What Should an OEM Buyer Include in an Auto Diecasting RFQ?

An OEM auto diecasting RFQ should include the controlled drawing, 3D model, alloy or approved material range, part function, annual and lot quantities, casting process assumptions, machining datums, finish requirements, inspection plan, packaging needs, and the evidence required before production release. It should also state what the supplier owns: tooling design, die manufacture, casting, trimming, machining, finishing, assembly, testing, and records. A vehicle program name and an annual volume are not enough to price or validate a production part.

The RFQ should make the design intent visible. Identify sealing faces, pressure boundaries, load paths, mounting bosses, ribs, thin walls, threaded features, cosmetic zones, and surfaces that will contact another component. These details let a supplier review fill, porosity risk, die parting, ejection, machining allowance, and inspection access before quoting.

Release the Design Information

Send a revision-controlled drawing and a matching 3D model. The drawing should identify material, heat or condition requirements where applicable, critical characteristics, tolerances, datums, surface finish, burr limits, flash limits, and any post-casting operations. Mark features that must be cast, features that may be machined, and features that must not receive a finish. If the CAD model and drawing disagree, the RFQ should identify which document controls while the discrepancy is resolved.

Describe the part's operating environment without turning the description into an unsupported capability promise. State temperature range, moisture, salt, fluid contact, vibration, pressure, electrical contact, or fatigue exposure when those conditions drive the design. The supplier can then propose a material and process review that is tied to evidence rather than to a generic automotive label.

Define Material and Process Boundaries

Specify the required alloy, approved alternatives, and the governing material record. If the material is open, ask the supplier to compare candidates against strength, fluidity, corrosion exposure, machinability, density, finish, and process risk. Do not let a supplier substitute an alloy solely because its name appears similar. The casting route, condition, geometry, and inspection evidence must remain compatible.

State whether the intended route is high-pressure die casting, another metal-casting process, or a route still under review. Include the part envelope, projected area, wall map, heavy sections, cores, slides, inserts, and expected cycle or production constraints if known. A supplier should identify assumptions that cannot be confirmed until the tooling review, simulation, or trial.

Include Tooling, Machining, and Finish Scope

Tooling scope should cover die design, cavity and core inserts, slides, cooling, vents or overflows, ejectors, replaceable wear areas, tryout, corrections, and maintenance records. Clarify die ownership, storage, repair authorization, and what happens if the design changes after the tool is built.

Machining scope should identify datums, workholding, hole and bore requirements, stock allowance, thread treatment, cleaning, and the final inspection state. A raw casting sample cannot prove the location of a machined bore or the fit of an assembled component. The finish scope should identify visible zones, masking, color or texture reference, coating, conversion treatment, or other post-process needs. Review the combined route through metal casting, post-machining, and any required surface treatment rather than pricing each line in isolation.

State Validation and Quality Evidence

Ask for a proposed validation sequence. It may include design review, tool inspection, first-off samples, dimensional reports, material records, porosity review, leak or pressure testing where applicable, functional assembly, finish approval, and capability or repeatability evidence when the program requires it. Define which checks are qualification, which are first-article evidence, and which continue as routine production inspection.

Specify the sample condition. If the final part is machined, coated, cleaned, or assembled, the approval sample should represent that delivered state. Identify sampling locations for dimensions, surface, porosity-sensitive features, and functional interfaces. When a test method is required, also state specimen condition, quantity, conditioning, and acceptance limit. A test name without a pass/fail rule does not close the quality requirement.

Make the Commercial Comparison Fair

Provide the same drawing revision, quantity profile, packaging requirement, inspection record request, and tooling assumptions to every bidder. Ask for separate prices for tooling, casting, trim, machining, finishing, inspection, packaging, and approved rework. Request lead-time assumptions as a sequence of design release, tool build, trial, correction, sample approval, and production rather than as one unexplained date.

Neway's tool and die making route can be included when the supplier is expected to manage the die. The final RFQ should state the unresolved items that need engineering review. An OEM gets a more useful auto diecasting quote when every bidder sees the same functional risks, deliverable state, ownership terms, and evidence requirements.