Forty-nine terms that come up in any machinery deal, explained in a sentence or two and without unnecessary jargon.
An industrial machinery deal brings four different vocabularies together: the shop floor, the shipping desk, customs and the lawyer. Almost every expensive misunderstanding starts there. This glossary gathers the terms that really do appear in a quotation, a contract or an inspection, what they mean and, where it matters, why they matter when you buy.
Used machinery. Industrial equipment that has already been in service and is sold to keep producing. It is not scrap and it is not parts stock: you buy it for what it can make, not for what it weighs.
Machinery broker. An intermediary who does not own the machine: they search the market for what the buyer needs and are paid for the deal, not for shifting their own stock. Unlike a dealer, their inventory does not shape their recommendation.
Retrofit. Replacing a machine's control, electronics or drives while keeping its mechanical structure. On equipment with a solid bed and an obsolete control it usually works out far cheaper than buying new, and it is a bargaining point: you price it before you buy, rather than discovering it when the screen dies.
Refurbished. A machine that has been overhauled, with wear parts replaced and set up again, normally with some form of warranty. Careful: the term is not regulated and every seller reads it their own way. Always ask in writing what was actually replaced.
Job lot. A group of machines sold together, usually in a plant closure. Selling as a job lot is quicker and raises less money than selling machine by machine; the decision comes down to how much time the seller has.
Valuation. An estimate of a machine's value drawn from real comparable transactions, not from price lists. The same machine has several values at once, depending on the scenario in which it is sold.
Orderly and forced liquidation value. The orderly value is what you get with time to find a buyer; the forced value, what you get when the building has to be cleared in a matter of weeks. The gap between the two is usually wide, and it is why planning ahead is worth money.
Escrow. An independent third party's account that holds the funds until the agreed conditions are met. It is the standard way to pay for a machine from a seller you have not dealt with before.
Nameplate. The plate fixed to the machine giving manufacturer, model, serial number, year, voltage, frequency and power rating. It is the machine's identity document: without it, verifying the real year and the electrical configuration becomes far harder.
CE marking. The manufacturer's declaration that the machine complies with the applicable European legislation. It is not a quality certificate and it is not issued by a public body, and on used machinery its scope depends on the date the machine was put into service and on whether it has been modified.
EC Declaration of Conformity. The document signed by the manufacturer listing the standards applied. It is the paperwork behind the marking; asking for it costs one email, and its absence tells you a great deal.
Machinery Directive. The European legislation setting out the essential safety requirements a machine must meet to be placed on the market in the European Union.
Certificate of origin and EUR.1. Documents proving where goods were manufactured. The EUR.1 is the one that unlocks preferential duty under European Union trade agreements. Watch out: what counts is the country of manufacture, not where the machine has been sitting.
ISPM 15. The international standard requiring wood packaging used for export to be treated and marked. A cradle or a chock without the stamp can leave the machine held at the destination port.
Tariff heading. The HS code that classifies the goods at customs and determines the duty payable. Two similar machines can fall under different headings; settle it with your customs broker before you negotiate the price, not afterwards.
DUCA. The Central American single customs declaration, the region's customs document. Type D covers goods from third countries, type F regional goods and type T overland transit without clearing the goods for import.
Incoterms. International Chamber of Commerce rules that split the costs, the risks and the obligations of a shipment between seller and buyer. The edition in force is Incoterms 2020. A price without an Incoterm means nothing.
EXW (ex works). The seller makes the machine available at its own premises and its responsibility ends there. Everything else — loading, haulage, export clearance, freight, import — falls to the buyer. It is the lowest price you will see and the one that hides the most work.
FCA (free carrier). The seller hands the goods over, cleared for export, to the carrier nominated by the buyer. For containerised cargo the International Chamber of Commerce recommends FCA rather than FOB.
FOB (free on board). Risk passes to the buyer once the goods are on board the vessel. It was written for break bulk; using it with a container leaves a gap in liability between the terminal and the ship.
CIF (cost, insurance and freight). The seller pays freight and insurance to the destination port, but risk has already passed to the buyer at loading. The cover required by default is the minimum one: for a machine it is worth agreeing wider cover.
DAP (delivered at place). The seller delivers at the agreed point in the destination country, not unloaded and not cleared for import. Duties and taxes remain the buyer's.
Open top and flat rack containers. Container types for cargo that will not go through the doors: an open top is loaded from above by crane, a flat rack has no sides and takes out-of-gauge widths and heights. Both push the freight cost above a standard closed container.
Break bulk. Cargo that travels without a container, stowed directly in the hold or on deck. It is the norm for machines that fit no container, and it calls for more packing and more insurance.
