Preview quote routing (soft quote)
preview_quoteINTERNAL client rail — the routing half of refine_quote with NOTHING committed: takes the same arguments as refine_quote and answers how many distinct fabricators (and which process lanes) the network WOULD ask for the refined part, plus the exclusion notes, without creating a child quote, asking any vendor, superseding in-flight work, or logging demand. An expectation, never a promise — lanes can still decline once asked. Never call this to look at prices; it carries none. Use refine_quote to actually re-price.
Input Schema
TableJSON Schema
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| bends | No | New bend records for this part — a spec change: sheet lanes requote with exactly these bends (the list REPLACES the previous one, never patches it). Same shape as on get_fabrication_quote: each bend is two points in the part's own mm frame (flat DXF parts use z=0) plus angle_deg, direction up|down, and an optional requested radius_mm. Pass null to REMOVE every articulated bend | |
| clear | No | REMOVE constraints entirely ("drop the deadline", "forget the budget", "no more food-safe requirement"): list the constraints to clear and each is removed from the quote — the one deliberate widening besides undo. Clearing a deadline or budget answers instantly from held offers (near-misses convert back); clearing an attribute/reliability/requirements demand re-prices honestly. Same effect as ["any"] on the three filter args, extended to every constraint | |
| color | No | New color for this part (spec change — lanes requote). Pass null to REMOVE a previously asked color — back to vendor defaults | |
| scale | No | Rescale the DESIGN ITSELF before re-quoting: per-axis stretch factors over the file's current geometry ("make it 2x bigger" = {"x":2,"y":2,"z":2}). Mesh designs are genuinely converted — the child quote prices a rescaled file; STEP/IGES designs keep their original file with the dimensions riding as callouts (pass those too). {1,1,1} is a no-op | |
| finish | No | New surface finish ("powder coat", "anodized", "bead blasted") — a spec change: finish-capable lanes (sheet metal, CNC, metal print) requote WITH it; 3D-print lanes have no coating step, so they ignore the finish but keep the COLOR. A colored finish ask ("black powder coat") should set BOTH finish and color, so every lane lands on the buyer's color. Pass null to REMOVE a previously asked finish | |
| inserts | No | New hardware-insert records for this part — a spec change: sheet lanes requote with exactly these inserts (the list REPLACES the previous one, never patches it). Same shape as on get_fabrication_quote: species (nut|flush_nut|standoff|blind_standoff|stud) and thread required, hole geometry optional. Pass null to REMOVE every insert | |
| sort_by | No | "Organize by": re-order the quote's offer cards ("sort by cheapest" → "price"; "soonest arrival first" → "arrival"; "best rated" → "rating"; "total_price" = part + cheapest shipping; "recommended" restores the default price+speed rank). PURE PRESENTATION — answers instantly on the same quote, never re-prices or drops offers, and the ordering sticks across re-reads, streaming, and later refines until changed | |
| tapping | No | New tapped-hole records for this part — a spec change: sheet lanes requote with exactly these taps (the list REPLACES the previous one, never patches it). Same shape as on get_fabrication_quote: thread callout ("M6", "1/4-20") required, hole geometry optional. Pass null to REMOVE every tap | |
| vendors | No | Only these specific vendors/makers ("only show A3D Manufacturing", "just Slant 3D and Fictiv") — an INCLUDE list of vendor names as they appear on offers. A CONSTRAINT like processes: other vendors' offers drop instantly (nothing re-prices), further refines inherit the filter, and ["any"] clears it to show every vendor again. Friendly names accepted ("A3D", "slant 3d"); unmatched names are reported, never an error. This is THE way to answer "show me everything vendor X offers" — the filtered quote lists that vendor's complete lineup | |
| callouts | No | Dimensions you read off the user's drawing that matter ("hole_diameter 6.5mm ±0.1"). The tightest tolerance prunes vendors that cannot hold it. | |
| deadline | No | Latest acceptable delivery date, ISO YYYY-MM-DD | |
| material | No | New material for this part ("I need it in PLA" → "pla"). A spec change: lanes requote with this material through warm vendor sessions; an explicit material here replaces the quote's material fan-out. Free-form — unstocked asks resolve to the closest stocked material with a substitution note. Do NOT pass material changes as requirements terms. Pass null to REMOVE a previously asked material ("forget the aluminum ask") — the ask comes off the record and the process-default material fan returns | |
| quote_id | Yes | ||
