We model your task with two or three candidate cobots, from China and from Europe, using the manufacturer's published robot model, or an open curated model where that is the better source. You get video and numbers: cycle time, parts per shift, reach and payload check, and a payback estimate.
What is a robot simulation before purchase? We rebuild your station in a physics simulator (MuJoCo), load the official model of each robot you are considering, and run your task: pick, place, palletize, tend a machine. The result is a video you can show and a short report with cycle time, parts per shift, whether every point is in reach and within payload, and what the cell pays back. From €2,900, in one to two weeks, before anyone signs a purchase order.
Most robot purchases are decided from a datasheet and a sales demo. The questions that matter — does it reach the far corner of the pallet, does it keep up with the line, is the cheaper arm good enough — are answered only after the robot arrives. A simulation answers them first, when changing your mind costs nothing.
With narration: why we simulate before buying, the same task on four robots, how we estimate payback, and what you receive at the end.
Reach, payload and joint limits are checked on your layout. If a 5 kg arm cannot reach the last box, you find out before you pay for it.
The same motion on a Chinese and a European arm. On many tasks they do the same job; the difference is price, reach and payload, and you see it on one screen.
Cycle time, parts per shift and payback, with the assumptions written next to them. Useful for an investment decision, a bank or a grant application.
The layout, robot choice and target cycle go to the integrator who builds and certifies the cell, so their quote starts from facts instead of guesses.
Palletizing 3 kg boxes at collaborative speed (up to about 1 m/s, the speed for working next to people). At this speed all four arms finish the cycle in the same time; what differs is the price.
| Robot | Cycle | Parts per 8 h shift | Arm price | Cell cost | Payback |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fairino FR5 | 5.05 s | 5,700 | €6,500 | €31,500 | 7.9 months |
| UFactory xArm 7 | 5.05 s | 5,700 | €10,000 | €35,000 | 8.8 months |
| Dobot CR5 | 5.05 s | 5,700 | €14,000 | €39,000 | 9.8 months |
| Universal Robots UR5e | 5.05 s | 5,700 | €30,000 | €55,000 | 13.8 months |
Example estimate — your numbers will differ. Arm prices are indicative public prices from dealer and manufacturer listings in Europe and the US, on a mixed tax basis; the Dobot figure is an earlier German dealer price for the CR5 (the CR5A lists at about €14,600 net). Cell cost = arm + €25,000 for gripper, guarding and integration (the same for every robot). Payback assumes the cell replaces one operator on each of two shifts at €2,000 a month employer cost, and leaves out service, energy and changeovers. Parts per shift has no stops for pallet changes. In a fenced cell at full speed the faster arms would pull ahead; that is a separate run. Kinematic simulation: motion and timing, not forces.
It is not a safety assessment, it does not replace CE marking of the finished cell, and it does not include your PLC or conveyor logic. Unless you order the physics option, it models motion and timing, not forces on the gripper. We say this in the report, next to the numbers.
When you decide to buy, we can also handle the China side — sourcing, factory acceptance test on your parts, shipping — as part of our Chinese robotics consulting. Starting from a robot you found in our robot registry works too.
One task, two or three candidate robots, video and written result in one to two weeks. Bigger cells, more robots or a physics model of the gripper and load are quoted as a fixed fee before we start. We are paid by you, not by any robot maker.
From €2,900 for one task with two or three candidate robots, delivered in one to two weeks. A larger cell, more robots or a physics model of the gripper and load is quoted as a fixed fee before we start.
Any arm with a published kinematic model (URDF or MJCF). We have run Dobot CR5 and Fairino FR5 from the manufacturers' own robot description files, and UFactory xArm 7 and Universal Robots UR5e from MuJoCo Menagerie, an open model library curated by Google DeepMind.
It is the cycle time of the motion we programmed, at the speed and with the layout we agreed with you. It does not include your conveyor, part presentation or operator interruptions, and it is not a substitute for a test on the real machine. It tells you early whether the task fits in the time you need.
No. The safety assessment and CE declaration of the finished cell are done by the integrator who builds it. The simulation tells you which robot and layout are worth taking to that integrator.
A description of the task, a few photos or a sketch of the station with dimensions, the part (size, weight) and the number of parts per hour you need. If you already have a shortlist of robots, send it.
Tell us the robot and the task. We reply within two business days with what we would simulate, what we need from you, and a fixed price.
Or email info@skyteamlabs.com.