Before buying equipment, the key question is: how long until payback? Here is a real-case calculation.
1. Investment Cost (One-Time)
| Item | Amount (CNY) | Note |
|---|
| Machine (S-02) | 48,000 | Medium servo model |
| Spare blades | 2,000 | 2 tungsten blade sets |
| Freight | 1,500 | Domestic logistics |
| Installation | 0 | Free on-site by Surui |
| Training | 0 | Free |
| Total | 51,500 | |
2. Operating Cost (Per Year)
| Item | Annual (CNY) | Note |
|---|
| Electricity | 3,600 | 4kW × 8h × 300d × 0.38/kWh (30% load) |
| Blade consumables | 3,000 | ~1 set per quarter |
| Maintenance | 1,000 | Lubricants, wear parts |
| Labor (0.5 person) | 30,000 | 1 operator for 2 machines |
| Total | 37,600 | |
3. Benefit Comparison (Key)
Option A: Manual Cutting (Current)
| Item | Value |
|---|
| Workers | 2 |
| Monthly wage each | CNY 5,500 |
| Annual labor cost | CNY 132,000 |
| Daily output | ~15,000 pcs (2 workers) |
| Defect rate | 3% (~450 pcs/day) |
Option B: Machine Cutting (S-02)
| Item | Value |
|---|
| Workers | 0.5 (part-time monitoring) |
| Annual cost | CNY 37,600 (all-in) |
| Daily output | ~60,000 pcs (400/min × 8h × 30%) |
| Defect rate | 0.5% |
4. Payback Calculation
Annual Savings
Labor savings = 132,000 − 37,600 = CNY 94,400/year
Output increase = 60,000 / 15,000 = 4×
Defect reduction = 3% → 0.5%, saving ~CNY 8,000/year
Total annual benefit = 94,400 + 8,000 = CNY 102,400/year
Payback Period
Investment / Annual benefit = 51,500 / 102,400 = ~6 months
★ i.e. payback in half a year, then ~CNY 100,000 net per year
5. Three-Year Total
| Item | Manual | Machine | Difference |
|---|
| 3-year total cost | 396,000 | 164,300 | Save 231,700 |
| 3-year output | 13.5M pcs | 54M pcs | +40.5M pcs |
| Quality (defect rate) | 3% | 0.5% | 6× better |
| Management | Hard to hire, high turnover | 1 person / 2 machines | Much easier |
6. Beyond Money
- Hiring is no longer a problem: no reliance on skilled workers; new staff productive in 1 day
- Consistent quality: ±0.03mm regardless of operator condition
- Predictable delivery: confident to take large orders
- Access to high-end orders: precision qualifies you for precision part contracts
- The machine is an asset: 10-year life with residual value
7. Recommendations by Volume
| Daily Need | Model | Investment | Payback |
|---|
| < 30k pcs | M-04 | ~30k | 6-9 months |
| 30k-100k pcs | S-02 | ~50k | 5-7 months |
| 100k-300k pcs | D-01 / D-02 | 70-80k | 6-10 months |
| > 300k pcs / multi-variety | SR12 | ~100k | 8-12 months |
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