Just to give you one piece of data, we build the same product on both a fully automated line and a manual line. The manual line requires 22 people to run, the automated line requires 8. It doesn't take much time (12-18mo for the kind of product we're building there) to recoup the cost of the robotics.
However, there are some very good reasons for not automating everything. Manual intervention at the process level is extremely important for the NPI process and any time an ECO is being introduced for mass manufacturing. Generally speaking, too, you don't want to have a bunch of expensive capital equipment sitting idle just to handle occasional overflow, either.
However, there are some very good reasons for not automating everything. Manual intervention at the process level is extremely important for the NPI process and any time an ECO is being introduced for mass manufacturing. Generally speaking, too, you don't want to have a bunch of expensive capital equipment sitting idle just to handle occasional overflow, either.