Robots for small businesses

CNN Money has posted an interesting article about how used robots are becoming affordable for small businesses. Industrial robots are prevalent in many factories most notably auto plants. Such robots are expensive, robust, require little maintenance and of course can repeat the same motion over and over again with extreme precision. The benefits of owning such robots vastly outweigh their cost but only for large manufacturers. Second-hand robots cost less and are now becoming well suited for the use by small businesses which can benefit from automation. The article cites the case of Blue Chip manufacturing that purchased two used robots for a fraction of the cost of new ones; the company was able to payoff the two machines in less than a year while saving over $60,000 in manufacturing costs.

Read the full CNN Money article, "Need more workers? Try a robot."