What does a custom robot cost? Discover how customization optimizes your production

Why is it so difficult to determine the price of a custom robot? 

Every production environment is unique. That’s why it’s hard to apply a standard price to custom robots. Compare it to building a house. Do you want a standard townhouse or a luxury villa? The choice depends on your needs, preferences, and budget. The same goes for robots: the more complex the task, the more specific features and additional equipment you need, which increases the price. 

A standard cobot solution can cost around €80,000, including programming and installation. But when you need specific features, multiple formats, or advanced equipment, the cost can run into several hundred thousand euros. On the other hand, a simple custom solution can be available from €25,000. 

At Promation, we work with you to determine exactly what you need. This ensures that you don’t pay for unnecessary features that don’t improve your production process. 

Standard vs. custom: What’s right for your business? 

There are two main options when choosing a robot: 

Standard robots 

Standard robots are ready-made solutions suitable for common tasks. They are quickly available and relatively inexpensive because the engineering work has already been done. For example, consider a palletizer that can stack boxes on a pallet without any modifications. 

Advantages of standard robots: 

• Lower initial costs 
• Fast implementation 
• Suitable for general tasks 

Disadvantages of standard robots: 

• Possible unnecessary features 
• Not always optimized for your specific situation 

Custom robots 

With custom robots, you determine exactly what you need. This ranges from a specific gripper for delicate products to a fully automated system with multiple robots working together. One example is our Cofeeder, designed to continuously feed materials to machines. This system perfectly meets the unique needs of our customers. 

Advantages of custom robots: 

• Precisely tailored to your production process 
• No unnecessary features 
• Maximum flexibility 
• Adapted to the environment 

Disadvantages of custom robots: 

• Higher initial investment 
• Slightly longer lead time due to engineering 

At Promation, we ensure that your custom solution does exactly what you need, no more, no less. 

How is the price of a custom robot determined? 

The final price of a custom robot depends on several factors: 

• Complexity of the task 

The more challenging the task, the more advanced the robot needs to be. A simple palletizing task, for example, requires less engineering than a robot that must sort delicate products. 

Example: Suppose you have a food production facility and want to pack cookies into boxes. You need a robot with precision — for example, a DELTA robot for speed or a cobot to collaborate with humans. The complexity of the gripper and the speed of the machine affect the cost. 

• Additional equipment 

Sometimes a robot requires extra systems, such as conveyors, vision systems, or sensors. These components contribute to the total cost but also increase functionality and efficiency. 

• Number of formats and flexibility 

If you want to process multiple products with a single robot, the solution needs to be more flexible. This might mean you need multiple grippers or that the software becomes more complex. 

• Installation and integration 

Installing and integrating a robot into your production environment requires expertise. Think about linking the robot to existing machines or setting up vision systems for quality control. At Promation, we ensure a seamless integration so your production can start right away. 

Customization doesn’t have to be expensive 

A common misconception is that customization is always more expensive than standard solutions. In reality, customization can save money because you only pay for what you need. 

With a standard machine, you risk paying for features you don’t use. Moreover, a well-designed custom solution can make your production more efficient, quickly recovering the costs. 

For example, one of our customers had a specific challenge: stacking boxes in a limited space. With a standard solution, they would have needed extra floor space. By designing a custom Costacker, we not only saved space for this customer but also increased their productivity. 

Why choose Promation? 

At Promation, we combine expertise in industrial automation, cobots, and vision systems to optimize your production process. We mainly work with Siemens PLCs, which gives us the flexibility and reliability to offer the best custom solutions. 

We also provide tools like our ROI configurator on our website. This allows you to directly see which robot fits your business, how much it costs, and how quickly your investment will pay off.