Cobot palletizers

Cobot palletizer models, payloads, rated picks per minute, public prices from $64,999, lift columns, area scanners, and why safety needs a risk assessment.

Updated October 2, 2026

A cobot palletizer is a palletizing cell built around a collaborative robot, or cobot. Cobots are lighter arms with built-in force and speed limits. They are meant to work near people under the right conditions. A cobot palletizer stacks cases on a pallet like any robotic palletizer, only smaller, lighter, and slower.

This page covers real models, payload limits, rated speeds, public prices, and safety. All speeds here are maker ratings, not real output. Your rate depends on your case, gripper, pattern, and stack height.

The application is collaborative, not the robot

A cobot arm alone does not make a cell safe to work beside. The OSHA Technical Manual talks about collaborative robot applications. It defines them as applications “designed for direct interaction with workers.” The application includes the robot, the gripper, the load, and the rest of the cell.

OSHA’s manual says the limits for power and force “are to be determined by a risk assessment.” It cites ISO 10218-2:2011 and RIA R15.06 for this. A risk assessment is a written review of each task, the harm it could cause, and how the design reduces that risk.

The standards changed in 2025. ISO 10218-1:2025 and ISO 10218-2:2025 now include “integrated safety requirements for collaborative robot applications that consolidate the previously separate ISO/TS 15066,” per The Robot Report. The US adoption is ANSI/A3 R15.06-2025. Its collaborative guidance is also “consolidating ISO/TS 15066,” per a second Robot Report article. See the full list of safety standards.

The OSHA manual uses the 2011 terms. The 2025 editions rename some methods. For example, “safety-rated monitored stop” became “monitored standstill.” They also add robot classes. Ask the integrator which edition the cell was assessed to.

Makers say the same thing in their own documents:

• FANUC’s CRX-30iA data sheet says “Please set motion speed according to risk assessment of system.”
• Robotiq says a cobot palletizer works alongside people “when a risk assessment allows for it,” on its palletizing page.
• ONExia’s PalletizCRX page says “A safety risk assessment is recommended.”

A cobot carrying a 30 kg case at full speed can still hurt someone. A falling case can too. Do the risk assessment on the whole cell before you remove any fence.

How collaborative palletizing stays safe

The OSHA Technical Manual describes several collaborative methods. Cobot palletizers mostly use two of them.

Speed and separation monitoring (SSM). A sensor watches the area around the robot. OSHA calls it a “presence-sensing safeguarding device.” When a person enters, the robot slows or stops. OSHA says “a robot may change to a lower speed based on how close” a person is. The usual sensor is a safety area scanner. It is a laser that scans a flat zone near the floor.

Power and force limiting (PFL). The robot senses contact and limits the force it applies. OSHA says contact with “the face, temples, and throat” is to be prevented or avoided. OSHA notes it is “common to see SSM combined with PFL.” The cell runs fast when no one is near and slows when someone comes close.

On a palletizer, the usual contact risk is a hand pinned between the case and the pallet load, the column, or the conveyor. That is clamping, not open-space contact. Assess each clamping point, not only free contact.

Scanner zones are common in cobot palletizers. Vention’s UR20 Rapid Series Palletizer 3 with Safety includes an “RSP 3 Area Scanner Safety Add-on.” ONExia says “Up to 4 scanners can be added” to the PalletizCRX. Robotiq sells “Safety Packages” for cases like “tall stacks, faster cobot speeds, and other scenarios identified in your risk assessment.”

A common layout uses two pallet stations. The scanner lets a worker swap a full pallet on one side while the robot keeps building on the other. Whether that is safe depends on the scanner zones, stopping distance, and speed settings. The scanner must sit at the safety distance from ISO 13855 (US: ANSI B11.19), based on the measured stopping time. The robot also needs a safety-rated limit that keeps it out of the station a person is working in. FANUC’s Dual Check Safety is one example. FANUC says if the robot “exceeds the programmed position limits, motor power is immediately shut off.” The risk assessment decides it.

Cobot arms used for palletizing

These arms appear in many cobot palletizers. Specs are from the makers, checked October 2, 2026.

FANUC’s data sheet notes the “Operating space is expanded when 25kg payload mode is selected.”

