Predictika · Cabinet cam locks
An AI sales agent prepares an order for cabinet cam locks: part number, finish, flush or overlay construction, panel thickness, cam, cam turn and keying. Before it goes out, the agent sends it to Predictika, which checks it against a declarative model of the published catalog and returns a verdict, every reason and the figures it computed. This validator produces no price build-up: CompX does not publish prices for these parts, and none are used.
Source and independence. The rules in this validator come from one public document, the CompX National STOCK LOCKS catalog (39th Edition, September 2020), pages 4, 12, 13, 21, 22 and 23, read in full. CompX is not involved in this demonstration and has not endorsed it. The catalog is from 2020, so parts and options may have changed. The customer, Harbor Ridge Casework, is fictional. Quantities, panel thicknesses and the figures an order states come from the customer's own design, not from CompX.
This validator handles any order for these CompX National locks and cams — not just the scenarios shown below.
Not covered: prices, lead times and discounts (not published), the C8102 (the catalog text and table describe it differently), the C8065 screwdriver latch, the SlamCAM self-locking kit (the catalog names different locks in two places), straight hook cams, pin tumbler cams, FlexaCam spacer combinations, mounting hole sizes, other CompX National lock types, and the Fort, Timberline and Chicago product lines. Where the catalog is ambiguous, the item is left out rather than guessed.
8 scenarios in 4 groups · each group runs from the agent’s first attempt to the outcome · click one to switch
Illustrative agent statement. The validator receives the structured request below.
Proposing agent: AI sales agent (scripted)
Before sending, the agent must call Recorded run
What this means
Our assessment of what a typical rules-based CPQ (product rules, price rules and validation rules, as in Salesforce CPQ) does with the same cases. It is a judgment about effort and reliability, not a claim that nothing can be built.
| What the validator caught | Typical rules-based CPQ | Predictika |
|---|---|---|
| Overlay doors where front plus frame must fit the cylinder length, with one exception | Only with workarounds The two thicknesses sit on different fields and the allowed sum comes from a per-part lookup. The one exception (3/4 in. on 3/4 in. with a C7014 cam on two parts) needs a special-case rule tied to the cam, the part and both thicknesses. | The thicknesses, the cylinder length, the cam and the exception are checked together in one call. |
| Keying options that depend on the part and the finish | Only with care Master keying and the number of keyed-alike codes change with the finish of the same part. A rule per part and finish works, but the table has to be kept in step with the catalog. | The keying options come from one table of part and finish, and the code ordered is checked against it. |
| Construction that depends on the part number | Only with care Some pin tumbler parts are listed for flush doors and others for lipped or overlay doors. A compatibility rule per part works if the construction is always captured on the order. | The part, the construction and the panel thickness are checked together. |
| A cam that has to match the construction | Only with care A straight cam for overlay and a formed cam for flush is a rule between two selections. It works if the cam choice is made after the construction. | The cam, the construction and the exception are checked in one pass, whatever order the choices arrive in. |
| A stated cylinder length that differs from the part ordered | Only with workarounds The stated length is a free-entry field; comparing it with the part's length needs a custom validation rule. | The stated length travels with the order and is compared with the catalog length on every call. |
| Every problem returned in one answer | Only with workarounds Rules tend to fire as a step is completed, so a rep often fixes one error and then meets the next. | All findings come back together, whatever order the choices arrived in. |
Every rule is checked on every call, in any order the choices arrive; one problem never hides another. Blocking findings stop the order; everything else is computed. Approval findings arise only where the catalog is silent (a cam ordered with the C8010). These are the findings its 56 test cases produced.
