When a producer considers implementing automation of their operations, one of many first questions that usually arises is: What’s the price of a cobot? At first look, this looks like a simple inquiry, however the reply is much from easy. Including a cobot to your manufacturing line isn’t simply an expense—it’s a strategic funding in effectivity, consistency, and long-term financial savings.
The worth varies based mostly on the mannequin and options, however with the appropriate grippers, software program, and setup, a cobot can rework your operations. Understanding the total value image helps you make an knowledgeable determination and unlocks the true worth of automation. Let’s break it down so you’ll be able to see how rapidly a cobot pays for itself.
As with many merchandise, the price of cobots varies extensively. This variability may be in comparison with one thing corresponding to the value of a automotive. Simply as a primary financial system automotive may be bought for just a few thousand {dollars}, whereas high-end luxurious fashions can value tens of hundreds, cobots additionally are available in varied value factors.
Usually talking, the price of a cobot arm can vary from as little as $15,000 for an entry-level Chinese language-made mannequin to upwards of $60,000 for top-of-the-line, high-quality fashions that boast superior reliability and superior options.
Nevertheless, a cobot arm by itself doesn’t do a lot. Simply as a automotive wants gas, upkeep, and a driver to function, a cobot wants further parts to perform in an industrial setting. This results in an important second consideration: the price of your entire cobot system, not simply the arm itself.
Cobot System Prices: What’s Included?
While you’re budgeting for automation, it’s vital to acknowledge that the cobot arm is just one a part of the equation. To really get worth from the cobot, you’ll want further parts, together with:
- Finish-Effector: That is the a part of the system that interacts with the product, corresponding to a gripper or suction cup, and its value varies relying on the precise activity.
- Integration & Setup: Relying in your manufacturing line, you could want to change current methods (conveyors, air methods, electrical infrastructure) to accommodate the cobot.
- Software program & Programming: A cobot would possibly require customized programming to perform in your particular surroundings, or, in some instances, you could want a specialised interface to assist the cobot work together together with your current methods.
In the event you’re choosing a turnkey system the place all the things is pre-packaged and able to go, the price of a cobot system may be fairly affordable.
Nevertheless, in case your utility requires a extra custom-made resolution, the fee can escalate rapidly. In these instances, the price of engineering experience and the time required to create a tailor-made system can drive the whole value a lot larger.
Customized Options Concerns
One of many greatest components that may improve the price of a cobot system is customized engineering. When you’ve got a fancy activity that requires particular tooling or specialised modifications to your manufacturing line, you’ll have to put money into engineers to design and implement the answer.
Engineering expertise, significantly these skilled with automation methods, is in excessive demand and might come at a premium. Customized options additionally are inclined to have longer lead occasions, which means you’ll have to plan forward for the potential delays in getting your system up and operating. Moreover, customized methods would possibly face reliability challenges since they usually incorporate distinctive parts that haven’t been mass-produced or totally examined over time.
That being stated, a customized resolution could also be vital for sure duties, and in these instances, the elevated funding might yield beneficial enhancements in effectivity and productiveness.
Nevertheless, in case your activity is comparatively easy, there are a lot of off-the-shelf methods that may do the job successfully, retaining prices down.
What’s the Actual Value of Automation?
When contemplating the price of a cobot system, it’s important to concentrate on the whole value of automation, which incorporates each the preliminary funding and ongoing operational bills. That is the place the idea of Return on Funding (ROI) comes into play. ROI is the important thing metric that producers want to contemplate to evaluate whether or not the automation challenge is definitely worth the funding.
To calculate ROI, you might want to doc the present value of working your manufacturing line or the precise activity you propose to automate. This consists of the labor prices related to operating the road, such because the variety of staff wanted, their hourly wages, and every other prices associated to the operation. You also needs to issue within the annual output of the road, each when it comes to income and gross revenue. It will present a baseline for evaluating the prices earlier than and after automation.
After you have the baseline, you’ll be able to calculate the price of automation. This consists of the price of the cobot system itself, in addition to any collateral bills corresponding to line modifications, downtime, and extra infrastructure prices. You need to use our Lean Robotics ROI calculator as a device to estimate the ROI of a cobot in your manufacturing unit flooring.
The Payback Interval
Usually, firms take a look at the payback interval over a five-year horizon. The payback interval is the time it’s going to take for the financial savings generated by the cobot system to equal the preliminary funding.
For instance, some producers have seen excessive ROI instances, corresponding to a vaccine producer who recovered a $200,000 funding in simply two months. Whereas that is an distinctive case, it illustrates the potential for fast returns when the system allows vital will increase in manufacturing output or when gross margins are excessive.
The Value of Inaction
Whereas calculating ROI is vital, producers additionally want to contemplate the price of inaction. In the event you resolve to not put money into cobot automation, you could proceed dealing with growing labor prices, rising manufacturing prices, and potential challenges with assembly buyer demand. The price of not automating can eat into your margins over time as labor turns into costlier, and also you’re much less productive than your opponents who’ve adopted automation.
In lots of industries, the stress to scale back prices and improve output is barely rising. As labor shortages and financial challenges persist, the choice to automate turns into extra pressing. By investing in cobots now, you’re securing your future competitiveness in an more and more automated world.
The Hidden Advantages of Cobot Automation
Past the apparent monetary advantages, cobots additionally provide intangible benefits that may have a major affect on your small business. These embrace:
- Lowered Ergonomic Dangers: Cobot methods can tackle repetitive, bodily demanding duties, lowering the danger of damage on your staff and enhancing office security.
- Worker Morale & Retention: By automating repetitive duties, you enable your staff to concentrate on higher-value work, which might enhance job satisfaction and morale.
- Flexibility and Scalability: Cobot methods are extremely versatile and might simply be reprogrammed for brand new duties or scaled to satisfy elevated demand. This makes them ideally suited for companies that have to adapt rapidly to altering market situations.
- Enhanced Buyer Notion: Many companies discover that clients respect seeing automation in motion, which alerts innovation and a forward-thinking strategy.
Able to put money into a cobot?
Talking with an skilled can present beneficial insights to make sure you make the appropriate selections on your automation wants. Our consultants might help you assess your targets, perceive the technical capabilities of cobots, and information you thru the method of choosing and integrating the most effective resolution on your operations.
