Build to print · Drawing or BOM
Build-to-Print Cable Assemblies
You have the drawing. What you need is a supplier who reads it properly — and tells you what is wrong with it before the tooling is cut, not after.
What we need to quote
Twelve items. Send all of them and the quote is fast; send four and we can still start.
- Drawing or reference part number — STEP, STP, DWG or PDF
- Connector or mating part at both ends, including manufacturer and part number if known
- Pinout / wiring diagram
- Conductor count and gauge, or current and signal requirements
- Cable jacket material and any compliance requirement — RoHS, REACH, halogen-free, UL style
- Shielding requirement — braid, foil, combination, drain wire
- Overall length, branch lengths and tolerances
- Operating environment — temperature, motion, chemicals, UV, ingress
- Overmold or strain-relief requirement, including material preference
- Test and inspection requirements, and report format if needed
- Prototype quantity and estimated annual volume
- Packaging, labelling and delivery requirements
Do not have all twelve? Send what you have. Items 1, 2, 3 and 11 are usually enough to start, and we will ask for the rest in a single round instead of six emails.
What we return with the quote
- A construction definition — what we are actually quoting, in writing
- Any DFM questions or risk flags, with the reason each one matters
- Itemised tooling cost if molding is required — tooling is quoted separately from piece price, and the tool is yours
- Test scope and report availability, stated before you commit
- Prototype and production lead times — 3 working days for prototypes, 14 working days for production, plus 10 working days when new tooling is needed
- MOQ and volume pricing breaks — 5 pcs at prototype stage, 500 pcs for production
Where build-to-print goes wrong elsewhere
The failure mode is not a bad factory. It is a quote that answers only the questions you asked. A drawing can be complete and still be unbuildable at your volume: a shielding termination that cannot be done by hand twice the same way, a tolerance that costs money for no function, an overmold geometry that traps air. If nobody raises those before the tool exists, they surface at first article, when everyone is invested in the design being fine.
Our DFM review is included with every quotation. See what it covers on the engineering support page.
Send your drawings or BOM for a fast, accurate quotation.
STEP or DWG preferred. PDF and paper sketches are fine. If all you have is a photograph of a part, start with the sample review instead.
