Custom machine tool configurator development
Appfront builds configurators for builders and suppliers of machine tools, such as lathes, milling machines, and saw and folding machines. The salesperson or dealer selects a base machine and assembles the options. The configurator only allows combinations that are technically feasible and produces a quote, a bill of materials and an order for production planning. This way, a quote does not get stuck on an option that does not fit that machine, and production knows exactly what has been sold.
What is a machine tool configurator?
A machine tool, such as a lathe, milling machine or press brake, is rarely sold as a bare unit. The customer chooses a specification and options: a control system, spindles, a tool changer, workholding, coolant or guarding. Not every option fits every machine, and some options exclude each other or require a different setup. A configurator captures that knowledge and only allows combinations that work.
Without a configurator, that knowledge lives in spreadsheets and with a few experienced salespeople or engineers. A dealer requests a quote and waits for a reply. A quote contains a combination that cannot be built, which only becomes apparent during production planning. And what was actually sold has to be translated again into a bill of materials and an order in the ERP.
We build custom solutions because your machines and options follow their own rules: which specifications exist, which options fit which machine, how the price is structured, and what your ERP and PDM expect from bills of materials. We usually start with a single machine family, capture the rules together with your engineers, and then expand.
Only what is possible
Rules for combinations of options, so the configurator only permits specifications that are technically feasible.
Quote and bill of materials
From configuration to a quote with technical specification, and on to a bill of materials and order for production.
Knowledge captured
The knowledge of engineers and salespeople captured as rules, so a dealer can build a correct configuration themselves.
How we build your machine tool configurator
We start with a single machine family: which specifications and options, which rules, and how a quote is produced today.
Specifications, options, rules and price structure, worked out together with your engineers and salespeople.
The rules captured, and a configurator in which a sales rep or dealer assembles a machine.
Quote with specification, and bill of materials and order to ERP and production planning.
More machine families, a dealer portal, and management of rules and prices.
What a machine tool configurator actually does
The components below feature in almost every machine configurator. Which ones you need depends on your range.
Machines and options
Base machines, variants and options with their characteristics.
Lines
Which options can be combined, which exclude one another, and which require another.
Price structure
Price per option and variant, with discounts per customer or dealer.
Quote
A quote with the technical specification of the configuration.
Bill of materials and order
Bill of materials and order to ERP and production planning.
Versions
Every configuration with versions, traceable to the order.
Who we build a machine tool configurator for
The configurator is intended for companies that sell machines with a large number of options.
Machine tool builders
Your own machines with many variants. Rules and the bill of materials are the core.
Importers
Machine manufacturers with options. Price structure matters most.
Dealers
Sales to end customers. Producing an accurate quote yourself is what's needed.
Machine builders
Custom software built on standard modules. The integration with ERP is at the core.
Test your idea first: a working prototype in 1 day
With OneDayBuild, we turn your idea into something tangible in one day for €1,150, so you can see whether further development is worth the investment. Decide to go ahead with the full build? Then we credit the full cost.
Explore OneDayBuild →Technology and integrations
This page is about configurators for machine tools. For configurators in general, see our page on a product configurator, for quotes and pricing, our page on a CPQ system, and for machine building, our page on machine building software. You can read about how we work under custom software development.
If you build machines with many variants and want every file ready for 2027, look at our conformity file for the Machinery Regulation.
Why choose Appfront for your machine tool configurator?
A quote with a combination that can't be built costs time in production planning and trust with the customer. That is what we build on: rules that apply up front, a quote that is correct, and an order that production understands.
No impossible quotes
The rules prevent combinations that cannot be built.
Less dependence
The knowledge sits in the configurator, not with a single engineer.
Orders are correct
What is sold is exactly what production sees.
Security and privacy for a machine tool configurator
The configurator holds your product knowledge, prices and discounts, information that does not belong with competitors. Access is set up by role: a dealer sees their own prices and customers, an engineer sees the rules.
The software runs in a European data centre or in your own environment, with encrypted storage, daily back-ups and two-factor sign-in.
Frequently asked questions about a machine tool configurator
Questions that machine builders and suppliers ask before they begin.
It lets a sales rep or dealer assemble a machine from a variant and options, checks whether the combination can be built, and produces a quote, a bill of materials and an order from it.
Together with your engineers. For each option we record which machines it fits, which options it excludes and which it requires. Your own staff can then manage the rules without a programmer.
Yes. Every configuration leads to a bill of materials and an order in the format your ERP expects, so production planning does not have to translate it again.
Yes, through a portal showing their own prices and customers. A dealer produces an accurate quote themselves, and you can see which configurations are being offered in the market.
An integration with PDM is possible, for example to use item numbers and bills of materials from PDM. We'll look at what fits in the first step.
No. We usually start with one machine family and expand from there. This way you learn early what the configurator delivers and which rules are still missing.
Ask that first. Standard CPQ packages are good if your rules fit within them and you're willing to follow their way of working. Custom software makes sense if your rules, bills of materials and integrations are specific, or if the package is too heavy for what you need.
Quotes for machines that are always correct?
Tell us which machines and options you sell, how a quote is currently produced and which systems you use. We'll show you what the rules, the configurator and the bill of materials look like.