Collaborative robots, or cobots, are changing the equation in today’s industrial facilities. By design, they take up less space, don’t require fencing in most applications, and can be easily redeployed from one line to another.
Not every facility has room for a traditional palletizing system. Instead of having palletizing locked into a fixed area, cobots allow teams to adjust their setup based on demand, all without compromising safety or throughput.
I was at a plant in New York recently, with ten or eleven lines all producing at once, and there just wasn’t floor space to install a large robot with fencing and a safety perimeter. That’s a common challenge I see across industries: manufacturers want to automate palletizing, but they can’t afford to give up that much space.
What Makes Cobot Palletizing Different
Traditional palletizing systems come with some heavy infrastructure—literally. You’re dealing with large industrial robots, fencing, safety zones, and systems that are designed to stay put. That setup might work in a greenfield plant, but for a lot of manufacturers, especially those working with high-mix, low-volume production, it just isn’t practical.
That’s where cobots really shine. When we design cobot palletizing systems, we’re often solving two different problems: limited floor space and the need to shift operations between lines throughout the day. Regarding floor space, a collaborative robot doesn’t need fencing in most applications, which dramatically reduces the footprint. In terms of flexibility, a cobot is compact and mobile; you can pick it up, move it to another line, touch up a few points, and you’re back up and running.
Another big cobot differentiator is the safety aspect. Cobots are built to work alongside people. The model we use, the FANUC CRX series, monitors force feedback and the amperage draw at each joint. If the robot comes into contact with something outside the expected range, like a person, it stops. That’s what makes it a power and force limiting robot. So, you’re getting the functionality of a robot, but in a form that can safely share space with your team.
In a lot of plants, that combination of safety, mobility, and minimal footprint makes the difference between being able to automate palletizing or not. To explore how cobots meet industry safety standards, check out this article on cobot safety.
Real-World Considerations for ROI
When we talk about return on investment for cobot palletizing, it’s important to look beyond headcount, which is only part of the picture.
Reduced Risk of Injury
Let’s talk about injury risk. Have you ever had someone at your plant get hurt lifting a heavy box outside of an ergonomic position, like reaching overhead or bending too low? It happens more often than people realize. Those injuries come with real costs, both to the employee and the company. A cobot can handle those repetitive, non-ergonomic tasks all day long without strain or fatigue.
Improved Uptime
One of the biggest ROI factors I’ve seen is uptime: the ability to keep your lines running consistently. A robot doesn’t call in sick or need breaks, it just keeps stacking. Adding robots isn’t about replacing people; it’s about using automation to support your team and make sure production doesn’t stall. Labor availability is a challenge everywhere right now. Having a cobot in place helps you stay productive even when staffing gets tight.
At a facility I visited recently, we calculated that the ROI on their cobot palletizing system would be about one year. In some situations, that could be even shorter depending on how many lines it supports and how much manual labor it supplements. But what really stood out was how much value the client placed on not being dependent on whether someone showed up for their shift.
Integration and Flexibility in Deployment
At AMT, we’ve spent decades developing custom automation solutions. When we built our CRX cobot palletizing system, we pulled in all that experience with the understanding that no two plants are alike. There’s no universal warehouse management system (WMS) or one-size-fits-all interface, so we take a tailored approach to communication and controls. That flexibility has made a big difference in helping manufacturers adopt this technology without needing to overhaul their entire operation.
We’ve also designed systems to be as plug-and-play as possible. Once the cobot is onsite, the deployment process is fast. You’re not fencing off an area, shutting down multiple lines, or scheduling major downtime. In a lot of cases, it’s about getting the robot in position, dialing in a few pallet patterns, and you’re stacking boxes by the end of the day. That kind of speed and adaptability isn’t just a bonus; it’s become a requirement in today’s manufacturing environment. You can see a cobot palletizer in action in this short video.
Industry Adoption and Future Outlook
Cobots are still relatively new in the big picture of industrial automation and it’s taking time for facilities to adopt the technology. However, the more people see cobots in action, the more comfortable they become with the them. It’s like any other shift in manufacturing—you need exposure and hands-on experience before the mindset really changes. Once people understand that these robots are designed to operate safely around humans, it opens the door to a lot more applications.
And we’re already seeing momentum in adoption. FANUC, for example, told me recently they estimate their CRX collaborative robot will become their highest-selling unit in just a few years. That’s significant when you consider that FANUC’s R-2000 series has been a staple in automotive manufacturing for more than two decades. The fact that a collaborative model could surpass that in volume says a lot about where the industry is headed.
As trust in cobots grows, so does their role on the plant floor, from palletizing to machine tending to even welding in some cases. I think we’re just starting to see what’s possible.
Flexible Automation That Works in the Real World
In my experience, cobots offer a level of flexibility and safety that older systems just can’t match. They’re not meant to replace your team; they’re there to help you keep moving when people can’t be everywhere at once. And the best part is, you don’t need to redesign your facility to get started.
As more manufacturers look for smarter ways to handle palletizing, I expect we’ll see cobots become the standard—not the exception.
To learn more about the FANUC CRX-based palletizing solution, click here.