I'm planning what to send for an initial robot handling discussion. Sending saleable stock feels wasteful if the purpose is just to work out whether an approach is worth exploring. Would you send rejected parts instead?
For example, a part with a cosmetic mark might still have the shape we want to pick up. I don't want a promising demonstration based on samples that were easier to handle than the real order. This would be an early discussion, not acceptance of a finished cell.
I'd be happy to start a conversation with clearly labelled rejects. Useful for looking at the idea together. But I'd want whoever is reviewing the handling to say which differences matter before using them for a meaningful trial.
And keep 'we explored the idea' separate from 'this works on our product'. They tend to get merged when a nice video reaches the purchasing meeting.
I'd still want a good part alongside them, even for the discussion. How will someone unfamiliar with my product know which features to ignore? Saving one sample could leave quite an expensive question unanswered.
A mixed set makes more sense than making this all-or-nothing. I'll ask about including an acceptable reference and keep the reject reasons with the others. Still need to agree what the demonstration is meant to answer before choosing them.