Since I'm good at "kicking the hornets nest", I would honestly suggest FANUC's for your application. If you contact FANUC and let them know what you're doing, I would place a pretty large wager that they would give you a good discount on the simulation software, as well as robots and other accessories you need. This is because typically the first robot system that people program tends to be what they lean towards. (Hence, why I pretty strongly prefer FANUC over all others even though I've used KUKA, ABB, Comau, Wittmann, Ranger, Yaskawa, MotoMan, and Universal).
The problem you may have is voltage. FANUC LR-Mate robots can be run on 230V AC single-phase (two 110V circuits stacked together), but most decent industrial robots will require 400V+ to operate efficiently.
The other reason I would suggest FANUC is because programming them is relatively simple. Using the Teach Pendant, there are only so many options for basic programming. Joint move to this position. Linear move to this position. Turn on this Digital Output.
Just my opinion.