quotation input checklist

Quotation Input Checklist

Four inputs are enough to start the free heating solution drawing: vessel or drum dimensions, target temperature, operating conditions and local supply voltage. The eight rows below are the wider set that avoids a second round-trip, so price, lead time, payment and delivery terms arrive together on the first exchange. Tick what your enquiry already states, press the button, and the tool names the first item that still forces a reply.

The Eight a Quotation Needs

Each row changes the drawing, the wattage or the price. Dimensions, target temperature, operating conditions and voltage are the four that open the drawing on their own; the other four are what keep the written quotation from coming back with questions attached.

Tank, drum, pipe or vessel dimensions Heated area sets the silicone sheet, the wire length and the cure time. With no dimensions there is no wattage, so the free solution drawing cannot be started.
Target temperature, plus warm-up time if the duty is not simple maintenance A maintenance duty and a ramp duty land on different points inside the 1.0–3.0 W/cm² (6.5–19.4 W/in²) power density band we build custom silicone heaters to, which is a construction envelope rather than the power density your duty demands. Omit the warm-up time and the heater is sized for maintenance, then re-sized when you state the ramp.
Ambient minimum, and indoor or outdoor Standing losses at the ambient minimum drive the wattage, and custom silicone heaters are rated from −60 °C to 250 °C — a silicone-family figure, not a drum band one. Outdoor placement is what makes the IP65 rating, which covers both families, and the lead exit position load-bearing rather than incidental.
What the heater sits against, and what sits over it Steel, stainless or HDPE take different setpoints, which is why the drum band thermostat range of 30 °C to 150 °C is set to the wall and the contents. A bonded insulation layer raises surface temperature for the same power, so the wattage is re-sized when insulation is added.
Local supply voltage and the socket standard at the destination Custom silicone heater elements are wound for 12, 24 or 48 VDC or 120 or 230 VAC and cannot be re-rated after winding. Drum bands ship with a 10 A (EU/UK) or 15 A (US) plug, fixed at order confirmation.
Control package: mechanical thermostat, RTD sensor with controller, thermocouple or PID controller A PID loop with an RTD costs more than an adjustable thermostat, so an unstated control package returns a price range instead of a figure. Drum bands come with an adjustable analogue thermostat covering 30 °C to 150 °C.
Attachment method: vulcanised bonding, adhesive backing, or straps and springs Vulcanised bonding carries the heater’s full range while pressure-sensitive adhesive sets its own temperature and power density ceiling. Adhesive backing is settled at quotation and the other two at drawing review, so naming it now keeps the ceiling out of a second exchange.
Quantity, and whether you want break points at one, ten and fifty Pattern setup and tooling are spread across the run, so a single price hides where your unit cost actually falls. Ask for one, ten and fifty in the same quotation and the break points are visible before you commit.

Optional Inputs That Sharpen the Quote

These three are scored separately and do not block a first-exchange quotation. Each one still removes a decision that would otherwise be taken at commissioning.

Whether you need a first article before production A first article is 1–2 weeks and its cost is stated as a separate line in the written quotation. Leaving it out omits that line rather than delaying the quote.
The single point the controller has to hold Sensor position decides what the control loop actually measures, and a loop reading the wrong surface is the most common reason a heater is rebuilt after commissioning.
Lead exit side and cable run length to the panel Lead wire and plug are settled at order confirmation, so naming the exit side and the run length with the enquiry avoids a field splice and a second cable order at installation.

Readiness Score

Tick the inputs your enquiry states, then press Score My Enquiry.

How the Score Is Read

The eight required rows carry one point each and the percentage is that count divided by eight. The three optional rows are counted in a second, separate figure and never change the verdict.

What a Blocker Costs You

The tool names the first unticked required row in document order, because that is the item the quoting engineer hits first. Each one maps to a specific consequence rather than a generic delay.

Missing input	What it forces
Dimensions	No heated area, so no wattage and no solution drawing
Target temperature	Heater sized as maintenance duty, then re-sized when you state a ramp
Ambient minimum	Standing losses estimated, wattage revised after your reply
Substrate and insulation	Temperature ceiling unknown, so the construction is quoted twice
Supply voltage	An element wound for the wrong supply is rebuilt, not re-rated
Control package	Thermostat and PID are different prices, so a range comes back instead of a figure
Attachment method	Adhesive ceiling not applied, and the approved drawing changes afterwards
Quantity	One price returns without the ten and fifty break points

Standard Commercial Terms

These terms are fixed rather than negotiated per enquiry, so you do not need to ask for them. They are reproduced here exactly as they appear on the silicone and flexible heaters page.

Lead Times

Order stage	Lead time
First article or sample	1–2 weeks
Production order	7–15 days after order confirmation

Payment and Delivery

Term	What we quote
Payment	T/T, 30% deposit with the 70% balance settled before shipment
Delivery	EXW and FOB quoted as standard

Next Step

Paste your ticked rows into the enquiry and the written quotation, lead time and terms come back together. The Heater Specification Sheet prints the same duty answers as a specification block in the row order of the FlexBlanket specification table. Jump to the standard commercial terms if you only need the payment and delivery lines.

Send the Completed Checklist

Model assumption: the score is a completeness count, not an engineering calculation. Each of the eight required rows carries exactly one point, answered divided by total is multiplied by 100 and rounded to one decimal place, and a total of zero — or a negative count on either side of the division — returns no percentage rather than an error. Ready means all eight required rows are ticked; the three optional rows are split out by the calculation core on their own required flag, scored as a separate figure, and excluded from the verdict.

The blocker is the first unticked required row in document order. A list longer than 200 entries returns no result, since a heater enquiry has eleven rows. The tool does not check whether the values you enter are correct, does not size wattage, does not price anything, does not verify that your dimensions fall inside the FLB-SDH-125, FLB-SDH-150 or FLB-SDH-250 band sizes, and does not model minimum order quantity, freight or expedited slots.