7 minutes per motor, ~$5 labor cost: why robotics automation is the only path for Western manufacturing
avlok · x · 2026-10-07
raghav2956 breaks down the labor math of motor manufacturing in the West: mounting a motor on a flight stand takes 7 minutes per unit, roughly $5 at California's $50/hour landed labor cost, before technician time for spinning and evaluating motors. His conclusion: automation is the only way to win, requiring deep cross-functional knowledge — robot distribution constraints, jig design, and where to use VLAs vs deterministic control. The team's next step is running a full line end-to-end with no humans.
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