Factories don’t mind if the robot costs $4,000,000 or even $40,000,000 I really don’t think people understand how much an industrial robots from the likes of KUKA cost…
I agree that you can get to some big cost figures if you're talking about a full work cell with multiple robots, conveyors, end effectors, fancy sensors, high-tech safety systems, and staff costs.
But if you're just buying the arm itself? There are quality robot arms, like the €38,928 UR10e [1], that are within reach of SMEs. No multi-million-dollar budget required.
It seems such costs would become prohibitive quite quickly? Stuff with moving parts breaks, and I'd expect ongoing maintenance costs to be proportional to the unit cost. Pair in the fact that most factories run on thin margins but massive volume, and it would seem cost is very much an issue.
But if you're just buying the arm itself? There are quality robot arms, like the €38,928 UR10e [1], that are within reach of SMEs. No multi-million-dollar budget required.
[1] https://shop.wiredworkers.io/en_GB/shop/universal-robots-ur1...