In this guide 6 sections
Break the layout into straight runs, curves and transfers. Price each run from its length, width and load, then add belt, rollers, drive, structure and controls as separate lines. Keep a revision number on the quote so a changed length or motor updates the totals cleanly.
Read the sketch before you price anything
Customers send a hand sketch, a floor plan or a CAD export. None carries everything you need. List the questions the sketch cannot answer.
What is carried: cartons, pallets, drums or loose parts? What is the heaviest item and how many sit on the belt at once? What are the incline, the speed and the hours of running per day? Answers decide the belt type and the motor.
Send these questions back in one message. Quoting on guesses ends in a variation order.
- Product type, weight and size range
- Throughput per hour and running hours per day
- Incline, decline and any accumulation zones
- Environment: dust, wet washdown, heat or cold
Split the layout into runs and price each one
Draw the route as numbered runs. Run 1 is a 6 metre straight, Run 2 a 90 degree curve, Run 3 an incline. Each run gets its own length, width, belt or roller choice and support height.
This split pays off later. When the customer moves a wall and Run 1 grows by a metre, you edit one line and the rest of the quote stays put.
Keep transfers and merge points as their own items. They are where most site problems appear.
Select the drive from load, speed and duty
The drive follows from belt tension, load, speed and start frequency. A conveyor that stops and starts every few seconds needs more than one that runs steady. Check the drive pulley diameter against the belt manufacturer’s minimum.
Choose the gearbox, motor and frequency drive as a set. Note the standard frames you stock, because an unusual motor adds weeks.
Where runs are long or inclined, check whether a single drive can pull the belt. Sometimes a second drive or an intermediate tail is cheaper than a heavier belt.
- Belt pull and drive pulley diameter
- Gearbox ratio and motor frame
- Frequency drive for speed control or soft start
- Brake or backstop on inclines
Cost the structure and the extras as separate lines
Frames, legs, side guides, guards, chutes and cross-bracing are fabrication lines. Cost them by steel weight and welding hours, and keep them apart from bought-out items such as belts, bearings, idlers and sensors.
Controls, emergency stop pull cords and guarding are easy to leave out of a sketch-based quote. Put them in as visible lines, even if the customer marks them optional.
Add freight, installation days and commissioning as lines too. Customers compare totals. A missing line looks like a cheaper offer.
Revise cleanly and keep the history
Every change gets a revision number, a date and a short note on what moved. Keep the earlier version readable. When a customer says the first quote was lower, you can show which change caused the difference.
Link each quote line to a part or assembly in your item master. When the order arrives, the bill of materials is half built already.
Take your last three conveyor quotes and rebuild one as numbered runs. See how many lines were bundled that should have stood alone.
Conveyor quote build sheet
A single printed template. The header area carries customer, product and duty. Below it, a grid lists every run on its own row, with columns for run number, type, length, width, incline, belt, drive, structure weight and notes. A final area lists bought-out items, controls, freight, installation and the revision log.
Open a blank worksheet to printQuestions owners ask
How detailed should a first quote be?
Detailed enough that each run and drive can be priced. If the sketch is vague, issue a budgetary quote with stated assumptions and ask for a layout drawing before the firm one.
Should motors be quoted as standard sizes?
Yes, wherever possible. Use the frames you stock or can get within days, and mention the next size up only if duty needs it.
What causes most quote revisions?
Changed lengths, changed product weights and added accumulation zones. Keeping runs as separate lines makes each of these a small edit.
Do we need CAD for quoting?
Not necessarily. A numbered run list with lengths and heights is enough to cost the job. CAD comes after the order.