Guides

What an enquiry needs to contain to become a robust quotation

The commonest enquiry reads: we need something for 80 kilograms. No quotation can be written on that – but on eight pieces of information gathered in ten minutes, very much so.

Author: Dr.-Ing. Philipp Schwittek
Reading time: 6 minutes
Updated: 06. September 2026

The key points

Capacity without outreach describes nothing – only both together make a specification.
The movement decides the design: lifting, guiding, joining or turning.
A photo of the workstation replaces three paragraphs of description.
The weight meant is the load including the gripper, not the part alone.
Stating the frequency gets you a device that keeps up with the cycle.

The eight items

They rarely appear in a specification and can be gathered at the workstation in ten minutes. Sending them along gets you a quotation instead of a round of queries – usually within a few days.

Part: what exactly is handled, with dimensions and material
Weight: the heaviest part, including an estimated gripper weight
Movement: lifting, guiding, placing in a fixture, turning or joining
Route: from where to where, with obstacles in between
Frequency: operations per shift and shift pattern
Accuracy: place freely, into a seat or against a stop
Environment: clear height, floor build-up, zone, cleanliness requirement
Services: available compressed air, power, space for a column

Why capacity alone says nothing

Eighty kilograms at one metre outreach is a different device from eighty kilograms at four – the tipping moment quadruples, and with it column section, foundation and price. Added to that is the dead weight of the attachment, regularly underestimated: a vacuum beam with six cups soon weighs forty kilograms. Sizing is always to the sum.

The photo is the best enclosure

Two or three shots of the workstation answer more questions than a page of text: they show the clear height, the state of the floor, what is in the way, how the part is supplied and how tight it really is. Best are an overview from a few metres, a close-up of the pick-up point and a look upwards. Confidential detail can be obscured – the geometry stays readable.

What we do not need

A device designation. If the enquiry states that a balancer with four metres outreach is wanted, the actual task has already been interpreted – sometimes correctly, often not. We regularly receive enquiries for a manipulator where a lift table is the better and cheaper answer. Describe the task, not the solution; the selection is our work.

Overview

Item and what follows from it

Your information	Determines
Weight including gripper	capacity class, drive
Outreach	tipping moment, foundation, design
Movement	balancer or rigid arm
Frequency	mechanism group, service life
Accuracy	guidance, damping, fine adjustment
Environment	IP rating, materials, zone
Clear height	hoist design, headroom
Services	pneumatic or electric

Frequently asked questions

Frequently asked questions about Making a good enquiry

We have no drawing of the part – is that a problem?

No. For a preliminary selection, dimensions, weight and a photo suffice. We only need a drawing to design the load attachment, and even there a sketch with the dimensions relevant to gripping is often enough.

How long does a quotation take?

With complete information, a few days. What costs time are queries – every round takes longer than the calculation itself. For special solutions a site visit is added, which can usually be arranged within two weeks.

Can you advise without us buying?

Yes. A workstation analysis is a service in its own right and regularly ends with the finding that a change to the sequence or a lift table is the better answer than a device from us. We write that down too.

What if several parts run across the same station?

Then name the heaviest, the largest and the most critical – often those are three different ones. That range shows whether one gripper suffices, whether an adjustment is enough or whether a quick-change system is needed.

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