| scenario | No | Comparison lane label. A labeled refine sits SIDE BY SIDE with the quote's other offers instead of replacing them: refines with the same label replace that scenario, different labels coexist (max 4 per quote), and a refine WITHOUT a scenario resets the baseline and supersedes every lane. "How does X compare to Y?" = one labeled refine per scenario (e.g. scenario "carbon steel" + material "carbon steel", then scenario "aluminum" + material "aluminum"). Keep labels short and human, like "carbon steel" | |
| food_safe | No | ||
| high_temp | No | ||
| processes | No | Narrow this quote to specific fabrication processes ("no, I meant in sheet metal" → ["sheet metal"]). A CONSTRAINT, not a new quote: excluded lanes drop while warm vendor sessions survive, and further refines inherit the filter. Friendly terms accepted ("sheet metal", "3d printing", "cnc", "laser"); pass ["any"] to clear the filter and show every process again. When comparison scenarios are open and the user narrows the process, re-refine EVERY active scenario label with this same arg so all columns prune together | |
| quantities | No | New quantities the user wants (spec change — lanes requote at the new quantity). Same rules as on get_fabrication_quote: pass the real ask, never inflate it. Pass null to REMOVE a previously asked quantity — the quote returns to single-part pricing | |
| ships_from | No | Only vendors that ship from these countries/regions ("only US vendors", "just European shops", "keep it domestic") — an INCLUDE list naming where the user DOES want vendors from. A CONSTRAINT like processes: non-matching vendors drop instantly (nothing re-prices), further refines inherit the filter, and ["any"] clears it to show vendors everywhere again. Friendly terms accepted ("US", "Europe", "Germany", "China", "UK"). Vendors whose origin is unknown or whose network is worldwide (a specific origin cannot be guaranteed) are excluded, each with an honest note. For "nothing from X" asks, pass the regions the user does want instead | |
| sort_label | No | Short human wording for a sort_order, displayed on the board ("most green first") — required with sort_order, since only you know what your order means | |
| sort_order | No | EXPLICIT card order for asks only you can judge ("sort the most green to the top"): look at the offers' preview images, decide the order yourself, and pass the offer ids first-on-top. Offers you leave out (including ones that stream in later) land below the listed ones in the default rank. Pass sort_label with it | |
| ship_to_zip | No | Destination US ZIP code, exactly as the user stated it — use this when the user provides their ZIP after a quote priced to the assumed central-US destination (routing.ship_to); the refined prices become theirs. NEVER guess or invent a ZIP | |
| submersible | No | ||
| requirements | No | Verbatim context terms from the user — materials, finishes, certifications, tolerances ("UV resistant", "anodized: red", "iso 13485", "tolerance: 0.1mm"). UFP applies what it can and reports what it could not; unresolvable terms are logged for vendor sourcing. Do not interrogate the user to fill this — pass what they said. | |
| thickness_in | No | New sheet thickness in INCHES ("make it in 1/8" → 0.125) — a spec change: sheet lanes requote at the nearest stocked gauge, flagging the substitution when the match isn't close. Pass null to REMOVE a previously asked thickness — back to the material's default gauge | |
| outdoor_rated | No | ||
| max_budget_usd | No | ||
| sort_direction | No | Flip a sort_by ordering: "desc" reverses the key's natural direction ("most expensive first" = sort_by "price" + "desc"). Only meaningful with sort_by | |
| undo_last_step | No | GO BACK EXACTLY ONE STEP ("undo that", "go back", "put it back how it was"): the network restores the previous quote's stored spec and constraints EXACTLY — never reconstructed from conversation — and re-prices where needed. Send it ALONE (no other args besides quote_id); combining it with changes is rejected. The quote's steps[] names what each undo would take back — steps[0] is the newest. Undo resets the baseline like any unlabeled refine, so open comparison scenarios close. Undoing the original quote is rejected with honest wording — relay it | |
| min_vendor_stars | No | Only vendors whose displayed review rating is at least this many stars (1-5); vendors with no reviews yet are excluded | |
| min_vendor_reviews | No | Only vendors with at least this many verified-purchase reviews | |
| proven_spec_orders | No | Only vendors with at least N completed orders for this exact process+material — "a vendor that prints PC reliably" | |
| remove_requirements | No | Take back INDIVIDUAL requirements terms ("drop the anodized ask, keep the rest"): each listed term is removed from the quote's requirements by normalized match, the others stay. Unknown terms are ignored, never an error. Re-stating the requirements list can never drop a term (terms merge as a union) — this is the removal channel |