The gripper’s weight counts against the payload. A 30 kg arm with a 5 kg vacuum gripper can lift at most 25 kg of product. That is an upper bound. Check the gripper plus the heaviest case against the maker’s load diagram. It limits how far the center of gravity sits from the wrist, and the inertia. FANUC’s data sheet lists an “Allowable Wrist Load” for the CRX-30iA. Weight alone is not enough. Heavier cases need a larger cobot or an industrial robot.

Turnkey cobot palletizer systems

A turnkey system ships with the arm, base, gripper, software, and often a conveyor and scanners. The table shows rated speeds and limits. The units differ by maker. A “pick” can move one case or two.

Only TOMA states the mode for its rating. The other makers do not say whether their rate is in collaborative mode or a faster mode with scanners or fencing. FANUC’s data sheet shows why it matters. It lists 1,000 mm/s in collaborative mode and 2,000 mm/s in high-speed mode. Ask for the rate in the mode your risk assessment allows.

Robotiq’s palletizing page also claims “up to 77 lb (35 kg)” and “up to 13 cycles per minute” for its cells. It does not tie these figures to one model. The PE20 above is rated at 18 kg.

Columbia/Okura’s miniPAL 10 lists an “8’ x 10’ footprint with two pallets.” Robotiq lists its PE20 footprint as 1,310 × 2,400 mm on the UR marketplace. Check the footprint against your floor plan, including the pallet path in and out.

Lift columns and stack height

A cobot’s short reach limits how tall a pallet it can build. Makers solve this in two ways.

Tall fixed pedestal. The arm sits high enough to reach the top and bottom layers. Robotiq’s PE20 uses a “Fixed pedestal at 1400 mm” for stacks “up to 2.15 m (84 in),” per the UR marketplace listing. The Doosan P3020 can stack “up to 2 m high” with “its simple fixed base without a lift,” per The Robot Report.

Lift column or 7th axis. A powered vertical axis raises and lowers the whole arm. Robotiq says its AX Series “uses a 7th axis as a linear transfer system to extend the robot’s vertical reach.” That lets its AX10 reach a 2,750 mm stack, but at a lower 11.5 kg payload.

A lift adds a moving part to the risk assessment. It can also add a pinch point under the arm as it lowers.

Public prices

These are list prices we found in US dollars, seen October 2, 2026. Each includes different parts. None of the pages listed freight, tax, or installation as included unless noted.

So public cobot cell prices ran from $64,999 to $136,357.29. The low end leaves out guarding and conveyor. The high end includes both plus commissioning. Compare quotes line by line. Ask what the risk assessment and safety validation cost, and who does them. See more prices and payback math.

When a cobot fits and when it does not

A cobot palletizer tends to fit when:

• Cases weigh less than the system rating, after gripper weight and the load diagram check. Robotiq’s PE20 is rated to 18 kg. The 30 kg systems above top out near 30 kg. Robotiq claims up to 35 kg for its line.
• The line runs at or below about 5 to 13 picks per minute, the ratings listed above. Check that rate in the mode your risk assessment allows. TOMA rates its cell at up to eight picks per minute in collaborative mode.
• You have one line, or two slow lines, and limited floor space.
• You want to move the cell between lines. Robotiq’s PE20 listing says it can relocate “using a forklift or a pallet jack.”
• Staff need to work near the cell, and a risk assessment supports it.

An industrial robot cell tends to fit when cases are heavier or the line is faster. ABB rates its IRB 460 at 2,190 cycles per hour with a 60 kg load, per its data sheet. That works out to about 36.5 cycles per minute. Industrial cells also handle bags, full layers, and several lines more easily. They need fencing or other guarding. See industrial robot arm specs and compare every palletizer type.

For very low volume, a manual palletizer such as a lift table or vacuum lifter may be enough. For many SKUs on one pallet, see mixed case palletizing. For questions to ask suppliers, see the buying guide.

Jams and safe entry

Cobot cells jam too. A case can fall, a gripper can drop a pick, or a scanner can trip. Stop the cell and lock it out before reaching into the robot’s path or clearing a jam. Follow OSHA 29 CFR 1910.147. Some routine jam clearing may use documented alternative measures instead, under OSHA’s narrow minor servicing exception. Never bypass or move a scanner, light curtain, or interlock to keep running. See common faults and safe fixes.