| 1 | A front 57/64 in. thick is more than the lock maximum material thickness of 7/8 in. |
| 2 | For overlay construction the front and frame together are 1-13/64 in.; the cylinder length is 1-3/16 in. |
| 3 | Overlay construction takes a straight cam and flush construction takes a formed cam; the cam ordered does not match the construction. |
| 4 | The finish ordered is not one of the finishes listed for this lock. |
| 5 | This lock is listed for the other construction (flush, or lipped/overlay) than the one ordered. |
| 6 | A 180 degree cam turn (flexafunction) is listed only for C8060, C8061, C8073, C8075 and C8080. |
| 7 | This lock and finish offers 3 keyed-alike codes, and the code ordered is not one of them. |
| 8 | Master keying (MKKD) is not listed for this lock and finish. |
| 9 | A padlock shackle of 7/16 in. is more than the 3/8 in. the C8010 accepts. |
| 10 | The padlockable C8010 has no keying listed and every other lock in this scope needs a keying choice. |
| 11 | The cams C7001 to C7014 are listed in the catalog as disc tumbler cams, and pin tumbler locks have their own cams (C7101 to C7116); this lock is a pin tumbler lock. |
| 12 | The cam line and its bag count disagree (cams are sold in full bags of 25). |
| 13 | The order states a cylinder length of 15/16 in.; the catalog lists 1-3/16 in. |
| 14 | The order has 0 locks; at least 1 is needed. |
| 15 | The catalog does not say which replacement cams fit the C8010 padlockable cam lock; a person should confirm the cam. |
The recorded result of the validator for each scenario on this page: the request the AI agent sent, the verdict, and every finding, in the order they appear above.
The agent's request. Please prepare an order for 400 CompX National C8053 disc tumbler cam locks in bright nickel for overlay doors, 3/4 in. fronts on 3/4 in. frames, keyed different. The order lists the C8053 cylinder length as 1-3/16 in. It is ready to send.
Verdict: Blocked.
The agent's request. Please prepare an order for 400 CompX National C8053 disc tumbler cam locks in bright nickel for overlay doors, 3/4 in. fronts on 3/4 in. frames, keyed different, with 2 bags (50 pieces) of C7014 double formed cams. The order lists the C8053 cylinder length as 1-3/16 in. It is ready to send.
Verdict: Allowed.
The agent's request. Please prepare an order for 500 CompX National C8054 disc tumbler cam locks in bright brass for flush mounting in 5/8 in. panels, master keyed (MKKD). The order lists the C8054 cylinder length as 1 in. It is ready to send.
Verdict: Blocked.
The agent's request. Please prepare an order for 500 CompX National C8054 disc tumbler cam locks in bright nickel for flush mounting in 5/8 in. panels, master keyed (MKKD). The order lists the C8054 cylinder length as 15/16 in. It is ready to send.
Verdict: Allowed.
The agent's request. Please prepare an order for 300 CompX National C8106 pin tumbler cam locks in dull chrome for overlay doors, 3/8 in. fronts on 3/8 in. frames, keyed different, with a 180 degree cam turn. The order lists the C8106 cylinder length as 1-7/16 in. It is ready to send.
Verdict: Blocked.
The agent's request. Please prepare an order for 300 CompX National C8103 pin tumbler cam locks in dull chrome for overlay doors, 3/8 in. fronts on 3/8 in. frames, keyed different, with a 90 degree cam turn. The order lists the C8103 cylinder length as 1-3/16 in. It is ready to send.
Verdict: Allowed.
The agent's request. Please prepare an order for 200 CompX National C8010 padlockable cam locks in brushed satin nickel for overlay doors, 3/8 in. fronts on 3/8 in. frames, to take a padlock with a 1/2 in. shackle. The order lists the C8010 cylinder length as 1-7/16 in. It is ready to send.
Verdict: Blocked.
The agent's request. Please prepare an order for 200 CompX National C8010 padlockable cam locks in brushed satin nickel for overlay doors, 3/8 in. fronts on 3/8 in. frames, to take a padlock with a 5/16 in. shackle. The order lists the C8010 cylinder length as 1-7/16 in. It is ready to send.
Verdict: Allowed.
The text of the narrated walkthrough, step by step.