I priced an FR10 spacer-loading pilot but left fixture development as internal work. My colleague rightly wants hours. How should we bound the first trial?
Start by agreeing which question the trial buys you an answer to. Two representative spacer sizes might be enough to test changeover, for example, but count preparation, fixture work and somebody else trying the handover. Your own time belongs in it too.
Compare both from the same incoming state, then. I would also agree a spending limit and who can stop the trial; an interesting new fixture idea can otherwise keep the estimate open indefinitely.