Thanks for the feedback.
To clarify, we will be buying new. It also seems like once we buy a piece of equipment we will have a bigger/faster requirement a year down the road, so this is what we tend toward buying more than we actually need.
I anticipate most programming will be done offline, then just tweaked into position at the robot. We like simulations here and it will certainly be useful for EOAT designs and verification. There will not be any "exotic" motion required. Essentially pick and place.
It sounds like Fanuc robots are similar to Fanuc CNC controls in that everything is an option and everything is expensive
I'm not sure yet if I will handle some of the I/O and decision making at the robot or if I should just do it all in the PLC. In the end it will probably be a bit of both. I assume things will generally be quicker if I let the robot handle the code?
Support is good, but not usually critical. Waiting a few days/weeks generally isn't a problem. We are located near Toronto, Canada.
Cheers