A Cheaper Dresspack Is Not Necessarily a Saving: A TCO Checklist

Summary: Put purchase price, installation, maintenance, spares, downtime and replacement interval on one sheet instead of deciding from a single quotation.

1. Purchase price is only the first line

Two dresspack quotations that differ by 20% do not tell you which one costs less overall. Installation difficulty, maintenance frequency, spare-part prices and downtime losses redistribute the cost over the following years.

2. Six TCO lines: spread the cost out

Record at least six items: purchase price, installation and commissioning, routine maintenance, spare parts, unplanned downtime and replacement interval. Each one needs a unit and a definition — a vague “30% lower” is not a substitute.

3. How to collect project data

Purchase price comes from the contract, installation from time records, maintenance from inspection logs, downtime from production statistics, and replacement interval from actual use or trial-fit tracking. Without project data, build a calculation framework only — never a performance guarantee.

4. Testing and trial fitting belong in the cost

A specimen test or a single-station trial fit adds upfront cost, but it reduces the risk of discovering a fit problem only after volume supply. In our own testing, no abnormality was found after 5 million flexing cycles, while the torsion specimen showed whitening at the mid-section, with no fracture recorded. A report is valid for the submitted specimen only; it does not replace verification of the complete dresspack on the project.

5. Do not use unaudited saving percentages

The same percentage cannot be applied across different robots, working conditions and order quantities. Write down the cost assumptions, data sources and validity period for each project so the decision stays traceable.

6. Conclusion

TCO is not about proving that domestic or imported is cheaper. It helps buyers see where the money goes, when it is spent, and who carries the risk.

Next step

Need a cost model? Send us the robot model, quantity, working conditions and maintenance targets and we will build a TCO framework across the six lines.