INDEPENDENT MACHINE RESEARCHObserved prices are market evidence, not completed-sale proof or an appraisal.
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Independent machine intelligence · Research before the decision
THE MACHINEBLUE BOOKResearch · Market · Ownership

Evidence standard

Every figure says how well it is known.

MBB publishes specifications, asking prices and references from named sources. The badges on records, comparisons and the decision workspace say what kind of knowledge each figure is, so uncertainty is visible without reading a methodology page first. This is that page.

  • 4 knowledge states
  • 5 requirement results
  • 5 data states
  • Source and date on every record
01

Knowledge states

Observed, Reported, Inferred, Unknown.

One of the four sits on every value MBB shows. They describe how MBB knows a figure, not how good the machine is.

Observed
Observed. MBB read the value on the cited page and kept the passage it came from. Open the value and the verbatim text is there, with the page it was read from and the date it was read. This is the strongest state a published figure can have; it is still a publication, not a measurement.
Reported
Reported. A manufacturer, distributor, listing or another named source published the value and MBB links to it, but the exact passage was not captured, or the page was captured earlier and not re-read. Most specification fields are Reported.
Inferred
Inferred. MBB calculated the value from a published one: a unit conversion, a median of asking prices, a count. Every Inferred figure is marked ≈ or says how it was derived. It can be no more precise than the figure it came from.
Unknown
Unknown. Nothing captured. Unknown is not zero, not “no”, and not a failure. A machine with an Unknown tool capacity is not a machine without a tool changer; it is a question for the seller.
02

Requirement results

Meets, below, needs evidence, not specified, invalid.

The decision workspace compares a published figure with the requirement you enter. Three outcomes are possible, and “needs evidence” is as honest an answer as the other two.

Meets
The published figure meets or exceeds the requirement you entered.
Below
The published figure is below the requirement you entered. The machine may still do the work another way; the record does not.
Needs evidence
The record cannot answer: the value is missing, depends on the configuration, or two sources disagree. Unknown is not incompatible.
Not specified
You have not entered a requirement for this field. Nothing is assumed.
Invalid
The requirement is not a finite, non-negative number.
03

Data states

When a value cannot simply be a number.

A record may carry one of these on a field or on the whole record. They are never auto-resolved.

Conflict
Two sources disagree, or one source prints two figures that cannot both be right. Both values are shown, the conversion is suppressed, and nothing is checked against either until a person resolves it.
Configuration-dependent
The value depends on an option, variant or duty definition: a spindle offered at three speeds, a bed sold in two lengths, a motor rated continuous and 30-minute. The largest number is never taken as the capability of every unit.
Historical publication
Read from a dated publication rather than a current product page: a 2017 brochure, an exhibition hand-out, a lineup table. The current model may differ.
Not captured
No value on record for this field. Not a finding that the machine lacks it.
Not applicable
The field does not apply to this machine type or process, so the row says so instead of showing a blank.
04

How MBB reads a source

Seven rules, applied to every record.

  1. The source is named on every record

    A record without a source URL and a review date does not ship. The evidence line under each card or column reads “Source: host · Reviewed date · n captured fields”, and the date is the day MBB read the page, not the day the manufacturer published it.

  2. Published units stay as published

    When a manufacturer prints both 30.00 in and 762 mm, MBB shows both as printed and never recalculates either. When only one unit is published, the other is calculated, rounded to six significant figures and marked ≈.

  3. Prose is not converted

    “8,000 / 12,000 rpm optional” or “5.5 kW continuous / 7.5 kW 30-minute” stays in source units. Converting half of a sentence would create a figure nobody published.

  4. Asking prices are asking prices

    The Blue Book explorer shows what sellers asked, by year, with the count of records. It is not a completed sale, an appraisal or a valuation of your machine. The method is on every value page.

  5. Conflicts are kept, not resolved

    When the news release and the product page disagree, the record keeps both and says which one it filed. A reader can see the disagreement; a script never picks the winner.

  6. Variants are separate records

    A tool-changer variant, a longer bed or a different control generation is its own record with its own source, not a line in a note. Counts therefore include named variants and are not a count of platforms.

  7. Nothing is sent, nothing is inferred about you

    Comparison, workspace and My research run in your browser. Links carry your shortlist and display settings, never free text. Requests to MBB are emails you send yourself.

Example evidence line: Source: haascnc.com · Reviewed · 10 captured fields

MBB is an independent reference. Nothing on the site is a quotation, an appraisal, an engineering approval or a compatibility claim; the people who sell, move, power, install and service the machine decide the specifics. Methodology · Editorial standards · Data sources