Factory Acceptance Testing for Automation Equipment from China

For custom automation, FAT is the buyer’s best opportunity to prove performance before the equipment is paid for, packed, shipped, and installed in another country.

Define FAT Before Deposit

The FAT plan should be agreed before detailed design begins.

This allows the supplier to design around:

• Required samples
• Runtime
• Product variation
• Output measurement
• Quality checks
• Fault recovery
• Data logging
• Buyer witness requirements
• Documentation
• Punch-list rules

When FAT is discussed only after the machine has been built, the buyer has limited leverage and the supplier may have designed for a much easier test.

What a Real FAT Should Include

1. Sample Plan

Define:

• Good samples
• Known bad samples
• Borderline samples
• Product variants
• Different production batches
• Packaging variation
• Labels and consumables
• Sample quantity
• Sample ownership
• Shipping date

Why it matters:

A machine that runs well on ideal samples may fail on normal production variation.

For feeding, vision, robotic handling, labeling, and inspection, samples can influence the whole concept.

2. Runtime

Define:

• Continuous-run duration
• Total required output
• Maximum allowed stops
• Planned pauses
• Restart rules
• Changeover requirements
• Operator involvement
• Data collection

A five-minute demonstration can confirm basic movement. It cannot prove production reliability.

A realistic test might require:

• Four hours of continuous operation
• Three product variants
• Two planned changeovers
• No critical safety faults
• Output within an agreed tolerance
• All stops categorized and recorded

The exact requirement should reflect the machine and production risk.

3. Output and Cycle Time

Define:

• Target units per minute
• Measurement method
• Start and stop points
• Buffer conditions
• Reject handling
• Changeover inclusion
• Allowed ramp-up time

Robot cycle simulations often exclude feeding delays, inspection time, human interaction, and fault recovery.

FAT should measure the complete operating cycle.

4. Quality Criteria

Define:

• Product acceptance criteria
• Inspection accuracy
• False rejects
• False accepts
• Measurement method
• Sampling frequency
• Traceability
• Calibration requirements

For a vision-inspection station, for example, the test may include:

• A defined set of good parts
• Known examples of each defect
• Borderline samples
• Repeated passes
• False reject threshold
• Image and result storage

5. Fault Recovery

Test:

• Missing part
• Double part
• Jam
• Bad scan
• Failed inspection
• Empty feeder
• Safety door opening
• Emergency stop
• Air-pressure loss
• Power restart
• Communication interruption
• Downstream blockage

Production performance depends heavily on recovery.

A machine that works only on the happy path may require constant engineering support once installed.

6. Changeover

Define:

• Products included
• Tooling changes
• Recipe changes
• Adjustment points
• Required time
• Operator skill level
• Verification after changeover

Ask the supplier to perform the changeover during FAT rather than explaining it verbally.

7. Documentation Review

Confirm delivery of:

• Operation manual
• Maintenance manual
• Electrical drawings
• Pneumatic drawings
• Mechanical drawings
• I/O list
• PLC backup
• HMI backup
• Robot program
• Vision configuration
• Spare-parts list
• Recommended consumables
• Calibration procedure
• Training record

Documentation should be reviewed before the final payment, not promised for later.

8. Safety Review

Test:

• Emergency stops
• Safety doors
• Light curtains
• Interlocks
• Restart behavior
• Manual mode
• Maintenance access
• Energy isolation
• Alarm messages

The supplier’s domestic safety practice may differ from the standards required in the installation country.

These requirements should be addressed before the machine arrives onsite.

Separate Debug, Demonstration, and Acceptance

These are three different stages.

Debug

The supplier is still correcting issues and adjusting the system.

Demonstration

The supplier shows that the machine can perform its intended sequence.

Acceptance

The equipment runs under agreed conditions and meets written criteria.

Suppliers should have reasonable time to debug before formal FAT begins.

The acceptance run should not restart every time a small adjustment is made without documenting the interruption.

Record the Evidence

During FAT, record:

• Continuous runtime
• Output counter
• Alarm history
• Reject handling
• Changeovers
• Safety tests
• Restart behavior
• HMI operation
• Sample results
• Open issues

When the buyer cannot attend in person, request:

• Continuous video
• Timestamped test record
• Output data
• Alarm log
• Sample results
• Written FAT report
• Live video review
• Signed punch list

Edited highlight videos are useful for communication but should not replace acceptance evidence.

Punch-List Rules

Define issue severity.

Critical

The machine cannot meet safety, output, or quality requirements.

Shipment should not be approved.

Major

The machine operates, but an important function, document, or recovery behavior is incomplete.

Retest may be required.

Minor

Cosmetic, labeling, documentation, or small adjustment issues that do not prevent operation.

These may be closed before shipment or handled through an agreed holdback.

Clarify:

• Who records the issue
• Who approves closure
• Whether evidence can be remote
• Whether retesting is required
• Whether shipment can proceed
• What payment remains outstanding

Payment Should Follow Evidence

Payment structures vary, but the buyer should avoid paying almost the full contract value before meaningful acceptance.

A project might use:

• Deposit
• Design approval milestone
• Mechanical-completion milestone
• FAT approval payment
• Retention until shipment or installation

The exact percentages depend on project size and supplier negotiation.

The principle is more important than the percentages:

Payment leverage should remain until the machine has produced meaningful evidence.

Realistic FAT Example

A packaging-equipment buyer required a Chinese supplier to test six carton formats.

The agreed FAT included:

• Four hours of total runtime
• Minimum 45 minutes per major format
• Two complete changeovers
• Target rate of eight cartons per minute
• No dropped cartons
• Automatic reject of unreadable labels
• Recovery from conveyor blockage
• Emergency-stop and restart test
• Delivery of PLC, HMI, and robot backups
• Closure of all critical punch-list items

During the first run, the machine met cycle time but failed to recover reliably after a conveyor blockage.

Without a written recovery test, the machine might have passed based on output alone.

The supplier modified the sequence, repeated the test, and provided updated software before shipment.

That is the purpose of FAT.

Practical Rule

If the machine cannot pass a meaningful test in the supplier’s factory, it will not become easier to correct after international shipment and installation.