Robotics & Automation worked example

Automation Payback with total automation project investment of 160,000 $: a worked example

Suppose total automation project investment falls to 160,000 $. This page works the full calculation at that level so you can see exactly which result moves and by how much. Estimate years to payback on a robotic workcell from total project cost, annual savings, and annual support cost so the savings story holds up at the capital committee.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Total automation project investment: 160,000 $ (the input this scenario stresses; the baseline uses 320,000)
  • Annual labor and throughput savings: 110,000 $ / yr (held at the documented default)
  • Annual support, spares and ownership cost: 15,000 $ / yr (held at the documented default)

Working through the calculation

  • The calculation starts from the formula this tool documents: Net annual savings = annual automation savings - annual support and ownership cost.
  • Automation payback period works out to 1.68 yr at these inputs, and this is the headline figure for the scenario.
  • Net annual savings works out to 95,000 $ / yr at these inputs.
  • Total project investment works out to 160,000 $ at these inputs.
  • Five-year net value at this payback works out to 315,000 $ at these inputs.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where total automation project investment sits at 320,000 $ and the headline result is 3.37 yr, this scenario comes in 50% below the baseline at 1.68 yr.
  • It divides total project investment by net annual savings (gross savings minus annual support and ownership cost) to return the payback period in years. When the numbers land here, the stressed input is the lever to work; the walkthrough above shows exactly how much each output recovers as it climbs back toward the baseline.

Results at a glance

  • Automation payback period: 1.68 yr (headline result)
  • Net annual savings: 95,000 $ / yr
  • Total project investment: 160,000 $
  • Five-year net value at this payback: 315,000 $

Run it with your numbers

  • To rerun this with your own numbers, open the live Automation Payback calculator, set total automation project investment to your actual value, and adjust the remaining inputs to match your operation.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.