A vacuum disc filter quotation should identify exactly what equipment, engineering, and services the price covers. Two proposals with the same filtration area can represent very different packages: one may cover the rotating filter assembly, while another includes vacuum equipment, filtrate handling, controls, and installation support.
Before comparing prices, put both proposals on the same process basis and assign responsibility for every connection between the filter and the plant. This makes missing equipment visible and helps procurement teams compare the cost of a working filtration station.
A useful quotation defines the feed conditions, required output, filter configuration, auxiliary equipment, utility demand, control interfaces, documentation, exclusions, and delivery scope. Any performance commitment should state the conditions under which it applies, including feed variability and the method used to measure cake moisture.
Manufacturers may offer either individual filters or complete filtering stations. Metso explicitly describes both options in its SC filter brochure. Buyers therefore need a written equipment list even when a quotation describes the supply as a “complete package.”
An RFQ, or request for quotation, gives suppliers the information needed to prepare an offer. Send every bidder the same version and record subsequent changes.
The minimum common basis should identify:
material and flowsheet location;
normal and peak dry-solids throughput;
operating hours and expected production interruptions;
feed solids concentration and its variation;
particle-size distribution and relevant chemistry;
required cake moisture and reporting basis;
acceptable solids in the filtrate;
site altitude, utility conditions, and space limitations.
For sample preparation, use the separate guide to representative slurry sampling. The procurement task is to ensure each bidder receives equivalent samples and process information. Otherwise, a price difference may reflect different assumptions about the duty.
Identify which values are measured, estimated, or still subject to testwork. A budget quotation based on preliminary information should remain distinguishable from a proposal supported by an agreed filtration test.
Create one comparison sheet with a column for each bidder. Ask suppliers to mark each item as included, excluded, optional, or supplied by another party. “Available” does not necessarily mean included in the price.
| Scope item | Detail to request |
|---|---|
| Filter assembly | Disc and sector configuration, trough, drive, agitation arrangement, and initial cloth set |
| Vacuum system | Pump type, duty conditions, motor, separator, and service-liquid arrangement where applicable |
| Filtrate handling | Receivers, pumps, instruments, and discharge connection |
| Cake discharge | Chutes, connection to the conveyor, and responsibility for downstream handling |
| Blowback and cleaning | Required valves, local receivers if needed, manifolds, nozzles, and supply conditions |
| Electrical and controls | Local panel, drives, instruments, software scope, and plant control connection |
| Supporting equipment | Platforms, lifting provisions, supports, and any separately supplied tanks or pumps |
| Engineering and services | Drawings, manuals, testing, installation supervision, training, and spare-parts lists |
This is an inquiry framework, not a statement that every filter requires the same accessories. Have each supplier explain its proposed arrangement.
A package boundary is the point where supplied equipment connects to plant equipment. Mark these boundaries on the process drawing and equipment layout.
For the slurry inlet, identify who supplies the final pipe, isolation valve, flange, supports, and feed-control instrument. For the cake outlet, identify where the supplier's chute ends and who designs the receiving conveyor connection.
Do the same for filtrate, vacuum, compressed air, cleaning water, drainage, electricity, and control signals. A label such as “air by buyer” is incomplete without pressure, flow, quality requirements, and the measurement location.
Choose one party to coordinate each interface. Splitting purchase orders is workable when responsibility for the assembled system remains clear.
The sum of motor nameplate ratings describes installed power. It does not automatically describe the station's normal electricity demand.
Ask for normal, peak, and intermittent utility requirements, together with their operating assumptions. Clarify whether a quoted energy figure includes the vacuum pump, slurry and filtrate pumps, agitator, cloth washing, and compressed-air supply.
Air figures also need a reference condition. A flow stated at the pump inlet cannot be compared directly with a flow stated at standard conditions unless both are converted to the same basis.
For liquid-ring vacuum systems, clarify service-liquid supply, return, cooling, and recirculation responsibility. The final arrangement affects the equipment list as well as water and power demand.
A useful performance schedule pairs output requirements with feed and operating conditions. Avoid treating maximum throughput, minimum moisture, and minimum energy from different tests as if they occurred together.
Request a statement covering:
dry-solids throughput at the specified moisture;
the feed envelope covered by the proposal;
filtrate-quality requirements, if applicable;
required utility conditions at the package connections;
sampling locations and measurement methods;
treatment of interruptions and feed outside the agreed envelope.
For example, “capacity at the agreed moisture using the supplied concentrate sample” is more informative than two isolated headline figures. The actual values should come from project testwork and supplier review.
The filter capacity guide explains area calculations. The quotation should make clear which test results and allowances were used in the proposed size.
A local control panel does not necessarily include integration with the plant's control system. Request an instrument list, signal list, and description of operating responsibilities.
Clarify who provides start and stop permissions, feed commands, conveyor status, alarm handling, and historical data storage. Agree on who configures and checks communication between packages.
For spare parts and maintenance planning, request equipment identification, drawing revisions, recommended stock, and the expected process for ordering replacement components. If remote support is offered, define its scope and connection requirements separately.
Consider this illustrative example. Supplier A offers a filter assembly for 100 cost units. Supplier B offers a package for 130 units that also includes auxiliaries. After review, the separately purchased equipment needed for A costs 22 units and the additional integration work costs 12 units.
On those assumptions, A reaches 134 units before any remaining differences are evaluated. The example is not a market price estimate; it shows why the first quotation total can be misleading.
Use the same comparison boundary for freight, installation, civil works, commissioning, and initial spare parts. Keep known prices separate from allowances. Then review operating costs using the filtration energy and operating-cost guide.
Send one revision-controlled RFQ with the process specification, test information, proposed layout, scope table, and requested documents. Ask suppliers to return an explicit list of deviations and exclusions.
To discuss a project with Tongzhiren Filtration, send your process information and scope requirements. State whether you need a filter assembly, a package with auxiliaries, or a proposal defining the complete filtration station.
Yes. Area does not describe the included vacuum equipment, pumps, controls, supporting structures, engineering, or services. Compare the detailed scope and performance basis.
A budget quotation supports early planning and may rely on estimated feed data. A confirmed selection should identify the agreed design basis, test evidence, scope, and performance conditions.
Only when the quotation says so. Confirm signal exchange, programming, communication hardware, and responsibility for checking the connection.
Resolve exclusions, equipment interfaces, process assumptions, deliverables, and measurement methods. Record the final decisions in the agreed scope documents.