Industrial Robot Price vs "Cobot" Price

    I've seen a few comments on LinkedIn recently, about an industrial robot being faster and cheaper then a Universal Robot, so why would we use a UR for this application...?

    Last time I checked any prices of industrial robots, UR's were vastly cheaper. Of course, they're not all like for like and I know there's a lot more industrial robots on the market that have lower payloads and reaches that the traditional old industrial robots that I've seen in the past.

    As no one ever states the prices of the robots, and without having to go through the whole sales process with each brand, which I don't really have the time for (just want the price of X robot, quickly!) then I'm not sure on what prices are like these days for industrial robots.

    So, does anyone have an idea, of costs of equivalent industrial robots to a UR10e (10kg payload, 1300mm reach) in the UK?

    Put it this way, does any of the major brands (Kuka, ABB, Yaskawa, Fanuc, etc) do a robot with that payload and reach for less than £30k?

    If so, I think it's time we looked into more IR over collaborative robots! We are not doing collaborative applications much anyway.

    I don't think I've ever seen a "classic" robot of similar payload/reach to a UR that had a price lower than a UR. However, part of the reason is that URs simply are not made as tough -- for the same work and duty cycle, I would expect a UR to wear out much sooner. URs also don't have the software sophistication -- for example, based on previous experience, I would be very hesitant to use a UR for paint/adhesive applications that required tight coupling between I/O signals and motions. And the UR-style programming environment often feels like handcuffs when I need to program something outside of UR's pre-defined modules.

    That said, software is a moving target, so UR is probably improving these things constantly.

    URs are also inherently collaborative from the ground up, and so can't move as fast as "classic" robots, even if you disable "collaborative" mode. So URs are not suitable for fast operations, even if you fence them off. Something like a Fanuc LR Mate is going to be much faster.

    TLDR: it really depends on what you need a robot for. URs are cheaper generally, but are only suitable for certain use cases.

    i have seen only few dozens of UR... usually at places where they are used only lightly - tradeshows, labs, schools... practically every single one that i saw in the manufacturing facility was in some corner collecting dust. it look to me that many have tried them but ultimately end up replacing them with something else...

    1) read pinned topic: READ FIRST...

    2) if you have an issue with robot, post question in the correct forum section... do NOT contact me directly

    3) read 1 and 2

    • New

    Out our facility we currently have 2 UR10's in production. They run 24/7 as a post machining cells presenting to a deburr, brush, multiple cameras, and laser etcher. I haven't noticed much wear and tear on these robots since it's relatively simple operation for the robot. UR makes people weary because of the price point, but proper maintenance and programming goes a long way with these cheaper robots.


    Note: One cell has been in production for 4 years and the other 2 years.

    Edit: They also don't have quite as tight of tolerance as other manufacturers; which can be problamatic for adhesion and paint processes.

    • New

    To follow the headline "Industrial Robot Price vs "Cobot Price"

    Concerning Price:
    Some companies are checking the LCC (Live Cycle Cost) and not the initial payed price.

    Apart from spending money to buy the robot you also have to take into account:
    - costs for training
    - costs for spare parts (and delivering time)
    - costs for none production on your side (waiting for service or spare parts) and panelty
    - resell price of the robot

    cheap is not always better

    • New
    Quote from MOM

    Concerning Price:
    Some companies are checking the LCC (Live Cycle Cost) and not the initial payed price.

    And some robot brands take advantage of customers that don't. I won't name names, but I've seen them sell large batch orders of robots to customers at loss or near-loss pricing, then make it all back (and more) on very expensive parts&service.

    This is exacerbated by some large-scale customers who have different departments that have to pay the "up-front" cost vs the LCC. And the purchasing department is often all too happy to make their budget numbers look good by throwing the department that has to pay the parts&service cost under the bus....

    • New

    I would imagine the people on linkedin are referring to scara style robots or 6DOF which generally run under $20k. UR runs twice as much. I like cobots but I feel they need to be smaller, lighter and cheaper to be useful in electronics manufacturing. SCARA robots make more sense as they are more accurate and reliable. I am looking forward to cobots replacing coffee, food industry applications if they reduce cost. I feel AI is the magic missing from cobots to complete various tasks/multipurpose robots.

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