measure it.
- Target price range, if you have one. It is better to tell us early than to negotiate later.
- Branding and packaging requirements for OEM work.
What we do with it
Requirement analysis, geometry development, quotation with sample and production lead time separated, then samples for trial against your setup. Nothing is ground until the specification is confirmed.
Still not sure what to send?
Send the part and describe the problem. We will tell you what information we need and what the tool should look like. That conversation is free and usually the fastest way to a real quotation.
Does this apply to your part?
Send the drawing and we will tell you, not guess.
Related notes.
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September 16, 2026Micro Reamers: Achieving Tight Hole Size Control
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September 4, 2026What we make.
Micro drills from 0.03 mm, in standard, helical, step, left-hand and aluminium-grade geometry. Every entry is a live, shipped configuration.
End mills from 0.1 mm across single and double flute, helical and straight, ball and flat geometry, with aluminium- and acrylic-dedicated lines.
Single and double flute chamfer mills, ball-tip finishing cutters, flat-bottom finishing cutters and extended-reach versions for deep features.
