How the Ordering Process Works

At Protocase, we believe that it should be easy for you to order your custom enclosures and sheet metal parts. In this blog, we discuss how you can place and go through the process of ordering without much hassle.

Getting a Quote

The first step in getting your designs manufactured is to know how much they are going to cost. There are a few ways you can get a quote with us.

Quote Using Protocase Designer

If you’re using Protocase Designer, you can use the Instant Quote feature in the software to quote your design. You can choose to get a quote for selected parts as well, if you like.

Get an Instant Quote in My Account

If you’re using any other CAD software to create a sheet metal design, you can get a quote within seconds by using the new Instant Quoter feature on My Account for STEP and IGES files. But please note that there are situations when your design might require a revised quote or the Instant Quoter might be unable to give you a price estimate right away.

We have discussed why this could happen and explained the aforementioned feature in greater detail in a Proto Tech Tip video.

In such cases, you will have to fill out our Request-For-Quote form. Our Engineering & Design Services team will assess your design to provide an accurate price quote.

Using Our Request-For-Quote Form

Our one-stop shop for custom manufacturing includes sheet metal parts, enclosures and panels, machined parts, custom gaskets, copper bus bars, diecast enclosures and more. No matter what you are designing, you can use our Request-for-Quote Form to send us your design and provide all kinds of relevant details about your needs.

Our quoting team will review everything you submit in the form, and provide a price quote for what you need manufactured. And, if there are details that are unclear or missing, we will reach out to you for clarification before quoting your design.

Your Protocase Account Manager is always ready to help too, via phone or email!

Confirming the Order

Once you are good to order your design, you will let your account manager know. If you use Instant Quoter and get a quote without any warnings, you’ll get an option to purchase right away.

If you’re using Protocase Designer, you can place an order using the purchase option on the top-right side of the screen when you’re on the 3D view.

Order Processing

Once you have confirmed your order, our Engineering & Design Services team is going to process your design. A member of our Engineering team will take your file and prep it so that we can manufacture your design. There may be slight adjustments that need to be made in terms of material thickness, bend radii and more.

Once this process is complete, you will be emailed by a member of the Engineering and Design Services team who worked on your design. The email will contain the same file type as you provided us initially, as well as a link to download e-Drawings, which enables you to view a 3D model of your enclosure.

The Crucial Step of E-Drawings

E-Drawings gives you the ability to inspect every aspect of your design – you can and should verify dimensions, view the part or enclosure from all angles, view section cutaways to inspect the inside and dissemble the enclosure to view each part that makes up the assembly.

When you approve your E-Drawing, your order moves to the BuildSheet process. Our Engineering & Design Services team takes your approved design and creates the work instructions for our Production team. This ensures that our team manufactures the design as you approved it!

After the BuildSheets are completed, your order is queued up for our Production team. Then, we make your design vision a reality by building your parts and enclosures. This happens in 2-3 days for priority orders wherein in-stock materials and in-house services are available.

There are some instances where E-Drawings are not required. Specifically, if you create your custom design in Protocase Designer with no design errors flagged, your order will go straight to production.

Shipping the Order

The final step of the process is shipping your parts and enclosures to you. If you want to have a high-level view of your current orders at Protocase, you should check out My Account.

Using this portal, you can submit reorders quickly and easily at any time, and schedule your blanket-order releases. You can also check the status on a current order and where it is in the ordering process.

My Account is free and available for all Protocase customers. If you have questions about the ordering process, feel free to get in touch with us. We’re here to help you out!