Buying 2ndhand Fanucs used to be a problem -- Fanuc wouldn't even sell you spare parts unless you paid them to 're-license' the operating system. Ditto tech support. I don't know if that's still a thing.
I personally like KUKAs, but some people think they're not good for "beginners".
In the USA, you might find some Kawasakis from Big Three plants that aren't too beat up, although they'll almost all be 480V 3-phase.
ABBs are good all-round machines, IMO. Slightly less complex than KUKAs
Nachis... personally, I hate them, but for very simple applications they're probably usable.
Yasakawa/Motoman, Adept/Omron, Panasonic, I can't really speak to.
We have an entire old thread deep-diving the topic of buying used robots -- you should look into it, because there are a lot of pitfalls buying used robots unless you know what to look out for.
Adept/Omron is the biggest pile of xxxx i´ve ever seen.
Manipulator is more or less OK, except the fact that after the robot took a hit in 10% speed and second axis reduction gear was gone (scara robot). Also spare parts are extremely pricy, whole robot was f.e. 1000 euro and 1 gear reduction was around 900 euro as spare part. Thieves.
Slow communication(ethernet ip), newer robots (they announced them 6 months ago) are fine they have ethercat now, no predefined external signals (start, stop, etc) - for education no problem perhaps.
Software is extremely buggy ACE 3.8.x, ACE 4.3.x, and nothing is better.
Adept/Omron is the biggest pile of xxxx i´ve ever seen.
Manipulator is more or less OK, except the fact that after the robot took a hit in 10% speed and second axis reduction gear was gone (scara robot). Also spare parts are extremely pricy, whole robot was f.e. 1000 euro and 1 gear reduction was around 900 euro as spare part. Thieves.
Slow communication(ethernet ip), newer robots (they announced them 6 months ago) are fine they have ethercat now, no predefined external signals (start, stop, etc) - for education no problem perhaps.
Software is extremely buggy ACE 3.8.x, ACE 4.3.x, and nothing is better.
I can back this up. Adept is Garbage. And what Skyefire said about Fanuc is true. Impossible to get any kind of support from them, not to mention just email you back. Also what he said about KUKAs is true. Im using them now, but its a steep learning curve to get up to speed with them.
If you want a simple, quick set up, easy to use robot, I'd looks for Yaskawa(Motoman) or ABB. ABB is probably easier to figure out on your own if you have little experience.
In the US, Fanuc Motoman Kuka and ABB are the ones I see the most. Kuka is hitting the market hard right now. You can buy a new Kuka cheaper or equal to a used fanuc in most cases. IMO fanuc are thieves and cons. Terrible customer service and I hope they collapse. The only reason people use them is because that’s the biggest competitor in the market and they abuse the hell out of it. They’ve got a big head on themselves and the milk people for every dime they can. I would avoid them if my work didn’t use them.. ABB i don’t know much about. Motoman is my favorite but they’re starting to act like fanuc.. I will say their customer service department is fantastic and everyone in our shop knows it, we hate dealing with Fanuc. I hear about Kawasaki nachi Hyundai otc Dyhan and omron but I don’t know much about them. Also URs are newer to the market and people seem to like them
I've mainly dealt with FANUC customer support from Hungary or Romania. I can say they've been pretty great, even if sometimes you need to growl a bit to get the info you need.
I am not especially a fan of Motoman, but I will put this out there for you and anyone else that might be interested. I am not sure what is "cheap" for your project either, but here it is:
