Automation Machine Quotation Checklist

Start with a brief every bidder can read.

Prepare the common records before comparing configurations or prices. Use drawing revisions and actual product combinations—not only the largest dimension or a headline output target.

Use the common input list for material and line records, and the bid schedule for supplier responses. Leave missing information unknown rather than inventing a value.

Keep detailed inputs with the matching process.

These are preparation routes, not a list of approved material combinations. Final equipment scope and compatibility need written confirmation against your own records.

What do I need before requesting a price?

A useful quotation starts with the workpiece and production task. Identify the operation to automate, the material entering the machine and the result it must deliver. Include the current process and the specific limitation you are trying to address.

If some information is unavailable, mark it as unknown. A preliminary discussion can identify missing inputs, but a firm configuration and acceptance commitment require an agreed specification. Published prices for apparently similar machines may cover different tooling, lengths or installation scope.

Download checklist

Which details are common to every machine?

• Company, installation country and intended production task.
• Dimensioned workpiece drawings with material, gauge or thickness and individual weight.
• Normal product mix, current output, target output and operating hours.
• Layout showing available space, transfer heights and fixed obstructions.
• Available power and air supply, plus required documentation language.
• Preferred delivery schedule and the proposed acceptance method.

What extra information does each process need?

Rock wool or core-board feeding

Incoming stack arrangement, board or strip format, density, surface condition, placement pattern and receiving-line timing.

Panel or profile stacking

Cross-section, discharge orientation, turnover requirement, layers per stack, permitted contact areas and full-stack removal method.

Connection-plate welding

Assembly drawing, locating datums, material grade, joint details, weld requirements and the applicable inspection specification.

Tie-rod cutting and welding

Finished assembly drawing, incoming stock condition, end components and whether cutting is part of the requested machine scope. Confirm the exact end-product terminology.

How can I compare quotations fairly?

Ask each supplier to itemise the same scope: base equipment, tooling, conveyors, controls, protective measures, installation, commissioning, training, spare parts and documentation. Clarify transport, export packaging and on-site responsibilities separately.

Compare capacity only when the test conditions match. A motion speed, weld travel speed, pieces per cycle and sustainable pieces per hour are not interchangeable. Request a complete-cycle demonstration using agreed samples instead of comparing promotional headlines.

What should every supplier include in the same bid schedule?

Give every bidder the same workpiece list and ask them to mark each scope item as included, optional, excluded or awaiting information. This separates a base-machine price from the project you actually need.

For example, a stacker and a roll former may have different changeover functions, as Bradbury’s product-family description illustrates. Siemens also distinguishes component migration from complete modernization. The schedule above is our editorial purchasing aid, not a standard contract. Bradbury: purlin stacking and changeover; Siemens: migration for automation systems.

How should a supplier describe an output claim?

Request the workpiece drawing, number of pieces handled per cycle, the start and end of the timed sequence, and whether replenishment or finished-stack removal is included. Ask whether the result is simulated, a short demonstration or a recorded production run.

Keep quoted output tied to those conditions. For an existing line, use the arrival-interval example to understand why the shortest pieces can matter. The example is arithmetic for planning, not a machine capacity test.

Which documents should I request?

Request the final configuration list, layout, operation and maintenance manuals, electrical documents, parts list and acceptance record. If conformity or management-system evidence is required, ask for the relevant document, holder, scope and model coverage. A patent is not a substitute for a machine conformity declaration.

Our qualification evidence page distinguishes available records from documents still required. Any certificates or guarantees included in an order need to be identified in the agreed supply scope.

How do I send the information?

Use the enquiry form for a short project description and the relevant machine family. For drawings or videos, email Tony directly at tony.buy@gmail.com; the current web form does not accept attachments. Send only material you are authorised to share.

The checklist is a planning aid, not an order or a final engineering approval. Configuration, compatibility, lead time and acceptance limits remain subject to written confirmation.

What to include in a gantry stacker enquiry

Attach panel drawings and photographs, identify PU wall/roof or cleanroom variants, and specify the actual pickup face, coating and protective film. List length, pickup width, thickness and measured mass per variant—not only the largest value in each column.

The S04 reference configuration states 4,000–15,000 mm length, 950/960/1,050/1,200 mm pickup widths, 50–200 mm panel thickness, 450 kg maximum total load and 0–2,000 mm stack height. These limits do not approve every maximum simultaneously. Request written confirmation of the intended combinations.

• Supply measured arrival intervals and the required turnover/stack arrangement.
• Define transfer height, stack support, completed-bundle removal and controls handover.
• State available 380 V, 50 Hz electrical supply and 0.5–0.8 MPa compressed air; ask the supplier to confirm utilities for the actual configuration.
• Agree representative samples, acceptance evidence and responsibilities using the FAT preparation checklist.

Include the S04 product page and English product PDF in your enquiry so all parties reference the same equipment. Final scope, performance and installation conditions belong in the signed proposal.

Prepare a welding-specific enquiry

For the cleat plate cell, use the drawing and fixture input guide. For tie-rod equipment, first clarify integrated cutting and welding versus welding-only scope. Both equipment types can use the evidence preparation guide to identify documents and responsible reviewers.

Download the blank welding input sheet and record actual drawing revisions, incoming conditions and missing information. Do not infer welding settings or applicable acceptance limits from the machine's brochure ratings.

Which inputs are specific to purlin or floor deck stacking?

Keep the general quotation checklist for commercial scope. For detailed workpiece information, use the C/Z purlin drawing and bundle guide or the floor deck turnover selection guide. Complete the matching section of the profile stacking input sheet; do not substitute a nominal width for the actual cross-section.

Which inputs are specific to feeding equipment?

For prepared rock wool strips, use the continuation input guide and the same material brief for gantry and robotic alternatives. For stacked flat core boards, use the column feeder input guide. Complete the relevant part of the blank feeding input sheet; retain this general guide for commercial scope and quotation comparison.

Which inputs are specific to the S01 panel stacker?

Use the S01 selection input guide for actual cross-sections, incoming face, requested turnover and finished-bundle arrangements. Complete the blank panel input sheet and identify who supplies stack formation, wrapping and bundle discharge. The S04 gantry limits elsewhere in this guide do not specify the separate S01 machine.

Download the common brief and your matching records.

These are the existing files, not new engineering approvals. The TXT forms are preparation aids; the S04 PDF is separately identified as a product reference. Send authorised drawings by email—the enquiry form accepts a summary, not attachments.

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Before you send the brief.