A machine loading robot puts raw parts into a CNC, press or other machine and takes finished parts out. To pick one, add the part weight to the gripper weight and size the payload from there, then check that the reach gets the gripper through the door and all the way to the chuck or fixture.
Machine Loading and Machine Tending
Machine loading is one piece of machine tending. Loading is the move itself: pick a blank, set it in the chuck or vise, pull the finished part. Tending is the whole job around the machine, which can also mean opening the door, starting the cycle, blowing off chips, checking parts and stacking them. Our write up on machine tending robots covers the wider job. The same arm that loads a lathe can handle press tending as long as it is sized for the press.
Most loading cells serve a CNC lathe or mill, a press, a grinder or a molding machine. The robot is usually a six axis arm, like most of the used FANUC robots we carry, mounted on the floor, on a riser, or on a track that runs past several machines.
Size the Payload: Part Plus Gripper
The rated payload has to cover everything hanging off the faceplate. That means the part, the gripper, any adapter plate, and the hoses or cables run to the wrist. If you run a double gripper that holds a raw part and a finished part at once, count both parts. Our post on end of arm tooling goes through gripper types. If you swap grippers between jobs, remember that a tool changer adds weight of its own.
The load chart shows how capacity drops as the center of the load moves away from the wrist. A long gripper with a heavy part out at the end can overload a robot that looks fine on paper, so leave margin. Our FANUC payload and reach quick reference puts the common models side by side.
- Small parts. The LR Mate 200iD carries 7 kg and fits small lathes, mills and benchtop machines. Our FANUC LR Mate 200iD guide covers the variants.
- Most CNC work. The M-10 and M-20 class, roughly 10 to 35 kg, covers the bulk of lathe and mill loading with room for a double gripper.
- Heavy parts. Forgings, castings, large shafts and press blanks go to an M-710iC/50 or an R-2000. Our FANUC R-2000 series guide goes through that line.
Reach: From the Base to the Fixture
Measure reach from where the robot base will sit to the farthest point the gripper has to get to inside the machine. On a lathe that is usually the chuck face. On a mill it is the back of the vise or fixture. Then add the gripper length. The arm also has to come through the door opening at an angle that clears the frame, the spindle and the guarding, so a robot that just barely reaches on paper is usually too short in practice.
Mounting changes the math. A robot riser lifts the base so the arm can reach down into a machine, and we stock Utica robot risers for Arc Mate, R-2000 and M-900 arms. Rack mount arms like the FANUC R-2000iB/200R sit on a stand and work below themselves, a common layout at a press.
When one robot serves several machines, a seventh axis track moves it from one to the next. We carry FANUC robot transfer units for that. An overhead gantry is the other route, like our Gudel overhead gantry or the FANUC R-2000iB/220U gantry cell.
Talking to the Machine
The robot and the machine have to trade signals: door open, chuck clamped, cycle start, cycle done. Read our post on industrial robot I/O before you settle on a robot, and check the controller generation against our FANUC robot controllers guide.
What to Check on a Used Loading Robot
- Controller and software. Confirm the controller matches the arm and that the software options your cell needs are on it.
- Pendant and cables. Ask whether the teach pendant and cables are included and how long the cables are. We sell FANUC robot cable sets on their own.
- Complete cells. Some of our listings are full FANUC robot cells with the robot already mounted and guarded.
- Spares. Servo motors, amplifiers and cables are in our robot parts and accessories inventory.
Machine Loading Robots We Carry
- FANUC LR Mate 200iD/7H: 7 kg payload, 717 mm reach
- FANUC LR Mate 200iD/7L: 7 kg payload, 911 mm reach
- FANUC M-10iA/12S: 12 kg payload, 1,098 mm reach
- FANUC M-20iA: 20 kg payload, 1,811 mm reach
- FANUC M-20iB/25: 25 kg payload, 1,853 mm reach
- FANUC M-20iA/35M: 35 kg payload, 1,813 mm reach, high inertia wrist
- FANUC M-710iC/50: 50 kg payload, 2,050 mm reach
- FANUC R-2000iB/165F: 165 kg payload, 2,655 mm reach
- FANUC R-2000iB/185L: 185 kg payload, 3,060 mm reach
- FANUC R-2000iB/210F: 210 kg payload, 2,655 mm reach
- FANUC S-500iB: older six axis arm on the RJ3iB controller
- KUKA KR16 L6-2: KRC4 controller
Related Guides
Pulling Loading Robots Out of a Line?
When a plant changes over a line, the loading robots usually go with it. If yours are coming out, list them on our sell your used machinery page, and if you need a number first, ask about equipment appraisals. Buying instead? Our equipment financing page has the details.
Call with the model you're looking at. The sales line is 586-752-0090, extension 1, or you can reach our sales team online.