Specify the job, not only a model number

A machine quotation is difficult to compare if each supplier assumes a different material, operating speed, duty cycle, or finished output. Before requesting a final offer, describe the material to be processed, target output per hour or batch, acceptable variation, operating hours, ambient conditions, and the products or dimensions the line must handle. State which figures are requirements and which are supplier proposals.

Ask the supplier to identify the machine configuration and any tooling, software, peripheral equipment, or site work excluded from the quoted scope. A brochure value is not a test result: agree how the named capacity, accuracy, or cycle-time claim will be measured on the actual proposed configuration. The FAT plan below is a buyer-seller planning tool, not a universal legal inspection requirement.

Write a factory acceptance test before the purchase order

Agree a factory acceptance test (FAT) protocol with the seller before production or, at the latest, before the inspection date is booked. Record the test material or representative sample, machine setup, warm-up period, run duration, number of repeats, measurement points, instrument or software used, and the person who records each result. Set numerical acceptance limits where they are meaningful; define what happens if the test is interrupted or a result is outside tolerance.

Request the dated test record and evidence linked to the machine serial number or order reference. Video can help show a cycle, but does not replace agreed measurements, a controlled test setup, or a written list of exceptions. A factory test demonstrates only the functions and conditions actually tested; it does not prove performance at the buyer's site after installation.

Check interfaces, electrical data, and safeguarding

Confirm the buyer's site supply and machine requirements in writing: voltage, frequency, phase, rated power, wiring or plug arrangement, compressed air, water, extraction, network connection, floor loading, footprint, lifting points, and environmental limits. Ask for the electrical drawings, operating and maintenance manuals, spare-parts list, and the language or format in which each will be delivered. Have a qualified person at the destination review compatibility before the order is finalised.

China's standards portal lists GB/T 5226.1-2019, covering general requirements for electrical equipment of machines, as current; its record gives a publication date of 4 June 2019 and an effective date of 1 January 2020. The same portal lists GB/T 15706-2012 on machinery safety risk assessment and risk reduction as current, published 5 November 2012 and effective 1 March 2013. These references help frame questions for the supplier; citing them does not establish that a particular machine complies, nor that Chinese standards satisfy the destination market's rules.

Separate the seller's test from destination acceptance

Put the approved FAT protocol, specification revision, test evidence, unresolved deviations, delivery scope, training, commissioning, and warranty process into the order documents. Identify whether the FAT is a review point, a contractual acceptance condition, or simply evidence before dispatch; the parties should agree any payment consequence in their contract rather than assume a standard rule. If a test fails, name who can authorise repair, repeat testing, shipment release, or a change to the acceptance criteria.

The supplier is responsible for providing the agreed machine information and test access. The buyer supplies accurate operating needs and confirms the intended destination and site conditions. Yifeng can coordinate supplier communication, documentation, production follow-up, or inspection when included in the agreed scope; it does not replace the buyer's technical approver, local installer, or destination-market compliance check.

Your next-order checklist

  • Send each shortlisted seller the same application, material, capacity, duty-cycle, and site-interface specification.
  • Agree measurable FAT conditions, test duration, instruments, acceptance limits, records, and failure handling before ordering.
  • Have a qualified destination-side person review electrical supply, utilities, installation constraints, safeguarding, and applicable local requirements.
  • Record the machine identity, specification revision, test evidence, exceptions, document list, and each party's approval role in the order file.

Sources & reference dates

  1. GB/T 15706-2012 — Safety of machinery: General principles for design — Risk assessment and risk reduction (official national standard record)Source published: 2012-11-05Effective: 2013-03-01
  2. GB/T 5226.1-2019 — Electrical safety of machinery: Electrical equipment of machines, Part 1: General requirements (official national standard record)Source published: 2019-06-04Effective: 2020-01-01

Prepared by the Yifeng Sourcing editorial team with AI assistance from the primary sources listed below. Source dates are recorded; destination-specific requirements should be reconfirmed before acting. This is not legal or tax advice.