Automation plays an important role when dealing with changes caused by globalization. The introduction of industrial robots is widely seen as an effective strategy against rising competition and outsourcing to low-cost countries. With the launch of amongst other the “Industrie 4.0” initiative, automation has been put into focus more than ever before and it is seen as the future way of production. Although the investment decisions for industrial robots are quite complex, the final purchasing decision is often only based on the initial offering. Procurement decisions based only the initial price are often poor decisions since they do not consider the hidden costs such as maintenance costs or energy consumption. A far better alternative is to calculate the total cost of ownership (TCO) of industrial robots and use this as the fundament in the decision making process. The TCO incorporates all costs from acquisition to the disposal of the industrial robot cell.   The study develops, based on a TCO and total value of ownership (TVO) model for industrial robots, an operational template, which can be used in the sales process. By applying the case study research methodology, the model is developed based on a literature review as well as on expert knowledge from employees of Yaskawa Nordic AB (YNR). Qualitative and quantitate data is gathered at two customer companies and the most crucial factors are identified in order to create a simple, operational template. As most important factors, operators’ wages, spare parts and energy consumptions have been identified. However, while the development of a general model is accomplished in a satisfying way, the realization of the template is hindered due to too few available data. The study shows that many companies cannot control the costs, which are created by their automation equipment. This leads to the conclusion that with further implementation of tools for “Industrie 4.0” the model and template can be revised allowing far more precise TCO/TVO calculations.

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För att industrier ska hålla sig tekniskt uppdaterade krävs det att studenter, som så småningom blir personal, får utbildning som strävar efter modernisering. En viktig del inom modernisering i dag är automatisering via exempelvis automatiserad additiv tillverkning och off-line-programmering (OLP) som båda besitter stor potential, inte minst inom tillverkningsindustrin. Dessvärre så förekommer det brist på dokumentation om hur denna process går till steg för steg till färdig produkt, därför ämnar sig denna studie till att försöka täcka denna kunskapslucka genom att tillhandahålla en nybörjarvänlig dokumentation om processerna. Dokumentationen ska kunna bidra som referensverktyg i utbildningssyfte, där användaren kan genom nybörjarvänliga guider följa processen steg-för-steg från CAD-modell i SolidWorks till skapandet av robotbanor via 3D-printerprogrammet Slic3r och genom simuleringsprogrammen RoboDK och MotoSim utföra OLP som leder till simulering av additiv tillverkning. Tillvägagångssättet som tagits fram i denna studie valideras även genom automatiserad additiv tillverkning i verklig robotcell. Olika problem och idéer kring framtida forskning tas även upp i denna studie för att kunna utveckla och optimera processen. / In order for industries to stay technically up-to-date, it is necessary that students, who eventually become staff, receive education that strives for modernization. An important part of modernization today is automation via, for example, automated additive manufacturing and off-line programming (OLP), both of which have great potential, not least in the manufacturing industry. Unfortunately, there is a lack of documentation on how this process goes step by step to the finished product, so this study aims to try to cover this knowledge gap by providing a beginner-friendly documentation on the processes. The documentation should be able to contribute as a reference tool for educational purposes, where the user can through beginner-friendly guides follow the process step-by-step from CAD model in SolidWorks to the creation of robot paths via the 3D printer program Slic3r and through the simulation programs RoboDK and MotoSim perform OLP leading to simulation of additive manufacturing. The approach developed in this study is also validated through automated additive manufacturing in real robot cells. Various problems and ideas about future research are also addressed in this study in order to be able to develop and optimize the process.