Stop Losing Hours on Manual Quote Prep Automate It with AI
Imagine slashing your weekly quote generation time from 15 hours to under 2, freeing your team for the shop floor while boosting your ROI on every bid.
Join 150+ businesses with automated workflows saving 20+ hours weekly
The "Manual Quoting" Problem
Endless back-and-forth with suppliers for A36 steel beam and galvanized component pricing, often delaying bids by days
Manually calculating custom weldments and fabrication tolerances, like AWS D1.1 standards, from CAD blueprints
Juggling outdated spreadsheets that don't sync with shop floor inventory levels for rebar or sheet metal stock
Chasing down client specs for SMACNA-compliant HVAC ductwork or W-section structural beams amid tight project deadlines
Recalculating quotes every time material costs spike, like hot-rolled steel prices, due to supply chain delays from tariffs or shortages
Wasting shop time on revisions because quotes miss custom finish details like powder coating or galvanizing thicknesses
Our Custom AI Quote Generation System
We've engineered solutions for fabrication shops just like yours, handling everything from CNC routing bids to custom metal assembly estimates.
Why Choose Us
Let's be honest, in the fast-paced world of custom fabrication, every minute spent on manual quoting is a minute not spent on production. Here's the thing: our AI system is built from the ground up for your workflow. We integrate directly with your CAD software, inventory systems, and supplier APIs to pull real-time data. No more guessing on aluminum extrusions or laser-cut parts. You're probably thinking, 'Will it handle our unique tolerances?' Absolutely. We tailor it to your exact processes, like factoring in your shop's milling speeds or powder coating lead times. The result? Quotes that are accurate, fast, and field-tested for the manufacturing grind.
What Makes Us Different:
Unlock Massive Time Savings and ROI
Save 13+ Hours Per Week on Quoting
Save 13+ Hours Per Week on Quoting: Imagine slashing the time to price out a custom steel staircase from 8 hours to under 1—your estimators ditch endless Excel formulas for tolerances and instead seal deals on-site. That's a 25% productivity boost, freeing up 500+ hours yearly for your team to tackle more fabrication runs and client walkthroughs, with ROI visible in your next quarterly P&L.
Boost Bid Win Rates by 30% with Accurate, Tailored Quotes
Boost Bid Win Rates by 30% with Accurate, Tailored Quotes: Stop losing out on structural beam jobs because a overlooked gusset plate spec threw off your numbers. Our system integrates your CAD models and pulls real-time alloy pricing, delivering quotes that match your bending and welding processes exactly. Clients see the precision, closing deals faster—picture landing that $150K warehouse retrofit bid in weeks, not months, with efficiency gains compounding to 20% higher annual revenue.
Cut Costs by Automating Error-Prone Manual Calculations
Cut Costs by Automating Error-Prone Manual Calculations: Forget the overruns from miscalculating load-bearing capacities without proper FEA checks—our automation handles it, slashing bid rework by 80%. For a 50-person fab shop handling HVAC enclosures, that's $25K+ saved yearly on estimator overtime alone, with full ROI in under 90 days as your crew shifts from quote fixes to actual welding and assembly, boosting throughput by 15%.
What Clients Say
"Before AIQ Labs, quoting custom stainless steel railings with varying tube diameters took two full days per job, including endless calls for 304-grade pricing tweaks. Now, it's wrapped up in an hour using their automated feeds, and we've snagged three major commercial installs this quarter—saved us a solid 12 hours a week and bumped our project backlog by 40%."
Mike Harlan
Welding Supervisor, Precision Metalworks Inc., a 75-employee structural fab shop in Ohio
"We were buried in manual calcs for galvanized duct fabrication quotes—spreadsheets riddled with errors on elbow fittings and gauge thicknesses. AIQ's custom AI syncs our ERP with supplier APIs for real-time zinc coating costs, cutting our weekly quote time from 10 hours to just 90 minutes. Margins jumped 15% on our latest hospital ventilation project, no more last-minute scrambles."
Sarah Kline
Production Manager, FabTech Solutions, specializing in HVAC systems for commercial builds
"Straight up, quoting custom aluminum weldments with precise fillet sizes was stalling our small shop's growth—constant revisions for anodizing specs. AIQ integrated our SolidWorks CAD and QuickBooks ERP flawlessly, halving our revision cycles from 5 to 2 per bid. Just closed a $200K bridge component order last month, and the team's clocking out by 5 PM most days now."
