Predictika · Industrial cutting equipment
An AI sales agent prepares an order for a Hypertherm Powermax45 SYNC plasma cutter: the region and input voltage, the power supply option, the torch and lead length, and the catalog part number it states, along with the generator and gas supply the customer has. Before it goes out, the agent sends it to Predictika, which checks it against a declarative model of the ordering tables in Hypertherm's public Powermax family catalog and returns a verdict, every reason and the catalog part number. The catalog carries no prices, so this validator produces no price build-up.
This validator models orders for one Hypertherm product, the Powermax45 SYNC, based on the ordering tables and specifications in the public Powermax family catalog, not just the scenarios shown below.
Any order for a Powermax45 SYNC is in scope — not only the scenarios pictured here. Not covered: prices (the catalog has none), the Powermax30, 33, 65, 85, 105 and 125 models, cartridges, work cables and accessories, and cutting performance for a specific job.
7 scenarios in 3 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 |
|---|---|---|
| A part number the agent states that does not match the configuration | Only with workarounds The part number is derived from the region, voltage, power supply option and torch, so a rules-based CPQ needs a lookup table for every combination and a check against whatever the agent wrote; one catalog update and the table is out of date. | The stated part number is a field in the request and is compared with the catalog part number computed from the choices on every call. |
| Combinations the catalog does not list | Only with care Valid combinations are easy to enter; the many that are not listed (a machine torch on a standard power supply, a 480 V system with a torch) need a separate "send to a person" path, which is easy to leave out. | Listed configurations are allowed, impossible ones are blocked, and unlisted ones come back as approvals. |
| Customer site limits the catalog gives | Only with workarounds The generator rating and gas flow live in the customer's site, not in the product model, so a rules-based CPQ rarely asks for them or compares them with the catalog figures. | They are fields in the request, compared with the catalog figures; a shortfall comes back as an approval. |
| Every problem returned in one answer | Only with workarounds Rules tend to fire as the order is saved or a step is completed, so a person often fixes one error and 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 quote; approval findings need a person to sign off; everything else is computed.
| 1 | This combination is not one of the standard system configurations in the catalog; it would be a custom configuration in which the power supply, torch, work cable and cartridge are selected separately, so a person should confirm it. |
| 2 | The catalog lists Powermax45 SYNC power supplies as CSA (200-240 V single-phase or 480 V three-phase) and CE/CCC (230 V single-phase or 400 V three-phase); this region and input voltage combination is not offered. |
| 3 | The quote states part number 088561; the catalog lists part number 088560 for this configuration. |
| 4 | The quote states part number 088562; the catalog lists part number 088560 for this configuration. |
| 5 | The quote states part number 088580; the catalog lists no part number for this combination of power supply and torch. |
| 6 | The generator is rated 12 kVA; the catalog gives 12.5 kVA (10 kW) for full 45 A output; a person should confirm the output that can be expected. |
| 7 | The gas supply is 399 scfh; the catalog recommends a gas inlet flow of 400 scfh (6.7 scfm) at 90 psi; a person should confirm. |
| 8 | The generator is rated 8 kVA; the catalog gives 12.5 kVA (10 kW) for full 45 A output; a person should confirm the output that can be expected. |
| 9 | The gas supply is 300 scfh; the catalog recommends a gas inlet flow of 400 scfh (6.7 scfm) at 90 psi; a person should confirm. |
| 10 | The quote states part number 088559; the catalog lists part number 088560 for this configuration. |
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 quote a Powermax45 SYNC for the Americas (CSA), 230 V single-phase, with a power supply with CPC port and voltage divider and a 180-degree full-length machine torch with a 7.6 m (25 ft) lead. The quote states catalog part number 088582. It is ready to send.
Verdict: Blocked.
The agent's request. Please quote a Powermax45 SYNC for the Americas (CSA), 230 V single-phase, with a power supply with CPC port and voltage divider and a 180-degree full-length machine torch with a 7.6 m (25 ft) lead. The quote states catalog part number 088580. It is ready to send.
Verdict: Allowed.
The agent's request. Please quote a Powermax45 SYNC for Europe (CE/CCC), 480 V three-phase, with a standard power supply and a 75-degree hand torch with a 6.1 m (20 ft) lead. The quote states catalog part number 088565. It is ready to send.
Verdict: Blocked.
The agent's request. Please quote a Powermax45 SYNC for Europe (CE/CCC), 400 V three-phase, with a standard power supply and a 75-degree hand torch with a 6.1 m (20 ft) lead. The quote states catalog part number 088565. It is ready to send.
Verdict: Allowed.
The agent's request. Please quote a Powermax45 SYNC for the Americas (CSA), 230 V single-phase, with a power supply with CPC port and voltage divider and a 180-degree machine torch with a 7.6 m (25 ft) lead and a 75-degree hand torch with a 6.1 m (20 ft) lead, with remote pendant. The customer will run it from a 8 kVA generator. Their gas supply delivers 300 scfh. The quote states catalog part number 088582. It is ready to send.
Verdict: Blocked.
The agent's request. Please quote a Powermax45 SYNC for the Americas (CSA), 230 V single-phase, with a power supply with CPC port and voltage divider and a 180-degree machine torch with a 7.6 m (25 ft) lead and a 75-degree hand torch with a 6.1 m (20 ft) lead, with remote pendant. The customer will run it from a 8 kVA generator. Their gas supply delivers 300 scfh. The quote states catalog part number 088583. It is ready to send.
Verdict: Needs approval.
The agent's request. Please quote a Powermax45 SYNC for the Americas (CSA), 230 V single-phase, with a power supply with CPC port and voltage divider and a 180-degree machine torch with a 7.6 m (25 ft) lead and a 75-degree hand torch with a 6.1 m (20 ft) lead, with remote pendant. The customer will run it from a 15 kVA generator. Their gas supply delivers 450 scfh. The quote states catalog part number 088583. It is ready to send.
Verdict: Allowed.
The text of the narrated walkthrough, step by step.