8. Investments and decision factors

8.1 Order of magnitude of the sums involved

As in all industries, there is an inverse relationship between the level of investment required and the amount of working time or, more generally, the "direct costs" that can be obtained. What's more, it's becoming increasingly common to add notions that are difficult to put a figure on, but which are perfectly real, such as safety and flexibility of use, operating comfort, and so on.

The figures below, in 1998 francs, give an idea of the order of magnitude of the sums involved in machine cutting (at least in the current state of the art).

• Value of "tools" :

  • machine flashlight: 3 to 5 kF ;

  • ...