The demonstration cup landed on plain board. Our packing allows tape across that area on some cartons. I can identify taped and untaped examples, but the supplier has not defined whether the pickup location is fixed.

Is a tape-free pickup area something packing can reliably provide? If not, the concept must address the actual variation rather than assume a clean patch will always turn up under the cup.

Pavel, even if they can provide it, that preparation is part of the process and cost. I wouldn't reject a controlled pickup zone in principle, but it isn't free evidence that today's packaging works unchanged.

Jamie, yes. My sample selection suggestion was for the current packaging. A changed tape arrangement would need to be described as a different proposal, with packing involved, not quietly applied to the demo samples.

Will those be representative packed cartons? An empty shell can differ in stiffness from the carton the tool will actually carry. I'd want the intended mass and contents arrangement clear alongside the surface examples.

And include the intended transfer and release, not just seal formation. The review also needs to explain how the tool recognises an unacceptable pickup and what happens then, within the engineered application.

Yes, packed examples with contents and mass recorded. I have asked for the proposed cup locations and handling conditions to be identified in the report. No result from that review yet.

The supplier has asked whether a tape-free zone could be introduced. I've referred that to packing as an alternative concept, not agreed to change the samples already sent or treat the old demo as representative.

That is a real choice for packing to assess. Ask what the proposal requires them to control and how they would recognise a carton outside that condition. If the answer is somebody checking every box, that work belongs in the comparison as much as the robot transfer does.