Handover: Upstream
Collect workpiece drawings, fixture height, longest tool, table-load including rotary devices, and whether the job is 3-axis, indexed 3+2 or simultaneous five-axis. If tilt and rotation are required, the brief asks CNC machining center manufacturers to confirm the part and fixture clear the machine throughout that motion. Haas UMC-500 public notes distinguish usable envelope from axis travel; that distinction is a question to copy, not a certificate from this desk.
Control boundary
Ask every bidder to list: base machine; first tool package; extra holders; probing; software licenses; postprocessor; installation; training; spare parts; shipping terms. Items left blank are treated as excluded. Connected load, three-phase supply and compressed-air demand belong in the same table so electrical contractors are not guessing. Cycle-time claims must name cutting, tool change, probing and loading separately—see the operation-sheet note.