Wafter AI
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Estimation Life Cycle

Modernized by AI.

From the first email to the final number, Wafter handles the busywork and the cross-checks, so your estimators quote faster, with more confidence and far less headache.

Press → or Space to begin

The problem

Why is quoting still this hard?

Last to reply, last to win

The RFQ waits unseen in a shared inbox while a faster shop quotes first and takes the job.

slow response

Quoting the wrong revision

You price rev A. But the customer sent rev B last week, with two new features.

stale drawing

The real number is buried

The right price is what a similar job actually cost. But that history is scattered, so you burn hours digging before you can even start.

hours lost digging

The dropped callout

A weld, a finish, a tapped hole on the print never makes it into the estimate.

margin gone

It all lives in one head

Pricing know-how sits with one veteran. When they're out, the quote stalls, with nothing written down to pick up.

tribal knowledge

Did we even make money?

The quote goes out, the job ships, and no one checks what it really cost. The same misses repeat.

no feedback loop

Estimating lives in inboxes and spreadsheets, handed between people with no shared trail. The hard part isn't the math. It's making sure nothing gets dropped.

The answer

A workflow for the whole estimate.

Wafter gives estimating a real flow: a clear path from inquiry to quote, a shared history, and a second set of eyes checking every line alongside you.

Starts at the inbox

Reads every RFQ and revision, sorts it into a project.

Two paths, one flow

Machining and fab move in parallel, then come together.

Checks every line

Cross-reads drawings and history so nothing's missed.

Stays yours

Encrypted, role-based, on your own AI keys.

Step 01 · Intake

It starts in your inbox.

Inbox
3 new
Apex · RFQ + drawings
3 PDFs attached
2m
Apex · rev B drawing
re: bracket assy
1h
Northline · new frame
quote needed Fri
3h
Wafter AI reads it
Reads the email & attachments
Extracts parts & drawings
Groups them into a project
Assigns an owner to follow up
auto
Apex · EST-1042
Projects
Apex · Bracket assyEST-1042 · 3 drawings
Northline · Framequeued
+ new project

Every RFQ, revision, and reply is read the moment it lands, grouped into a project, drawings attached, an owner assigned. Anyone can pick it up and keep going.

Step 02 · Projects

One project. One source of truth.

New2
Northline · Frame weldment
EST-1048 · 5 parts
RKdue Fri
Cedar · Housing
EST-1049 · 2 parts
MTnew
Estimating2
Apex · Bracket assy
EST-1042 · 8 parts
RKmachiningfab
Volt · Enclosure
EST-1039 · 4 parts
JL62%
In review1
drop here
Apex · Manifold
EST-1031 · 6 parts
RKchecked
Quoted2
Cedar · Base plate
EST-1024 · won
MTwon
Volt · Bus bar
EST-1018 · sent
JLsent

One home for every estimate. Each project carries its drawings, its history, its owner, and its status. Hand it off mid-stream and nothing is lost.

Step 03 · Workflow

Many steps. Many paths. One quote.

level & true The job Machine parts Cut & roll Weld Stress relieve Purchasing Subcontract Assembly Re-machine QA Quote ready

Real parts branch, merge, and loop back through the shop: machined, welded, then back to the machine. The estimate has to price every step.

Step 04 · Review

You don't miss anything.

128.0 rev B
Bracket assy · drawing rev B
AI cross-checks the print vs the estimate
All 12 holes countedpriced
4 tapped threadspriced
±0.05 tolerancespriced
Anodize finishpriced
Chamfer added on rev B: on the print, but not in your v1 estimate. Add it?

Reviewing drawings and comparing revisions, Wafter checks every callout against the estimate: holes, threads, tolerances, finishes. If it's on the print but not in the quote, you'll know before you send it.

Step 05 · Grounding

Not just a number. Grounded in your whole shop.

Parts handling

Fixturing, load/unload, and movement between stations: the time the part actually spends being handled.

Workstation performance

What each machine truly runs: cycle times, feeds, and which station does this part the fastest.

Historical data

Every similar job you've run, scored on the real hours, not the ones that were planned.

Material & tooling

Stock, scrap, tool changes and wear, costed from your actual usage, not a flat rate.

Setup & batch size

Setup amortized across the run: the right number at qty 1 and at qty 500.

Tolerances & QA

Tight tolerances and the inspection time they demand, priced in up front.

Anyone can drop in a rate. Our edge is reading the whole picture: how the part is handled, how each station really runs, and what your own history proves, then weighing it all into one number you can stand behind.

Step 06 · Physical AI

A physical AI that knows every moving part.

Part #1042
St 1 · Saw
cut to length
St 2 · Mill
3-axis CNC
St 3 · Weld
TIG
Assembly
joined
Physical AI · simulation
Handling 0.30 hrCycle 0.42 hrNo collisionsBottleneck · Weld
Joins the decision
Mill before weld to clear the bottleneck. Saves ~0.2 hr/pc.
your call

Beyond the numbers, a physical AI models every moving part and runs the job station to station, machining through assembly, before a chip is cut. It catches the handling and the bottlenecks, joins the decision, and leaves the final call to you.

Step 07 · Automation

Checked against every job you've run.

Estimated hours vs your real history
Machining
this estimate
0.42 hr
↳ history avg
4 similar jobs
0.44 hr
Fabrication
this estimate
0.30 hr
↳ history avg
4 similar jobs
0.46 hr
Fab is 35% under your history: on similar frames you ran 0.46 hr. Likely a missed weld pass. Re-check before quoting?

Every line is checked by AI and compared to your real history. Omissions get flagged, outliers get questioned, before the quote goes out, not after the job's underwater.

Replace or enhance?

Enhance now. Replace only if the data says so.

Start here Enhance

Ride alongside what you have

Keeps your current estimating tool in place
Adds intake, projects, checks & tracking on top
Learns your jobs from day one, low risk
Replace

Consolidate when it's proven

Wafter compares its results to your history
Shows the accuracy and time gains, with evidence
You decide if and when to retire the old tool

Wafter starts by making your current process better, then compares results against your own history and tells you, with evidence, whether to keep enhancing or replace the old tool entirely. Your call, backed by data.

The payoff

Fewer errors. Faster quotes. More profit.

Human error
1 in 6near zero
misses caught
Response time
3 days4 hrs
back to the client
Accuracy
±18%±4%
on the number
Profitability
22%31%
+9 pts margin

Estimates go out in hours, not days, so you reply to the client first, while the job's still warm. Wafter does the counting and the cross-checking; your people spend their hours on the hard calls: weighing one approach against another, the judgment only a person should make.

Security

Your data never leaves the building.

RoleDrawingsCostsMarginProjectsExport
Estimator
Shop lead
Sales
Owner
On-prem & local-first
Local AI · nothing sent out
Never trained on your data
Encrypted at rest & in transit
Full audit log
ITAR / controlled-work ready

Everything runs on your own hardware: the drawings, the data, and the AI itself. Nothing is sent to the cloud, nothing trains anyone's model, every action is logged, and access is role-by-role. Your estimates and drawings stay inside your walls.

See it live

Put your next RFQ through Wafter.

Bring one live inquiry: email, drawings and all. We'll show you the project, the branched workflow, and a fully checked estimate, in a week.

Book a walkthrough →
Wafter AI