Cobots: The Fast Track to ROI with a 195-Day Payback?

Uncover the true payback time of a collaborative robot with your own eyes. While many websites claim an average of 195 days, courtesy of manufacturer Universal Robots, we believe in digging deeper for the facts. Join us as we crunch the numbers and uncover the real ROI of a cobot.

Ready to invest in a collaborative robot? Make every penny count with our ROI comparison. We'll show you how your investment stacks up against yearly cost savings, so you can make an informed decision with confidence.

Ready for cost savings with your first cobot implementation? Take on the challenge with ease. Consider all elements in the equation and challenge your supplier on performance-related factors. Make a confident estimate with our expert guidance.

Potential yearly savings = FTE [Unit] * Shifts [Unit] * Salary [€/year] + Downtime [€/year] + Scrap [€/year] + Recruitment and training [€/year] + Social cost [€/year]

- FTE = Full-Time Equivalent = workload of operators to potentially save (f.e. FTE = 0.5 if 50% of the time of an operator comes free for other tasks)

- Shifts = Amount of shifts per day

- Salary = Yearly operator salary

- Downtime = Potential savings related to downtime

- Scrap = Potential savings related to scrap parts

- Recruitment and training = Potential savings related to recruitment and training of operators

- Social cost = Potential savings related to social, health, medical, and insurance expenses regarding safety and ergonomics

Apart from the savings related to a cobot taking over some repetitive human tasks, one could also argue that the cobot could have higher productivity than the operator as it can operate 24/7. In some situations, higher productivity could mean increased earning. We will not go deeper into this topic.

Unleash the Full Potential of Cobots with a Smart Investment. Consider the Three Key Factors: Purchase, Implementation, and Maintenance Costs. Higher Price Tag Doesn't Mean Higher Cost (higher maintenance or easier to program) - Evaluate the Total Investment and Reap the Benefits of Ease of Use and Low Maintenance.

Investment = Cobot [€/year] + Gripper [€/year] + Fixture [€/year] + Implementation [€/year] + Maintenance [€/year]

- Cobot = price of cobot

- Gripper = price of gripper

- Fixture = price of a mold to present parts to the cobot

- Maintenance = maintenance cost

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Investment = Robot [€] + Gripper [€] + Fixture [€] + Implementation [€] + Maintenance [€] + Fencing [€] + Custom automation [€]

Fencing = price of fencing (in general not needed for cobots as safety is a built-in feature)

Custom automation = cost of custom automation like an automatic door, force-torque sensor, etc. (in general not needed for cobots as sensing is a built-in feature)

The third advantage of cobots is that the implementation cost is lower than that of an industrial robot. In a lot of cases, a collaborative robot is programmable by demonstration. The cobot arm is then manually moved in the different positions to learn instead of code writing.

For these reasons, collaborative robots have a better payback time than industrial robots. Of course, there might be other reasons to choose an industrial robot over a collaborative robot. Industrial robots handle higher payloads and can operate at higher speeds.

The payback time is the time needed to gain back the money spent on the project. It is the result of the investment divided by the cost savings and income increase. After this period you will make a profit.

Payback time = Investment [€] / (Yearly cost savings [€/year] + Yearly income increase [€/year])

Streamline Your ROI with Qviro - The Ultimate Cobot Resource! Our Mission: To Minimize Your Time and Effort with Accurate Payback Calculations. Get Price Transparency and Expert Opinion on All Things Cobot - Ask Us Anything!

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Updated 02.02.23