A Checklist for Custom Machine Building: What to Prepare Before Starting the Process with Gemini

As a custom machine builder, Gemini Industrial designs and builds equipment tailored to your challenges and your workflow. But when you approach us to begin a project, you certainly don’t need a fully developed concept. Some customers come to Gemini Industrial with a proposed process, while others bring us a problem and ask how automation could solve it. 

In either case, preparing a few key details can give the project a strong foundation. Here’s what we need to know early on, as well as what we’ll gather from you later in the process.

Describe the Process and Your Challenge

The most important starting point is a clear description of the problem you need to solve. Explain what is happening today and why it’s an issue for your production. The goal can be any number of different things; bottlenecks are common, but we can also address a wide variety of issues, including safety concerns or reducing scrap. 

You don’t need a proposed design, but your team knows its equipment and process best. So for us to best evaluate your challenge, we’ll need a breakdown of your issue. Then, together, we can start to explore solutions. And if you do already have ideas for the machine’s design, we are glad to take them into consideration.

Show Us the Current Process With Photos and Videos

A written process description is sometimes what we get from customers, and that’s certainly useful. But photos and videos often communicate the situation more clearly. They can help us see factors like operator actions or material movement that don’t always come through as clearly in a verbal description.

Beyond photos and videos, there are other things that can be helpful if you have them readily available, like drawings or CAD files. But we do not truly need all of that in our first conversations; they only become essential in later stages. The important first step is providing enough context to understand the challenge. Photos and videos are great tools for that.

Understand Basic Production Goals

Your initial targets and objectives do not have to be specific or concrete; it’s fine to remain broad at this stage. But clear targets allow both teams to define success.

For instance, we may want to nail down very specific improvements in defined metrics at later stages. But in our initial conversations, we’d at least want to know where you’re looking for improvements; this could include target cycle time, hourly output, required inspection speed, or other goals.

Have a Sense of Budget and Timing

An approximate budget is important early in the process. Budget affects design choices and helps us separate essential functions from optional features, and that is important before a design starts moving forward. Budget discussions early prevent the likelihood that we’ll have to later remove features.

We also need to understand your target schedule. Building custom machines involves a number of steps that can take more time than customers realize. A new system very likely needs at least several months between concept and installation, depending on complexity and lead times. 

If your project has a firm deadline, tell us right away so we can discuss whether we’ll be able to hit it. 

What’s Next: Detailed Discovery and Project Planning

Later, as the project develops, we’ll gather information and plan for project needs, including the following: 

• Drawings

• CAD files

• Part samples

• Rejected parts that illustrate quality issues

• Plant layouts

• Facility visits

We’ll also, ultimately, more clearly define your targets. These are more detailed steps that will help us make important decisions involving certain features and the ultimate design of your machine.

In all of this, it is key to have the right stakeholders involved early. Making sure engineers and capital-approval stakeholders are involved lets everyone make informed decisions from the start.

A Real-World Example: How Requirements Become More Specific

An initial goal nearly always naturally becomes more precise through collaboration. On one recent project, for instance, the customer approached us with a broad objective of improving cycle time. That was enough information for us to begin initial conversations.

Eventually, our first design delivered a cycle time improvement. But the customer now understood the process and had greater insight into how improvements are made. They asked whether we could remove a few additional seconds, and talked to us about other areas of their process that could make this possible. We moved into a redesign focused on that very specific target.

Let’s Discuss Your Challenge

When you contact us, we’ll start discussions with the problem, the basic goal, and some general information around budget and deadline. After that, we can help identify what else will be needed to create the solution you need. If you are ready to discuss a manufacturing process improvement, request a quote today.