The Pick and Place Robot That Adapts to Your Parts and Line
Fill the shifts you cannot staff. Our modular and autonomous pick and place robots take over repetitive handling at the machine, the line, and the bin, and they adapt when your parts change. Hardware, software, and integration come from one source.
No CapEx, low risk: Robotics-as-a-Service, one monthly rate
Handles your mix: Vision trained from simulation and real deployments, and no-code changeover to adapt to new parts
Alfie, our Autonomous Industrial Robot, picks and places on its own
A pick and place robot is an industrial robot that grasps a part at one location and sets it down precisely at another, guided by machine vision. A pick and place system adds the grippers, controls, and parts feeding needed for the full job. In manufacturing, these robots move physical workpieces, containers, and finished products between the conveyor, the machine and the pack station.
80% time saving
Free your skilled workers from repetitive handling so they can focus on tasks that need their expertise.
Fast commissioning
Short scope and design phases and a 3D simulation before installation get your cell into production quickly.
Modular and adaptable
Axes, gripper, and vision are configured for your task and adapted when your parts change.
All from one source
Hardware, software, and integration from one partner, with one point of contact for the entire project.
Key Takeaways
Pick and place is one of the most common robot applications in manufacturing, covering machine feeding, bin picking, kitting, and end-of-line packaging.
Whether a cell runs reliably depends less on the robot type than on feeding, gripper, machine vision, and integration.
Our modular robots carry up to 88 lb and reach up to 6.9 ft. For pick and place, we typically configure them with 4 to 6 axes, or up to 8 for tight spaces.
Machine vision and no-code software make high-mix handling practical.
For bin picking and handling that should run on their own, Alfie takes over the task autonomously.
What Our Pick and Place Robots Take Off Your Floor
The hardest stations to staff are often the simplest to describe: someone picks a part all day and places it somewhere else. That is exactly the work robotic pick and place handles well, from single castings to full trays and packed goods.
Feed machines from the conveyor
The robot takes parts off the belt and loads them into the machine, then unloads finished parts. This works hand in hand with CNC machine tending, where the same cell keeps the machine running across shifts.
Load trays and workpiece carriers
Parts are placed in a defined pattern for the next process step, as is common in automotive supply and electronics.
Pick from unsorted bins
Machine vision finds parts in a crate and plans each grip, so bin picking runs without pre-sorting. For mobile bin picking between stations, our Autonomous Industrial Robot Alfie handles the task with two arms. Built on Physical AI, it learns new parts and layouts on the job instead of being reprogrammed.
Kit and stage for assembly
The cell collects the right parts and presents them to the assembly station in the correct order.
Pack at the end of the line
Products move into cartons or onto trays before palletizing.
Hand parts to inspection and measuring stations
The robot presents each part in a repeatable position for quality checks.
These tasks all come down to grasping and placing individual parts. Many of them run fully autonomously with Alfie, our two-armed autonomous robot, bin picking and machine feeding among them.
For material flow between stations or machine loading, materials handling comes into play.
How a Pick and Place Cell Is Built
Four building blocks decide whether a cell runs reliably. RobCo supplies all four and takes care of robot system integration into your existing equipment.
1. The robot
A modular arm with payload capacity up to 88 lb and robot reach up to 6.9 ft. The number of axes follows the task: pick and place typically uses 4 to 6 axes, with 7- or 8-axis options when the robot has to reach around obstacles. The configuration is built around your parts, not a catalog model.
2. The gripper
The robotic gripper is matched to the part surface and geometry: vacuum for flat or sealed parts, mechanical for rigid shapes, magnetic for ferrous parts.
3. Machine vision
RobVision, our AI-based vision system, identifies parts and their orientation. Models are trained on synthetic images generated from your CAD data, so no real photos are needed to start.
4. Software and controls
RobFlow configures motion sequences without code and connects the cell to the conveyor, the machine, and the PLC.
