At the end of the line, manual palletising is repetitive and tiring work. A cobot can do it, but the cost and the outcome depend on three numbers you should have before asking for a quote: box weight, line rate and pallet height.
What a palletising cell contains
- Cobot. The 6-axis arm that picks the box and places it on the pallet.
- Gripper. Suction cups for closed boxes and flat surfaces, clamps or forks for sacks and open crates. Its weight counts towards the payload.
- Frame or workstation. A frame with the robot interface and pallet stations. According to the Fairino catalogue the fixed version with the FR20 weighs about 330 kg, and the workstation can be moved across the floor. The cobot to pair with it is chosen on payload and reach.
- Lifting column. Needed when the pallet is taller than the arm can reach from a fixed position. In the Fairino kit the version with a column reaches a stacking height of 1,800 mm.
- Safety. Laser scanners or light curtains that slow down or stop the robot when an operator enters the area.
- Pattern software. Defines layers, box orientation and slip sheets without rewriting the program for every format.
- Box infeed. A roller or belt conveyor with a fixed, repeatable pick point.
Video: palletising cycle with a Fairino cobot
Payload: add up everything the robot carries
The weight of the box alone is not enough to choose the cobot. The robot carries the box, the gripper and any slip sheet. Fairino Europe gives this example: a 14 kg box with a 5 kg gripper makes 19 kg, before any margin. On a 20 kg cobot very little is left.
Distance matters too. The same load held further from the base creates more torque on the joints. The pallet corners furthest from the robot are the critical point.
Fairino models on the price list for palletising
| Model | Payload | Reach | Price from (excl. VAT) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fairino FR10 | 10 kg | 1,400 mm | €10,387 |
| Fairino FR16 | 16 kg | 1,034 mm | €10,450 |
| Fairino FR20 | 20 kg | 1,854 mm | €14,677 |
| Fairino FR30 | 30 kg | 1,403 mm | €16,256 |
Payload and reach from the Fairino product catalogue; prices from the Abra public price list. The catalogue also gives a peak load above the rated value (for example 25 kg for the FR20), but a cell is sized on the rated value.
For a full EUR pallet, reach matters as much as payload. The FR16 carries more than the FR10 but reaches less far. The FR20 combines a 20 kg payload with the longest reach of the models in the table, 1,854 mm, which makes it the model for medium-sized boxes on full pallets. The FR30 is for heavy loads close to the base.
What it costs in total
Abra list prices, excluding VAT:
- Fairino palletising workstation, without robot: from €10,230.
- Cell with FR10 and workstation: from €30,690.
- Cell with FR20 and workstation: from €36,828.
The cell costs more than the robot and workstation added together (€10,387 + €10,230 for the FR10, €14,677 + €10,230 for the FR20) because, according to the product sheets, it also includes Abra's services: mounting the cobot on the workstation, programming the patterns and basic commissioning. Quoted separately, per project: gripper, safety scanner, site survey, feasibility study, conveyors and integration with your business software. These items vary a lot from line to line. That is why a single "turnkey" price given without seeing the boxes and the layout is not reliable.
Timescales: start from the line rate
The robot's maximum speed tells you little. Start from the line. At 10 boxes a minute there are, in theory, 6 seconds per box. From that time you have to subtract pallet changes and slip sheets. If a pallet change takes two minutes and nothing buffers the incoming boxes, the line stops.
The right way to find out is to test the cycle with the real boxes before buying the workstation: Fairino Europe writes that a test with the actual packaging is worth more than any estimate based on dimensions alone. A simulation with real weights and sizes helps rule out wrong assumptions, but it does not replace the test.
Safety: a cobot does not mean a risk-free cell
The Fairino catalogue states functional safety certification for its cobots to ISO 10218, ISO 13849 and ISO 15066. These standards cover the robot and its control systems. The cell, however, includes a gripper that carries boxes weighing many kilos at the height of people, and that risk is assessed on the complete application.
The risk assessment decides whether scanners, reduced-speed zones or physical guarding are needed. CE marking covers the whole cell. From 20 January 2027 the reference in the EU becomes the Machinery Regulation (EU) 2023/1230, which replaces the Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC: whoever assembles the cobot, workstation, conveyors and guarding creates an assembly of machinery with its own manufacturer. The details are in the guide to the 2027 Machinery Regulation.
When it pays off and when it does not
It pays off on lines with low or medium throughput, with several product formats, where space is tight or operators often need to come close to the pallet.
It does not pay off with high, continuous rates, heavy products and long reach all at once. In that case an industrial palletiser costs more at the start but copes better with production. The same goes for very heavy sacks or pallets beyond the heights that can be reached with the column.
How to estimate the payback
A simple formula:
payback in months = total investment ÷ monthly saving
The monthly saving is not "one operator fewer". It has to be built from the actual hours freed per shift, working days, planned downtime, maintenance, rejects from unstable pallets and space recovered.
Example with hypothetical figures, not based on a customer: an investment of €50,000 covering the cell, gripper, safety and integration. The cell frees up 4 hours of manual work per shift, on one shift, 220 days a year, at an hourly cost of €30. The saving is €26,400 a year, about €2,200 a month. The payback is about 23 months, before any tax relief or funding. With two shifts the numbers change a lot: that is why the number of shifts is the first question we ask.
Incentives
A palletising cell is plant and machinery and may qualify for UK schemes in 2026, depending on how the project is structured: capital allowances (full expensing, the first-year allowance or the Annual Investment Allowance), R&D tax relief and, for manufacturers in England, Made Smarter Adoption. You will find the overview in the article Financing a robot in 2026: UK reliefs and leasing and on the Financing page. Abra Robotics can provide the quote and technical documentation for your claim or application; we do not give tax or funding advice.
What we need for a quote
- Dimensions and maximum weight of the boxes, with photos of the packaging.
- Boxes per minute, shifts and breaks.
- Pallet type, final height and use of slip sheets.
- A floor plan or photos of the end-of-line area.
With this data we carry out the application assessment. To move the pallets to the warehouse, the cell can be paired with an AMR.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a cobot palletising cell cost?
From €30,690 with the FR10 and from €36,828 with the FR20, excluding VAT, robot and workstation included. Gripper, safety scanner, site survey and integration are quoted separately.
Which cobot do I need for 10 kg boxes?
Add up the box, the gripper and any slip sheet. A 10 kg box with a gripper weighing a few kilos already exceeds the FR10's rated 10 kg: consider an FR20 or an FR30.
Can a cobot work without guarding?
Only if the risk assessment of the cell allows it. Scanners, reduced speeds and layout are decided on the whole application.
How many boxes a minute can it palletise?
It depends on weight, distances, pattern and pallet changes. The real rate is measured with a test on the actual boxes.
Does it qualify for tax relief or funding?
It may qualify for schemes for plant and machinery, such as capital allowances, if the project meets the requirements. Confirmation is for your accountant.
How high can it stack?
With the lifting column of the Fairino kit it stacks up to 1,800 mm. Without the column, the limit is the cobot's reach.
Sources
- Fairino, product catalogue (payload, reach, certifications, palletising workstation): FAIRINO Product Catalogue (PDF)
- Fairino Europe, When does 20 kg cobot palletising pay off: fairino.info
- Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 on machinery: EUR-Lex
- Prices: Abra Robotics public price list, excluding VAT, in the cobot catalogue.