What to Prepare Before Requesting a Quote from a Machine Maker

When customers call, the first thing they often ask is "How much is this machine?" But the same machine fitted with different dies, nozzles, or voltages will differ in price and in whether it can make your product. Get your information ready before requesting a quote, so the machine maker can judge which model fits and what to fit it with.

What Should I Provide When Requesting a Quote?

1. The product itself

• Product name and photos: front, side, and cross-section (showing the wrapper-to-filling ratio).
• Piece weight: finished weight, and how many grams of wrapper and filling.
• Appearance requirements: round, half-moon, with or without pleats, flattened or not.
• Raw or cooked: frozen raw, or steamed and then frozen.

2. Output requirements

• How many pieces per day, how many hours per day, how many days per week.
• Projected growth over the next year.
• For how to estimate output, see Estimating Capacity.

3. Ingredient characteristics

• Wrapper: wheat dough, rice dough, sweet potato or taro mash; water content and whether it's fermented.
• Filling: meat, vegetable, red bean paste, taro paste; whether it has particles, how big, and whether it releases water.
• Temperature: whether ingredients are chilled, at room temperature, or warm when they go into the machine.

4. Factory conditions

• Power: single-phase or three-phase, and voltage (see Power Requirements).
• Space: the length, width, and height available for the machine, and the width of doorways and aisles.
• Upstream and downstream equipment: specs of mixers, steamers, and quick-freezing equipment.

5. Other

• Number of products and how often you change over.
• Budget range and desired delivery date.
• Whether you'll export, and which countries' regulations must be met.

Why Ingredient Samples?

Encrusting and portioning machines handle ingredients that deform and flow, so whether a machine does a good job depends on the ingredients' firmness, stickiness, elasticity, and water content. Products with the same name, "meat bun," made by different workers will differ in dough water content, filling lean-to-fat ratio, and particle size, and can behave very differently on a machine:

• Dough that's too soft makes seals sticky and products sag; too firm and the wrapper tears easily.
• A filling that's too wet releases water and tears the wrapper; particles that are too large may jam the feed mechanism.
• When ingredient temperature changes, stickiness changes too.

Japan's RHEON FAQ also lists "Can we test with the ingredients we actually use?" among the common questions before adopting a machine. A trial run with your own ingredients is the most reliable way to confirm.

Preparing for a Trial Run

• Bring enough: with too little, you'll run out before the machine is dialed in.
• Bring your original recipe sheet: when adjustments are needed, you'll know where to start.
• Bring handmade finished products: as a benchmark for comparing appearance, weight, and texture.
• Record the trial results: speed, weight variance, number of defects.

How to Request a Quote from Dong-Yih

Dong-Yih Machinery's models include the DY-201 Automatic Steamed Bun and Mantou Machine, the DY-528M/DY-528MS portioning and cutting machines, and more. For a quote, please call 06-257-4644, or leave your product and output requirements on the Contact page.

FAQ

Q: Do I have to provide product photos when requesting a quote?
A: We recommend it. Photos plus piece weight and wrapper-to-filling ratio let the machine maker judge which model and accessories fit.

Q: Can I just ask for a price?
A: Yes, but the same model with different dies or voltage differs in price and in what it can make; the more complete your information, the more accurate the quote.

Q: Why bring ingredients to a trial run?
A: Ingredient firmness, stickiness, and water content determine whether the machine can do a good job, and products with the same name but different recipes can behave very differently.

Q: How much ingredient should I bring?
A: Enough for the machine to be adjusted and then run for a while; please confirm the actual amount with the machine maker in advance.