Having a Custom Machine Built: 7 Questions to Clarify Before Your First Enquiry

Anyone who has never commissioned a special-purpose machine faces a question that is hard to gauge. How much does something like this actually cost? How long does it take? What do I even need to know before I enquire? Every week we receive enquiries where the first two weeks are spent jointly figuring out what is actually needed. This goes faster and better if you have clarified a few points yourself before the first enquiry. These seven questions are our recommendation for how a good enquiry begins.

Question 1: What is the machine actually supposed to do

Sounds trivial, but it is not. Describe not the technical solution but the problem or the process. Instead of "We need a machine with a belt conveyor and a robot cell for packing pouches", it is better to say: "We currently pack 2,000 pouches per hour by hand and want to scale up to 8,000 per hour, automated."

The second version opens up the solution space for us as machine builders. Perhaps the best solution really is a conveyor plus a robot. But perhaps it is a completely different architecture that works faster, cheaper or more reliably. If you specify the solution in advance, you cut off options without noticing.

Question 2: Which products and variants does the machine process

Special-purpose machines are only as good as the product data they are designed for. Record: Which products are processed today, in which sizes, weights, consistencies? Which variants exist, and how do they differ? How often is there a changeover between variants? What tolerances do the products themselves have (dimensional deviations, weight fluctuations, material properties)?

Very often we discover during the conversation that the really critical variant is the one that runs rarely but places special demands. If the machine is designed only for the main variant, it fails at the exception. So also collect the products that are rare but indispensable.

Question 3: Where will the machine be located

The installation site determines many design details. We need early on: ceiling height, floor space, available utilities (power, compressed air, cooling water), access for delivery (through which door does the machine get into the building), fire-protection requirements, temperature and humidity at the site, and where applicable the cleanroom class.

A common mistake: the machine is planned without anyone checking on site whether it even fits through the door. Sending a photo or floor-plan impression with the very first enquiry saves weeks later on.

Question 4: Which interfaces does the machine have

A special-purpose machine rarely stands alone. It is connected to conveyors that deliver products, to downstream stations that take over the result, to a higher-level control system, an ERP system, an MES, perhaps to an energy-management system.

Clarify early: What comes in, and how does it come in (speed, orientation, packaging)? What goes out, where to, in what condition? Which data has to flow out of or into the machine (order data, quality data, status messages)? Which control world does your plant use (Siemens, Beckhoff, Rockwell)? Which industry standards does the machine have to meet (OPC UA, MQTT, MTConnect)?

Interfaces are inconspicuous but cost-intensive topics. When they come up late, they cost disproportionately.

Question 5: How critical is availability

"As high as possible" is the typical first answer, but it does not help. We need: How many shifts does the machine run? How long are planned stoppages for cleaning and maintenance? What would be an acceptable unplanned downtime per year in hours? What are the economic consequences of a stoppage (penalty payments, lost orders, reputational damage)?

High availability is expensive. Redundancies, spare-parts stocking, duplicated sensors, remote maintenance with 24/7 service: everything is possible, but everything costs. An honest answer to the availability question helps us find the economic sweet spot instead of over-dimensioning out of caution.

Question 6: Which regulatory requirements apply

These differ by industry, but they are rarely a matter for negotiation. A few examples make this clear.

In the food industry: EHEDG, FDA, 3-A depending on the market, in-house hygiene concepts, GFSI standards.

In the pharmaceutical environment: GMP, mandatory validation, material certificates, complete documentation of all process parameters.

In general: CE conformity (Machinery Directive), safety requirements according to EN ISO 13849, EMC, ATEX in potentially explosive areas, consideration of the NIS2 requirements for plant security.

These requirements are not a checkbox list; they influence design, material selection and documentation. The earlier they are on the table, the more elegantly they are integrated.

Question 7: What budget and what time frame are realistic

This is the most uncomfortable question, but it saves the most. We receive enquiries with desired deadlines of "three months" for a system that realistically takes twelve. Or with budget expectations that are a third of what comparable projects actually cost.

Better to clarify early: Roughly where does the budget lie (an order of magnitude is enough: 200,000 euros, 800,000 euros, 2 million)? By when at the latest should the system be productive? Which factors are included in the budget (machine only, with engineering, with commissioning, with training, with reserve)?

If budget and time do not fit together, it is better to know that before the enquiry. Sometimes a phased plan is worthwhile: first a basic system, later expansion stages. Or a retrofit instead of a new system. But these options only come into play when the economic boundary conditions are laid open.

What happens after the enquiry

If you are prepared with these seven questions, an enquiry process runs considerably faster. With us, it typically looks like this:

After the first enquiry comes a conversation, often initially by video. We go through your answers and ask the follow-up questions that arise from the specifics. From this conversation a first concept emerges as a sketch and a short description.

If both sides want to continue, we are happy to come to you on site. Stocktaking, a detailed discussion with your team, photo documentation of the installation site. On this basis we prepare a quotation with a requirements specification, schedule and investment framework.

From the first conversation to a solid quotation, three to six weeks typically pass. It is faster if the seven questions are answered in advance. It should not take much longer, otherwise the project starts to run away even before it has begun.

If you have a project ahead of you

You are warmly invited to get in touch with us, even if not all answers are clear yet. We help to sharpen the questions and use our experience to support you in formulating a good enquiry. Whether our answer in the end is a quotation from us or the recommendation to revisit your internal concept depends on the individual case. Honest advice is part of what customers have recommended us for over more than 30 years.