Vibe Manufacturing

Search the Vibe Manufacturing playbook, guides, tool reviews and the manufacturer directory. Mention a process (for example CNC machining) or a country to get matching manufacturers. Returns result ids for fetch.

Fetch the full text of a document or manufacturer profile by the id returned from search.

Search the playbook, guides, tool reviews and comparisons on vibe-manufacturing.com.

Get one of the 13 playbook steps (summary, explanation, checklist, related tools).

List tools and factories with pros and cons. Optional category: Fabrication, Electronics, Sourcing, Prototyping, Measuring, Design, Review.

Estimate landed cost per unit and the price needed for a target margin for a custom product. All money values in USD per unit.

Find contract manufacturers in the directory by country and process. Processes: laser-cutting, cnc-machining, sheet-metal, 3d-printing, injection-molding, pcb-assembly, die-casting, welding, waterjet-cutting, metal-stamping, forging, heat-treatment, grinding-polishing, casting, wire-forming, steel-construction, surface-finishing. Country as ISO code (DE) or slug (germany).

Rank manufacturers for a structured part spec. Returns scored matches with the reasons, so an agent can explain the choice to its user.

Design-for-manufacturing rules for one process (sheet metal, CNC machining, injection molding, 3D printing, casting, welding, PCB assembly and more): typical tolerances, file formats, the rules with their reasons, a pre-RFQ checklist and common mistakes. Typical rules of thumb; the manufacturer's own guidelines override them. Omit process to list all.

Check a design against typical manufacturing rules before you request quotes. Returns pass, warn or fail per check with the limit and the reason. Supported processes: sheet-metal, laser-cutting, cnc-machining, 3d-printing, injection-molding, die-casting, casting, metal-stamping, pcb-assembly. Parameters are in millimetres/degrees, for example thickness_mm, bend_radius_mm, flange_length_mm, hole_di

Find manufacturing businesses you can contact directly, including official-registry establishments without a website (Mexico: INEGI DENUE). Returns how to reach each one: contact form, phone and email (published only for legal entities), website. Filter by ISO country code (MX, US, ...), process and city. Use next_after to page.

Send a quote request for the human you act for. Only call after the user agreed that the request and email may be shared with suitable manufacturers. A person reviews it and replies by email.

Create a structured request for quotation for the human you act for. Call get_rfq_requirements for the process first and upload files with upload_rfq_file; use dry_run to check completeness before sending. The answer contains quote_readiness, missing and recommended items. We match manufacturers, email the ones that opted in, and return direct contact, quote-form and agent links for all matches pl

Read the matches and the quotes received so far for an RFQ you created. Needs the rfq_id and the token returned by create_rfq.

What a factory needs to quote a given process (required and recommended items with accepted values). Read this before create_rfq so the request is complete.

Upload a design file (STEP/STP, IGES/IGS, STL, 3MF, OBJ, DXF, DWG, PDF, ZIP (Gerber files go in a ZIP); up to 6 MB as base64 here, up to 100 MB with POST /api/v1/rfq/files?name=...). Returns a file_id to pass in create_rfq file_ids. Unused files expire after 24 hours. Only upload files the user agreed to share with manufacturers.

Write to the matched factories about a request (buyer token) or to the buyer (supplier token): a question, an answer or an update, optionally with file_ids. We relay it by email or API and keep the thread.

Read the conversation of a request: messages from factories (answers, quotes, files) and your own. Pass since=<last message_id> to get only new ones.

For a manufacturer's agent: answer an RFQ the company was matched to. Needs the supplier token issued when the company registered. Replaces any existing quote from this supplier for this RFQ, adds a thread entry and notifies the buyer by email and an optional callback; repeating the call sends notifications again. Only call with the supplier's authorization.

For a manufacturer's agent (needs the supplier token): the open quote requests your company was matched to, newest first, with readiness, whether you answered, your quote and unread buyer messages.

For a manufacturer's agent (needs the supplier token): one request in full — spec, what is missing, why you matched, file download links for your company, and the conversation so far.

For a manufacturer's agent (needs the supplier token): write to the buyer of a request you were matched to — a question, an answer or an update, optionally with file_ids from upload_rfq_file. Draft it for the manufacturer and send only after they confirm.

For a manufacturer's agent (needs the supplier token): what the directory stores about your company, and the allowed values for each field.

For a manufacturer's agent (needs the supplier token): change processes, materials, certs, formats, industries, signals, machines, lead_time_days, min_order_qty, notes or notify_email. Fields you leave out keep their value; a field you send replaces it whole (a processes list replaces the stored list, so send the complete list, not only additions). Name, domain, country and address cannot be chang