Resources · Blog
The costliest mistake when quoting a cobot: confusing payload with part weight
An FR5 lifts 5 kg. But if your gripper weighs 1.5 kg, your part can weigh 3.5 kg, not 5. And if the gripper is long, less still.
By Fairino México
The payload a cobot publishes is what it can move at the flange, not what it can move in product. Everything hanging off it gets subtracted: the gripper, the adapter, the camera, the hoses if they're mounted.
The subtraction nobody does in time
An FR5 gives you 5 kg. A two-finger electric gripper runs about 1.5 kg. That leaves 3.5 kg of part. Add a tool changer and another 400 or 500 grams are gone. The cell gets designed around the number that's left, not the one on the datasheet.
Distance weighs too
Torque at the wrist grows with distance from the center of the flange. A long end effector with the part at the tip loads more than the scale says, and that's where a cell that looked fine on the spreadsheet starts throwing alarms on the floor.
Three things worth checking before you sign
· The weight of the complete end effector, not just the part. · The distance from the center of mass to the flange. · Opening and closing time, because it counts against cycle time.
Simulate before you buy
We publish the 3D models of all nine robots and of the end effectors so you can build the cell and measure it before it exists. Half an hour of work that pays for itself.
Got a part and a process?
Send us the part and the cycle time you need. We'll tell you which cell fits and who in the official network installs it.
Quote a cell →