# Welding Automation Rules

> The Welding Automation Rules carries 3 published figures read from 2 sources' own pages, from 40 to 100 percent, read 28 October 2026.

Welding robot cost · https://weldingrobotcost.co.uk/datasets/welding-automation-rules/ · computed 2026-10-29

**Range of the published figures:** 40 to 100 % (range 40 to 100 %; 3 published figures; 3 of 9 sources read publish one).

3 of the 9 named sources read in full publish a figure; 6 publish none, read 28 October 2026.

## By rule

| Breakdown | Median | Range | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| rule 40% first-year allowance | 40 % | 40 to 40 % | 1 |
| rule annual investment allowance | 1,000,000 GBP | 1,000,000 to 1,000,000 GBP | 1 |
| rule full expensing (main rate plant) | 100 % | 100 to 100 % | 1 |
| rule first-year allowance, special rate plant | 50 % | 50 to 50 % | 1 |
| rule Made Smarter SME turnover limit | 44,000,000 GBP | 44,000,000 to 44,000,000 GBP | 1 |
| rule Made Smarter SME balance sheet limit | 38,000,000 GBP | 38,000,000 to 38,000,000 GBP | 1 |

## Every figure, with its source

One row per source: the figure the source's own page publishes, the page, and the day it was read.

| Source | Figure | Breakdown | Read |
|---|---|---|---|
| [Surrey CC: Made Smarter South East eligibility](https://www.surreycc.gov.uk/business/manufacturing-grants-and-funding) | 44,000,000 GBP | Made Smarter SME turnover limit | 2026-10-28 |
| [Surrey CC: Made Smarter South East eligibility](https://www.surreycc.gov.uk/business/manufacturing-grants-and-funding) | 38,000,000 GBP | Made Smarter SME balance sheet limit | 2026-10-28 |
| [gov.uk: capital allowances overview](https://www.gov.uk/capital-allowances/overview) | 1,000,000 GBP | annual investment allowance | 2026-10-28 |
| [HMRC: full expensing policy paper](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/capital-allowances-full-expensing/capital-allowances-full-expensing-for-companies-investing-in-plant-and-machinery-from-1-april-2023-until-31-march-2026) | 100 % | full expensing (main rate plant) | 2026-10-28 |
| [HMRC: full expensing policy paper](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/capital-allowances-full-expensing/capital-allowances-full-expensing-for-companies-investing-in-plant-and-machinery-from-1-april-2023-until-31-march-2026) | 50 % | first-year allowance, special rate plant | 2026-10-28 |
| [gov.uk: capital allowances overview](https://www.gov.uk/capital-allowances/overview) | 40 % | 40% first-year allowance | 2026-10-28 |

## The sentence each figure was read from (6)

- [Surrey CC: Made Smarter South East eligibility](https://www.surreycc.gov.uk/business/manufacturing-grants-and-funding), read 2026-10-28: "An annual turnover equal to or below £44m"
- [Surrey CC: Made Smarter South East eligibility](https://www.surreycc.gov.uk/business/manufacturing-grants-and-funding), read 2026-10-28: "An annual balance sheet equal to or less than £38m"
- [gov.uk: capital allowances overview](https://www.gov.uk/capital-allowances/overview), read 2026-10-28: "annual investment allowance (AIA) - you can claim up to £1 million on certain plant and machinery"
- [HMRC: full expensing policy paper](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/capital-allowances-full-expensing/capital-allowances-full-expensing-for-companies-investing-in-plant-and-machinery-from-1-april-2023-until-31-march-2026), read 2026-10-28: "a 100% first-year allowance for main rate expenditure – known as full expensing; and"
- [HMRC: full expensing policy paper](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/capital-allowances-full-expensing/capital-allowances-full-expensing-for-companies-investing-in-plant-and-machinery-from-1-april-2023-until-31-march-2026), read 2026-10-28: "a 50% first-year allowance for special rate expenditure."
- [gov.uk: capital allowances overview](https://www.gov.uk/capital-allowances/overview), read 2026-10-28: "40% first-year allowance"

## Read in full, publishes no figure

- [HSE: work equipment and machinery](https://www.hse.gov.uk/work-equipment-machinery/index.htm), read 2026-10-28: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- [HSE: change in enforcement expectations for mild steel welding fume](https://www.hse.gov.uk/safetybulletins/mild-steel-welding-fume.htm), read 2026-10-28: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- [HSE: cobot guidance announcement (June 2026)](https://press.hse.gov.uk/2026/06/10/britains-health-and-safety-regulator-to-create-its-first-ever-joint-industry-guidance-for-collaborative-robotics-in-the-workplace/), read 2026-10-28: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- [Made Smarter](https://www.madesmarter.uk/), read 2026-10-28: every candidate on the page was refused
- [South Yorkshire MCA: Made Smarter](https://business.southyorkshire-ca.gov.uk/made-smarter), read 2026-10-28: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- [Teeptrak: Made Smarter funding guide](https://teeptrak.com/en/made-smarter-funding-guide-uk-manufacturers-2026/), read 2026-10-28: every candidate on the page was refused

