What it costs

What does AI automation cost for a metal fabrication shop?

There's no fixed price: cost depends on scope and depth. A single workflow, like turning incoming drawings into quotes, costs less than a system that also handles status updates, material pricing and scheduling. Build-only costs less than build-and-operate. Precipitate prices each engagement on value, so the real number comes from a conversation about your shop's work.

By Precipitate · Updated 16 July 2026

What it costs comes down to two things: how much of the work you hand over, and whether we just build the system or also run it for you. A narrow piece, like reading incoming drawings and RFQs and drafting a first-pass quote, is a smaller job than an operations system that also tracks job status, watches material prices and schedules deliveries. A system we hand off for your team to run costs less up front than one we operate month to month, watching results, fixing what breaks and adjusting as your shop's work changes.

Take the four things fabrication shops usually get stuck on. Reading a drawing and turning it into an accurate quote takes judgment: material grade, tolerances, weld specs and cut complexity all affect price, so a system can draft the first pass but an estimator should still check anything unusual before it goes out. Status updates to customers and material price checks are more mechanical and can be handed over fully once the source data is reliable. Delivery scheduling sits in between: an agent can manage the calendar and flag conflicts, but a person still needs to decide when a rush order or a truck breakdown forces a tradeoff.

We do not keep a price list, because the two shops asking this question are rarely buying the same thing: one wants a single quote-drafting workflow, another wants all four of these tied together and operated for a year. We price each engagement on the value the system creates, not by the hour, so the way to get a real number is to walk us through what eats the most time in your shop right now. A simple way to judge it yourself first: add up how much of your team's week goes to drafting quotes, giving status updates, checking material prices and juggling delivery schedules, and ask whether that time would be better spent running the shop.

Related questions

Do you charge by the hour, or by the project?

Neither, exactly. We scope and price each engagement around the value the system creates once it's running, not the hours it takes to build, which is why there's no fixed price list and the conversation starts with what the system needs to do, not a rate card.

Our shop is small. Is this only for bigger fabricators?

No. A single workflow, like handling incoming quote requests, is a real, scoped engagement on its own, and you don't need to automate all four tasks at once. Most shops start with whichever one is costing them the most time or the most missed jobs, and add from there.

Wondering what a system like this would own in your business? Tell us what the manual work is, and we will tell you honestly what a machine can take off your plate and what still needs a person.

Start a conversation →