The ROI of a cobot

Does a cobot replace your employees?

First things first: CNC cobots are not meant to replace human workers. They are designed to work alongside employees and repurpose their roles to improve efficiency, production and employee wellbeing. Firing a full-time employee to replace him or her with a cobot is not a viable option.

What does it cost to set up a cobot?

Now that we've got that misconception out of the way, we can start looking at the variables that impact your ROI. Your initial investment includes your cobot and additional accessories, e.g. specific gripper sets or a mounting set.

One of the strengths of Coby CNC, besides its affordable price tag, is its speedy integration. Quick and easy installation, a straight out-of-the-box experience and a rapid learning curve make for a considerable reduction of operational downtime.

The average set-up time of a Coby CNC is about two to three hours. Moreover, thanks to Coby’s compact size, it needs little floor space to operate. Therefore, integration costs will be minimal.

How long until you have earned back your investment?

Your main gains will come from an increase in running time. Once programmed, a cobot needs little assistance and can operate pretty much unsupervised until your batch is finished. More machine hours per day, paired with increased accuracy, account for a significant jump in turnover.

A simple example: at an hourly machining rate of €50 and an increase of 2 additional machining hours per day, for an average of 240 working days per year, your Coby CNC will be earned back in a matter of only 9 months!

Want to learn how fast you’ll earn back your investment? Try out our straightforward ROI calculator!

How does a cobot benefit your employees?

A cobot takes over the dangerous, hard and tedious aspects of CNC work. In other words: it improves the health, wellbeing and safety of your employees. Ergonomic problems due to manual handling, for instance, are common in the manufacturing industry. These can be significantly reduced thanks to the ergonomic design of a cobot. Salary levels, sick leave and insurance all need to be taken into account.

Because workers can move on to higher-value roles within the business, they are generally more content and invested. Additionally, it gives them the opportunity to learn about robot technology and gain new skills that will help them and your company thrive in the future.

The lack of a steep learning curve eliminates the need for specially trained engineers or technicians, which means saving costs on recruitment and training.

Which other costs does a cobot save?

Unlike an industrial robot, cobots do not require additional safety infrastructure such as cages, light curtains or safety scanners.

Maintenance and repair costs are not only lower, but also less frequent, since the mechanics behind a cobot are less complex. The real power of a cobot lies in its software, not its hardware. As a consequence, most cobots have a lifespan of 10+ years.

In other words, the costs of CNC Automation are pretty much limited to the price tag of the cobot itself. The gains, however, are broad and varied, for both the company and its employees.

Want an even more precise picture of your ROI?

Contact our experts with any questions you might have about your investment and/or operation, or request a demo.