In the Polish industrial sector, there are only 78 robots per 10,000 workers. The EU average is significantly higher. This is not just a statistic. It's a chasm. Many Polish companies stick to outdated, unprofitable methods. Why? In entrepreneurs' minds, 5 myths about what industrial robots really are still persist. Myths that block the development of their companies. In this text, we will debunk them all. We'll show you why thinking "not yet" is the most expensive decision you can make today.
Myth 1: "Robotization will take away people's jobs"
Reality: Robotization doesn't take away jobs. It perfects them.
A robot takes away what no one wants to do in a difficult production environment: monotonous, repetitive work. Surely no worker dreams of eight hours of inhaling harmful vapors or performing tasks such as moving heavy objects with precision that exhausts humans after a few minutes.
And here we get to the heart of the fears. What happens to the worker when their task disappears? The answer is simple: they get a better one. This is a key change in thinking. It's not about replacing someone. It's about freeing them. Thanks to this:
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You unleash potential, you don't lay people off. Your qualified welders or machine operators don't end up on the street. They become process supervisors, and their new role is operating machines and entire robotic cells – gaining new, more valuable skills in this way.
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You fill gaps that there's no one to fill. The metal industry, especially the automotive production sector, suffers from a chronic shortage of specialists. In the United States alone, there's a shortage of 375 thousand welders. A robot is not a threat to your worker – it's an answer to the lack of hands for work.
Robotization is an investment in people. You give them better, safer and more creative tasks. So the question is not: "will a robot take away jobs?", but: "what new, much more valuable contribution will this worker make when we finally free them from monotony?"
Myth 2: "Robots are too expensive for my company"
Reality: Standing still is more expensive. Investment in industrial robots is one of the best you can afford.
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A machine earns 24/7. A robot doesn't need breaks or vacations. It works in a three-shift system without additional costs. This translates into real increased work efficiency and radical improvement of overall production efficiency.
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Fast ROI. Fewer errors, zero material waste, perfect repeatability – all this reduces costs, increasing efficiency and shortening the return on investment time to an absolute minimum.
Speaking of investments that pay back fastest, it's worth knowing about technologies with the highest efficiency and precision that directly impact profitability.Read: Why fiber laser is a good investment?
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Financing. You don't have to put up all the cash at once. EU grants, national support programs for SMEs and leasing make the entry threshold lower than ever. Monthly lease payment for a cobot (collaborative robot) can be 50% lower than minimum wage. Does it pay off? Calculate it yourself.
Myth 3: "Automation is only for production giants"
Reality: You start with one element and build the system at your own pace.
The era of gigantic, monolithic production lines has passed. Today, automation is flexible and scalable.
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Start with one workstation. Identify the biggest bottleneck in your production – the slowest, most burdensome stage. Sometimes one industrial robot is enough to automate that one, slowest point and feel an immediate difference. Small locksmith workshops and other production plants install individual welding robots and double their production capacity without expanding the hall.
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Choose a ready-made solution. You don't have to design anything from scratch, because a properly built industrial robot in the form of a ready cell is waiting for implementation. Ready-made, modular robotic cells (e.g. for welding, grinding, machine loading) are available on the market, which you can implement in a few weeks.
And if you're wondering what such a ready workstation looks like in practice, which can be implemented in a few weeks without a revolution in the plant, we have a concrete example for you.Check: Fanuc 5.0 Turnkey welding robot and see how simple automation can be.
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Gain quality advantage. Thanks to robotization, even a small company can achieve precision and repeatability previously reserved for the biggest players. You level the playing field.
Myth 4: "A robot is stupid and inflexible" - learn the key features that debunk this myth
Reality: Today's machines have wide applications and are versatile tools that adapt to your needs in the blink of an eye.
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Reprogramming is a matter of minutes, and their application can be changed instantly. Thanks to intuitive interfaces and software, changing a robot's task is trivially simple. Today it welds metal, tomorrow it glues plastic elements, the day after tomorrow it feeds parts to a CNC machine. Just change the program and the tool on its arm.
Welding is one of the key activities where robotization brings spectacular results, especially when using modern technologies. If you want to see how the precision and efficiency of this process change the rules of the game in industry, check out ourlaser welding guide.
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One robot, many applications. This is not an investment in one product line. It's an investment in the ability to quickly respond to market changes and new orders. You gain agility that cannot be overvalued.
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There are different types of industrial robots, which allows perfect matching of the machine to the task. The most popular are versatile articulated robots that resemble a human arm, but for simpler, repetitive movements, Cartesian, cylindrical or spherical robots are also often used, optimizing costs and process.
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Cobots work arm in arm with humans. They don't need safety cages, which gives enormous flexibility in space arrangement. You can move and configure them according to current needs, even with short production runs. Moreover, mobile robots are also available on the market, which independently transport components between workstations, further increasing the flexibility of the entire process.
If you want to understand exactly how they differ from traditional machines and what possibilities they open for your company, read our article explainingwhat cobots are.
Myth 5: "Robotization implementation is a logistical nightmare and long downtimes"
Reality: Manufacturers and integrators have done everything to make it as simple as operating a smartphone.
The fear of complicated implementation is another relic of the past. Today the entire process is designed to minimize disruptions and maximize startup speed.
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You get a "turnkey" solution. Companies implementing automation (integrators) take on the entire process: from analysis, through design, to installation and training your team. You're not left alone with this.
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Operation is intuitive, and the way new generation industrial robots work is much easier to master. Modern control panels with "teaching" mode allow you to program robot movements without writing a single line of code. If your worker can operate a tablet, they'll handle a robot – they don't need specialized knowledge in robotics for this.
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You implement evolutionarily, not revolutionarily. Installing one robotic cell doesn't stop the entire factory. It's smooth, gradual process improvement that doesn't generate costly downtimes.
Summary
Your biggest competitor is not a company from Poland. It's not even a cheap supplier from Asia. Most often, unfortunately, it's your own way of thinking. Fear of robotization, fueled by myths about costs, layoffs and complicated implementation, is today the biggest barrier to the development of many companies. Meanwhile, modern automation is flexible, scalable and financially accessible, and its goal is to unleash the potential of workers, not replace them.
Debunking myths is the first step. Now take the second one and check how these solutions can work specifically in your company. Stop wondering if it's for you – just check it out. Schedule a free consultation, and we'll show you where the greatest, untapped potential lies dormant in your production.
Bibliography:
1. International Federation of Robotics (IFR). (2024). World Robotics – Press Conference 2024. https://ifr.org/img/worldrobotics/Press_Conference_2024.pdf
2. Fundacja Platforma Przemysłu Przyszłości. (2024, październik). Robotyzacja przemysłu – dane i trendy IFR 2024. https://fairp.pl/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/IFR2024-_robotyzacja-1.pdf