## Methodology

Every row is a verbatim sentence read from the named source's own page through our fetch service on the date shown, hash-pinned to the stored read (the sha of the page's visible text; the raw page is mirrored to R2). 3 of the 9 named sources that could be read published a usable figure; 6 published none and are recorded as not published, never filled in; 6 could not be read (blocked, dead or unreachable) and count nowhere. The headline figures (median, minimum, maximum, quartiles) are over ONE figure per source for each breakdown it prices, in % (a source's median where its page yielded several accepted sentences for one breakdown), so a page that gives figures for several breakdowns gives one for each and N counts 3 figures, never sentences; 42 candidate sentence(s) were refused by a reviewer with the reason recorded. The fuller derivation this dataset is chartered to grow into (not yet what the figures above are; they are each source's own published figure as read): one row per rule with its authority and current figure: the annual investment allowance (£1m), full expensing and the 40% first-year allowance for plant and machinery and who can claim each, the Made Smarter adoption grant (up to 50%, capped) and its eligibility by region and size, and the safety duties a welding cell carries (PUWER, the Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008, COSHH and HSE's mild steel welding fume control); the net cost of a robot after relief and grant

## Sources

- [gov.uk: annual investment allowance](https://www.gov.uk/capital-allowances/annual-investment-allowance) (the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- [gov.uk: capital allowances overview](https://www.gov.uk/capital-allowances/overview) (the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- [HMRC: full expensing policy paper](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/capital-allowances-full-expensing/capital-allowances-full-expensing-for-companies-investing-in-plant-and-machinery-from-1-april-2023-until-31-march-2026) (the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- [PUWER 1998](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1998/2306/contents) (the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- [Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2008/1597/contents) (the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- [HSE: PUWER](https://www.hse.gov.uk/work-equipment-machinery/puwer.htm) (the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- [HSE: work equipment and machinery](https://www.hse.gov.uk/work-equipment-machinery/index.htm) (the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- [HSE: welding](https://www.hse.gov.uk/welding/) (the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- [HSE: change in enforcement expectations for mild steel welding fume](https://www.hse.gov.uk/safetybulletins/mild-steel-welding-fume.htm) (the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- [HSE: COSHH](https://www.hse.gov.uk/coshh/) (the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- [HSE: cobot guidance announcement (June 2026)](https://press.hse.gov.uk/2026/06/10/britains-health-and-safety-regulator-to-create-its-first-ever-joint-industry-guidance-for-collaborative-robotics-in-the-workplace/) (the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- [Made Smarter](https://www.madesmarter.uk/) (the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- [Surrey CC: Made Smarter South East eligibility](https://www.surreycc.gov.uk/business/manufacturing-grants-and-funding) (the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- [South Yorkshire MCA: Made Smarter](https://business.southyorkshire-ca.gov.uk/made-smarter) (the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- [Teeptrak: Made Smarter funding guide](https://teeptrak.com/en/made-smarter-funding-guide-uk-manufacturers-2026/) (the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)

## Cite or embed

- The Welding Automation Rules carries 3 published figures read from 2 sources' own pages, from 40 to 100 percent, read 28 October 2026.
- 3 of the 9 named sources read in full publish a figure; 6 publish none, read 28 October 2026.
- Welding Automation Rules, rule 40% first-year allowance: median 40 percent across 1 source, read 28 October 2026.
- Welding Automation Rules, rule annual investment allowance: median 1,000,000 GBP across 1 source, read 28 October 2026.
- Welding Automation Rules, rule full expensing (main rate plant): median 100 percent across 1 source, read 28 October 2026.
- Welding Automation Rules, rule first-year allowance, special rate plant: median 50 percent across 1 source, read 28 October 2026.
- Welding Automation Rules, rule Made Smarter SME turnover limit: median 44,000,000 GBP across 1 source, read 28 October 2026.
- Welding Automation Rules, rule Made Smarter SME balance sheet limit: median 38,000,000 GBP across 1 source, read 28 October 2026.

Cite as: "weldingrobotcost.co.uk Welding Automation Rules", updated 2026-10-29, https://weldingrobotcost.co.uk/datasets/welding-automation-rules/.

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