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Since their debut, cobots have been touted as the gateway to automation. Safe to work alongside humans, intuitive to use, easy to program and more affordable than their industrial robot predecessors, collaborative robots have served as the solution to many of today’s manufacturing floor challenges.

Yet, the industry continues to face dramatic shortages in both labor and knowledge. And despite their general ease of use, cobots still require skilled human support. A solution directly addressing the critical shortages in both areas are pre-engineered cobot systems.

If cobots serve as the gateway to automation, pre-engineered cobot solutions can serve as the catalyst that extends beyond a simple entry point, offering the ability to significantly accelerate ROI.

System integrators have spent decades developing customer automation systems across nearly all industries and applications. Today, integrators are also responding to market needs for “off the shelf,” standardized solutions. Oftentimes, these pre-engineered systems have been designed to tackle a variety of challenges common to the industry they’re marketed to. This may include occupying a conveniently small footprint, optimizing space on busy manufacturing floors, or maximizing flexibility by mounting a cobot to a moveable cart or autonomous mobile robot.

If you’re not familiar with these solutions, it’s likely because they’re so new to the market.

Anticipated market – and product – growth

Driven by the increasing adoption of cobots, I anticipate that we’ll see greater and more widespread awareness of pre-engineered systems in the coming years. A recent study by Duke University and the Federal Reserve Banks of Richmond and Atlanta, released in September 2024, cites nearly two-thirds of CFOs as having a strategic company priority to automate within the next 12 months. Eighty-seven percent of survey respondents report that this desire to automate is driven by a need to enhance business processes.

Diversified application solutions

One of the main grievances that I hear from customers is that their high-mix, low-volume production means they can’t possibly be a candidate for automation.

In fact, the exact opposite is true. I’ve found that manufacturers with high-mix, low-volume production, particularly those that involve an artistic application like welding, sanding or another finishing process, are excellent candidates for pre-engineered solutions. Available with automatic no-code programming and set-up pathing, pre-engineered cobot systems can quickly adapt, learn and be reconfigured to accommodate an endless number of variants.

Today, we see pre-engineered cobot systems serving a variety of applications, with a majority focus on:

• Welding
• Picking and packing
• Palletizing
• Machine tending
• Dispensing
• Inspection

With more options coming to market weekly, it’s an ideal opportunity for end users to work with an integrator who is still developing their product. Getting in on the ground floor level can allow for greater customization opportunities, on-site testing and potentially, more attractive pricing.

Gauging whether a pre-engineered system makes sense for you

Several factors should be weighed when considering if a pre-engineered system is the right choice for your team and company. To help determine the best solution for your manufacturing challenges, we’ve outlined some considerations in quiz format.

1. When thinking of your current employees and the available workforce landscape, which scenario feels most applicable to your manufacturing environment?
   1. My company is currently at its employment limits, with fully skilled associates, or access to interested and skilled workers.
   2. My company employs the correct number of workers, but we are lacking skilled laborers or employees that desire training or upskilling.
   3. My company is currently struggling with labor and knowledge shortages.
2. When considering your manufacturing facility as it stands today, what level of automation exists?
   1. My facility has implemented automation—either robots, cobots, or pre-engineered systems—and has trained labor to help maintain these technologies.
   2. My facility has taken the first step into or toward automation; we have a limited number or singular robot, cobot or pre-engineered system currently in use or on order.
   3. My facility has not explored automation or has only begun to have initial conversations with a robotics manufacturer or integrator on it.
3. When thinking about the available or planned budget for manufacturing system and process upgrades, have you:
   1. I have secured budget available to order and implement automation as needed, with full support from leadership.
   2. I have access to mid-size budget on a project basis that may be able to be used for automation, with the right pitch to leadership.
   3. I may have access to limited budget or am working to pitch leadership currently on a low-cost automation solution.

This is likely no surprise, but if you selected mostly Cs (or even Bs), you may be a great fit to explore the benefits, low-barrier entry and minimal maintenance required of pre-engineered cobot solutions.

With a low budget, little or no current automation, and limited skilled personnel, it could feel like any level of automation is out of reach. But that’s not necessarily the case.  And with a pre-engineered system, you can be up and running much faster than you might think, with many systems available for delivery within a few weeks.

How to take the next steps

The good news is that help in achieving automation efficiencies is closer than you think. I often liken this process to navigating a complex route with the help and guidance of a road map.

If we dig into that a bit, we can identify several steps that will set you up for success in taking the initial steps to automate with ease.

1. Start with the end in mind by justifying the need. No one is automating for the sake of automation; in every scenario, there is a business case to save cost, increase performance or production, or solve for labor or knowledge shortage. By beginning with the ROI and automating only what you can justify, you’ll be building your case on a solid foundation.
2. Secure executive sponsorship. Support at the top level is necessary to creating successful change that can scale. Find a C-suite leader that fully buys into the possibility of automation and is ready to justify any necessary investment in decision-making environments.
3. Draft your automation team. Identify the individuals who are currently on board or can be upskilled to serve on an automation team, or determine the new hires that would need to be made to support a new system.
4. Find a trusted resource to point you in the right direction. You have the end goal in mind, but the current automation landscape offers a dizzying number of manufacturer and integrator provider. Robot manufacturers, consulting service providers or independent consultants can be excellent resources for saving you time and energy by making relevant integrator recommendations.
5. Request bids from more than one integrator. The number of pre-engineered solutions in the market today can be overwhelming. Even with recommendations from a trusted source, it will be in your best interest to get multiple bids and pose crucial upfront questions like: What does success and failure look like with this system? What’s my cycle time? Do I need to inspect the parts? What work should I still have an operator do?

Following these steps will get you best prepared for the journey to automation or further along on your existing automation process. And by working with pre-engineered cobot systems, you’ll also be reaping faster ROI with lower costs, and industry-leading speed to implementation.