What to send us before we ask for a number

The first conversation about a new station usually ends with the same question: what do you need from us to give a price? The honest answer is less than most people expect — but not nothing, and not the things people usually send first.

A firm quote comes from a handful of facts about the part and the line. Get those right and the number holds. Get them wrong and it changes the first time the station meets a real part.

What we ask for

A firm number needs less than most people expect. Three things usually settle it:

1. A sample part — or a few, from different batches if you have them;
2. The rate the station has to hold, and whether that is an average or a peak;
3. The standard the plant is audited to, beyond ISO 10218.

With those three, most quotes come back within a week and do not move after the order.

A sample, not only a drawing

A drawing tells us the nominal part. A sample tells us the one that actually arrives at the station: the burr on one edge, the oil from the last process, the half-millimetre it varies from batch to batch. We quote against the sample.

If the part changes between batches or suppliers, send one of each. The difference between them is often what sets the design of the contact faces.

A drawing describes the part you designed. A sample is the part the station will actually meet.

The rate the station has to hold

Parts per hour, and whether that is an average or a peak. A station that has to hold 600 an hour all shift is a different build from one that has to catch up after a stoppage upstream.

If you know how often the station before it stops, and for how long, include that too. It decides whether the station needs a buffer, a faster cycle or neither.

The standard the plant is audited to

ISO 10218 is our baseline. If the plant also works to a sector or customer standard — food contact, a cleanroom class, automotive supplier requirements — we need to know before the tooling is drawn, not after it is cut. It changes materials, finishes and documentation.

Useful, but not essential

These help us move faster, but a quote does not wait for them:

• photos or a short video of the current station running;
• a rough floor plan showing what sits either side of it;
• the robot or controller you would prefer, if you already have one on site.

What we do not need yet

A robot model, a PLC brand or a finished layout. Those follow from the three things above, and choosing them first usually means redrawing later.

Final thoughts

The first quote does not need a perfect specification. It needs the right information. Send us the part, the rate and the standard the plant needs to work to. If you have them, add a short video, a few photos and a rough idea of the space available. From there, we can work through the details that actually affect the design. The earlier we understand the real part, the real production rate and the real operating environment, the less likely the project is to change once engineering begins. A good quote is not simply a number. It is a number built on assumptions that everyone understands.