Freight forwarder. The company that arranges the international transport and contracts with shipping lines, hauliers and terminals on the client's behalf. It is not the same as the customs broker, who is the one who files the declaration with the customs authority.
Lashing and securing. Holding the machine down inside the truck or the container with slings, wedges and chocks so that it cannot shift in transit. Most damage in machinery transport does not come from an impact, it comes from poor lashing.
Three-phase voltage. Industrial supply on three phases. In continental Europe the norm is 400 V between phases; across much of the Americas, 480 V, 240 V or 208 V. Changing voltage almost always means fitting a transformer.
Mains frequency. 50 Hz in Europe and 60 Hz in North America, Central America and much of South America. A motor wired straight to the mains runs 20 % faster at 60 Hz than at 50 Hz, and that 20 % is what decides whether a European machine goes in as it stands or has to be reworked.
Variable frequency drive (VFD). A unit that rectifies the incoming supply and generates the frequency the motor needs itself. A machine with VFDs on every drive keeps its design speeds whatever the mains does: that is the easy case.
Dry-type transformer. A transformer cooled by air, with no oil bath. It is the usual and cheapest way to match the voltage of an imported machine. It is sized in kVA above the installed load.
Prime and standby ratings. Two ratings of the same generating set that are not interchangeable: standby is occasional back-up, prime is continuous duty. The same engine delivers fewer kVA on prime than on standby, and mixing the two up is the commonest buying mistake in power generation.
kVA, kW and power factor. kVA is apparent power and kW is real power; power factor is the ratio between them, typically 0.8 on generating sets. Comparing one set quoted in kVA with another quoted in kW without correcting leads you to buy short.
IP rating. A two-digit code stating how well an enclosure is protected against solids and against water. It matters when the machine will work in damp or dusty conditions, or with pressure washing.
IEC 60204-1. The international standard on the electrical equipment of machines, and the reference European machinery is wired to. Electrical codes across the Americas derive mostly from the US NEC, and the differences affect conductor colours, earthing and panel marking.
CNC. Computer numerical control: the system that drives the machine's axes from a program instead of a handwheel. On a used machine the state of the control counts for as much as the mechanics, because a discontinued control is the spare you cannot source.
Vertical machining centre. A numerically controlled milling machine with the spindle in a vertical position and a tool changer. It is the workhorse of almost any metalworking shop.
Spindle. The shaft that turns the tool. It is the critical part of a machining centre: its condition, its noise and its vibration say more about real wear than any hour counter.
Automatic tool changer (ATC). The magazine and arm that swap the tool without the operator stepping in. Run it under power, with several changes back to back, rather than just looking at it standing still.
Travels. The distance each axis can move, in X, Y and Z. They set the maximum part size, and they are the first figure to check against what you intend to make.
Ballscrew and backlash. The ballscrew turns the motor's rotation into axis movement; backlash is the slack that appears as it wears. Excessive backlash shows up as parts out of tolerance and is expensive to put right.
Spindle hours versus machine hours. Machine hours count the time powered up; spindle hours, the time actually cutting. It is the second figure that measures wear, and the gap between the two tells you how the machine has been used.
Cycle time. How long the machine takes to complete a part or an operation. It is the figure that turns a machine into money: real capacity per shift.
PET blow moulder. A machine that turns preforms into bottles by stretch blow moulding: the preform is heated, stretched with a rod and blown against the mould. Every bottle format needs its own set of moulds.
Preform. A PET part shaped like a test tube with the neck already finished, and the raw material the blow moulder runs on. The weight and the neck finish of the preform govern which bottles a given machine can make.
Filler. The machine that doses the product into the container. Its technology depends on the product — gravity, pressure, volumetric or weight — and not all of them will handle carbonated drinks.
Changeover. The set of change parts and adjustments needed to move from one container to another. When buying a used line, ask which formats are included: the moulds and the change stars can cost as much as part of the machine.
Pasteuriser. Equipment that applies a controlled heat treatment to cut the microbial load of the product without altering it appreciably.
Homogeniser. A machine that forces the product at high pressure through a valve to reduce particle size and stop it separating out. Standard in dairy and beverages.
CIP, clean-in-place. A system that cleans the inside of pipework, tanks and equipment by circulating cleaning solutions without dismantling the installation. On a food or beverage line it is a requirement, not an extra.
If you have come across a word that is not here, write to us and we will add it: info@makinter.com or WhatsApp on +34 657 14 48 34. You can also describe your case in the technical assistant and we will point you to the right machine or spare part.
Further reading: how to read a machine nameplate, Incoterms when buying machinery, converting a machine from 50 to 60 Hz and how to tell how much a machine has really worked.