Re:Ask HN: What Are You Working On? (December 2025)
by abdullahkhalids on Monday December 15, 2025 @12:57PM
(#46277955)
Very interesting. The big followup question is to ask is: Currently shops spend X% of their time creating quotes and talking to incoming customers, and (100-X)% time actually doing the work. What is X% for a typical shop and how much are you hoping to reduce it to?
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Re:Ask HN: What Are You Working On? (December 2025)
by djfobbz on Monday December 15, 2025 @06:52PM
(#46282738)
Based on industry data and first-hand experience, most small to mid-sized fabrication shops spend 25–40% of their total time on quoting-related activities: reviewing customer drawings, clarifying requirements, preparing cost breakdowns, and going back and forth over email or phone. In some job shops with limited staff, quoting can even eat up half a workweek for the owner or lead estimator.
Our goal is to bring that number down to under 5% by automating geometry analysis, material costing, and lead-time estimation. Essentially turning what used to take days (or weeks) into an instant, self-service process for customers. That frees up the shop to spend the remaining 95%+ of their time doing what actually makes money: fabricating parts.
For reference: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskEngineers/comments/n1yryi/mfg_qu...
Re:Ask HN: What Are You Working On? (December 2025)
by abdullahkhalids on Tuesday December 16, 2025 @10:24AM
(#46289665)
Thanks for the detailed answers. Very insightful. Wish you the best of luck.