Assessment of the strategic benefits of robotic operations: a case study of a thermal spraying robot

It is pointed out that the economic analysis methods, which are currently available to assess the cost-effectiveness of robotic systems are limited. The authors present a methodology to address this issue. To demonstrate the methodology, a case study involving the use of a thermal spraying robot in a rapid tool manufacturing system is presented. The authors provide a framework of analysis to identify the best economic combination of alternative spraying specifications and thermal spraying robots with different accuracy levels. With slight modifications the methodology can be applied to other areas of manufacturing automation, such as robotic assembly and robotic welding