Machine Vision Engineering Services: What to Expect to Pay

Most people looking for machine vision pricing want to know what the components cost. We cover that on our pricing page. But components are only part of the investment. The engineering services around those components, feasibility testing, system design, software development, integration support, and training, are often what determines whether a project succeeds or fails. 

These services are rarely discussed openly. Most suppliers treat engineering services pricing as something you discover during a conversation, not something you can research in advance. We think that is the wrong approach. If you are building a business case or scoping a project budget, you need to know what these services cost before you pick up the phone. 

Here is an honest breakdown of what machine vision engineering services typically cost, what you get at each level, and when you should and should not pay for them. 

Feasibility Studies and Custom Demonstrations 

A feasibility study answers the most important question in any machine vision project: will this actually work? Before you commit to hardware, before you commit to a budget, and before you commit to a timeline, you need to know whether the inspection task is achievable with the available technology. 

Clearview runs feasibility studies in our Insights test labs. You send us your samples. Our applications engineering team sets up cameras, lighting, and optics to evaluate the inspection task under controlled conditions. At the end, you receive a report with recommended hardware and a clear assessment of whether the application is viable. 

An important point about feasibility pricing: if the feasibility study leads to a hardware order, we will typically discount the feasibility cost from the final order. You are not paying twice. The feasibility fee exists to ensure that both sides are committed to the project, and that our applications engineering team can dedicate the time to do the evaluation properly rather than squeezing it between other priorities. 

We charge for feasibility work for a straightforward reason: it produces better outcomes. When both the customer and the supplier have invested in the evaluation, the specification is more thorough, the hardware selection is more accurate, and the project is more likely to succeed. Free feasibility work is often rushed, deprioritised, and incomplete. Paid feasibility work is done properly. 

Custom Software Development 

For applications that go beyond standard inspection tools, Clearview's software engineering team can develop custom machine vision software. This ranges from adding a specific feature to an existing application through to building a complete bespoke inspection system. 

Custom software development is priced on a project basis after scoping the requirements. A typical Phase 1 development project for a custom inspection application starts at approximately £10,000 to £30,000, depending on the complexity of the inspection task, the number of cameras and inspection points, and the integration requirements. More complex projects with multiple cameras, deep learning, and full production line integration can run significantly higher. 

Clearview develops custom solutions primarily using Zebra Aurora (Design Assistant and Aurora Imaging Library) software tools. We also deliver complete turnkey systems where we design and build the hardware, develop the software, and deliver a working system ready for integration into the customer's production line. 

System Design and Integration Support 

ClearviewFormula is our structured four-stage methodology for moving from a vague requirement to a fully specified, tested, and validated machine vision system. It covers discovery (understanding your process and requirements), deep dive (detailed technical analysis), evaluation in the Insights Lab (testing with real samples), and solution presentation (documented recommendation with full hardware and software specification). 

For customers who need hands-on integration support, Clearview's engineering team can assist with on-site installation, PLC integration, I/O configuration, and system commissioning. Integration support is typically charged on a day-rate basis, with most commissioning projects running from one to five days of on-site time depending on complexity. 

We also offer custom PC and OS builds for OEM customers who need standardised, pre-configured industrial computing platforms with their machine vision software pre-installed and tested. This eliminates the setup time at the customer's end and ensures consistency across multiple installations. 

Training 

Clearview's KnowHow training programme covers machine vision fundamentals, Zebra Aurora Design Assistant, Aurora Imaging Library (MIL), and bespoke application-specific training. Courses are delivered at our offices, at the customer's site, or remotely. 

Standard courses typically run for one to two days. The feedback speaks for itself: our training NPS is 65%, with scores consistently between 8 and 10 out of 10 from attendees. More importantly, five out of six customers trained in the last year have gone on to work on new machine vision projects since completing their training. That is the return on investment in practical terms: training builds capability that leads to new projects and better outcomes. 

Our trainers are working applications engineers, not classroom instructors. They do the thing they are training on every day. That means the training is grounded in real-world applications, real production challenges, and real solutions, not textbook theory. 

Bespoke training, tailored to a customer's specific application and equipment, often delivers more value than a standard course. If your team is working on a particular inspection task and needs hands-on guidance with their own hardware and software, a bespoke session will get them productive faster than a generic course. 

Ongoing Support 

Clearview provides free standard support on all products we supply, and our support NPS of 83% reflects the quality of that service. For customers who need guaranteed response times, we offer paid support level agreements (SLAs) with defined response and resolution commitments. 

SLA pricing is segmented by customer type and the level of response guarantee required. For most customers, the free support service is more than adequate. Paid SLAs make sense for production-critical systems where any downtime has a significant financial impact and a guaranteed response time justifies the annual cost. 

Quick reference: services and pricing 

Why pay for engineering services? 

You can buy machine vision components from any number of suppliers and integrate them yourself. For experienced teams with proven internal capability, that is a perfectly valid approach. 

Engineering services make sense when the cost of getting it wrong exceeds the cost of getting it right the first time. A feasibility study that costs £1,250 prevents a £10,000 hardware purchase that would not have worked. A training course that costs a few thousand pounds builds internal capability that reduces support dependency for years. A custom software project that costs £25,000 delivers a system that would have taken an internal team six months to build, if they could build it at all. 

The question is not whether engineering services cost money. They do. The question is whether the alternative, figuring it out yourself through trial and error, costs more. In our experience, it almost always does. 

Request a custom quote 

Every project is different, and the pricing above is indicative. If you have a specific application in mind and want to understand what the engineering services would cost for your project, contact our team for a custom quote. 

Email: info@clearview-imaging.com | Phone: +44 (0)1844 217270 

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