Tom Reyes
Founder and Owner, Reyes Fabrication Co., a boutique welder serving infrastructure projects in Texas
Simple 3-Step Process
Discovery and Workflow Mapping
We dive into your shop's quoting process, from blueprint intake to final bid delivery. No templates here—we map your unique needs, like handling variable aluminum pricing or custom bending radii.
Custom AI Build and Integration
Our engineers code your system, linking it to tools like AutoCAD, your ERP, and supplier APIs. We test it on real fab jobs to ensure it nails tolerances and labor estimates every time.
Deployment and Team Training
Go live with a seamless rollout. We train your crew hands-on, so they're generating AI-powered quotes confidently within a week, backed by our ongoing tweaks for peak performance.
Why We're Different
What's Included
Common Questions
How does this automation handle custom fabrication specifics like unique alloys or finishes?
Great question—custom fab is all about those details. Our AI is trained on your shop's data, so it learns to factor in things like 6061-T6 aluminum pricing or e-coat finish upcharges. We start by ingesting your past quotes and blueprints, then build rules for variables like that. For instance, if a client wants powder-coated steel beams, it auto-pulls costs from your suppliers and applies your labor for prep. No more manual lookups. Shops using this see a 40% drop in quote revisions, because it's tailored to your exact processes. And if your specs evolve, we update the model seamlessly. It's practical, not pie-in-the-sky—built to save you real time on the floor.
What's the typical ROI timeline for this in a fabrication shop?
You're probably thinking about the bottom line, and rightfully so. For most custom fab shops, we see ROI in 2-3 months. Take a 20-person operation quoting 15 jobs weekly: manual time costs about $500 in labor alone. Our system cuts that to 1-2 hours per quote, saving $400+ weekly. That's over $20K yearly, minus our one-time build fee. We've helped shops like yours boost bid accuracy, winning 25% more contracts, which adds even more revenue. It's field-tested: one client recouped costs after their first big HVAC enclosure bid. We provide a custom projection during consultation, based on your volume and margins—no fluff, just numbers.
Will this integrate with our existing CAD and ERP systems?
Absolutely, integration is our bread and butter. We don't do superficial connections; we build deep, two-way APIs that sync your CAD files (like SolidWorks or AutoCAD) directly with the quoting engine. For ERP, think pulling live inventory from something like Epicor or your custom setup—no more outdated stock levels messing up bids. In construction fab, where delays kill deadlines, this means real-time updates on rebar or sheet metal availability. We've done this for shops with legacy systems, ensuring zero disruption. Setup takes 4-6 weeks, with testing on your actual workflows. Your team gets a unified dashboard, ditching the app-switching nightmare. It's custom, so it fits your tools perfectly.
How secure is this system for sensitive shop data like client blueprints?
Security is non-negotiable in manufacturing, especially with proprietary designs. We build everything on your servers or secure cloud you control—no third-party subscriptions risking leaks. Data encryption meets industry standards, like AES-256 for blueprints and quotes. Access controls let you limit who sees what, say, estimators only view pricing, not full specs. We've audited systems for fab shops handling DoD contracts, ensuring compliance with regs like ITAR. No data leaves your ecosystem unless you say so. Plus, our ownership model means you're not locked into a vendor's policies. Clients tell us it's more secure than their old spreadsheet shares. We walk you through it in the consult to ease any concerns.
Can we scale this as our shop grows or takes on bigger projects?
Scaling is key in construction manufacturing— one day it's brackets, next it's full structural frames. Our system is designed production-ready, handling everything from 10 quotes a week to 200 without breaking a sweat. We use advanced frameworks that auto-scale with your volume, like parallel processing for complex assemblies. For growth, we add modules, say for multi-site inventory or international supplier pricing. A client started at 50 jobs monthly; now at 300, their quotes still generate in minutes. No rework needed—we build it modular. ROI compounds too: efficiency gains stick as you expand. If your shop's eyeing larger bids, we factor that in from day one. Let's chat specifics in your free session.
What if our quoting process involves unique shop practices, like custom heat treating?
Every fab shop has its quirks, and we love that—it's what makes your operation unique. During discovery, we map every step, including niche processes like your heat treating cycles or plasma cutting setups. The AI learns these via your historical data and rules you define, so it auto-includes costs for, say, stress-relieving on large weldments. No generic templates; it's all custom-coded for your workflow. One shop we worked with had proprietary anodizing— we integrated it flawlessly, saving them 8 hours weekly on specialty quotes. If things change, like new equipment, we tweak the model quickly. It's flexible, practical, and built to evolve with your business, ensuring you stay competitive in custom work.
Ready to Get Started?
Book your free consultation and discover how we can transform your business with AI.