Budgeting a Robotics Project: Five Cost Lines People Forget
The visible cost is rarely half the project
A quoted robot price covers the arm and its controller. A working cell also needs integration engineering, safety hardware, site preparation, training and a running cost budget. Projects that skip the last three lines usually return for emergency funding in the first quarter.
| Cost line | Typical share of project | What drives it |
|---|---|---|
| Robot and controller | 25-40% | Payload, reach, brand, duty cycle |
| Integration and tooling | 25-35% | Number of interfaces, gripper complexity |
| Safety and guarding | 10-20% | Risk assessment outcome, fence vs. scanner |
| Infrastructure | 5-15% | Power, air, floor, network |
| Training and support | 5-10% | Shifts to cover, skill level of staff |
Running cost is part of the case
Add annual maintenance, spare parts, software subscriptions, energy, and the time your own engineers spend on the cell. A payback calculation that stops at the capital cost will look better than reality; a payback that includes running cost survives the first audit.
Contingency
Hold 10-15% for the discovery that always appears during commissioning — a cable route, an extra sensor, a fixture redesign. It is not pessimism, it is the price of finding out what the drawings did not show.