In operation, the cell runs five steps: detect the part, plan the grip, pick, place, and verify. Conveyor tracking keeps placement accurate even while the belt moves.
Prefer not to build a standard robot cell? Alfie runs pick and place on its own, picks parts from bins with two arms, runs the same five steps, and learns new parts through Physical AI instead of being reprogrammed. Like every RobCo system, Alfie comes as Robotics-as-a-Service.
The Right Configuration for Your Task
Payload, reach, and speed only help once they translate into one configuration for your task. The table below shows the logic we use.
In short: payload and reach set the arm, orientation sets the axes, and how your parts arrive decides whether you need machine vision. Get these right and the robot type matters far less than most buyers expect.
For very high-speed sorting of light parts at thousands of pieces per hour, delta robots are the standard, and SCARA robots suit fast, flat, high-volume placing. RobCo plays to its strengths with variable parts, machine-side tasks, and medium payloads.
A Quick Check for Automation Readiness
Run through these points and if most of them hold, your task is a strong candidate for pick and place automation.
The movement repeats in a predictable pattern.
The parts stay within the robot's payload range.
There is floor space for a robot deployment.
The interfaces to the machine are known: door, signals, or PLC.
You run the station across one or more shifts.
From Scope to a Running Cell in Three Phases
A robotic pick and place project does not have to take months. We work in three phases with clear durations, and we simulate the cell before anyone touches the floor.
2 to 4 weeks
Scope
We validate the requirements, set a KPI baseline, and define the timeline.
2 to 4 weeks
Solution Design
We build a 3D concept and simulation, prepare the safety concept and the risk assessment for the complete cell, and validate the business case.
By complexity
Deployment
Professional commissioning, final acceptance against agreed criteria, on-site training, and ongoing over-the-air updates. Because we simulate first, commissioning holds few surprises.
What a Pick and Place Cell Costs, and What It Saves
With RobCo, you can pay a monthly rate instead of a high upfront investment. Our Robotics-as-a-Service covers hardware, software, integration, and service. That keeps the barrier to entry low and the total cost of ownership transparent.
Cost drivers are straightforward: the complexity and variety of your parts, whether machine vision is needed, the gripper, the integration effort, and the required safety technology. The payback period is driven by the shifts you automate, lower turnover at monotonous stations, reduced scrap, and better ergonomics. The more shifts a cell covers, the shorter the payback period.
Trusted on Real Production Floors
Across the US and Europe, hundreds of RobCo cells already run this kind of work every shift, in automotive and electronics, in food and beverage, and in logistics. Where a cell takes over a station, output stays steadier, stoppages drop, and the monthly Robotics-as-a-Service rate pays back quickly.
FAQ
Pick and place in robotics describes an automated handling step: a robot picks a part at one position and places it at another in a defined position and orientation. The step usually sits between two processes, such as a conveyor and a machine, or a bin and an assembly station.
A pick and place robot detects a part with machine vision, plans the grip, picks the part, moves it, and places it in the target position. It then verifies the result. RobVision identifies parts from their shape, so the cell works even when parts arrive unsorted.
Yes, it can. Alfie is RobCo’s two-armed robot made for pick and place as well as bin picking. It finds each part, plans the grip, and places it without a fixed cell, adapting on its own when your parts change.
A pick and place robot handles workpieces, containers, and finished products in a production cell. A pick and place machine usually means an SMT system that mounts components onto circuit boards. The robot moves physical parts across the line, while the machine populates electronics at high speed.
Most customers run their pick and place robot on a monthly Robotics-as-a-Service plan that bundles hardware, software, integration, and service into one predictable rate. An outright purchase is possible too. What you pay depends on part complexity, vision, the gripper, and integration, and we model the business case first.
Yes. A modular cell handles several part variants through machine vision and a quick no-code changeover, without replacing the robot. For high variation, Alfie adapts on its own, learning new parts from CAD, real data, or demonstration. Changing parts does not mean buying a new robot.
Scope takes two to four weeks, and solution design takes another two to four weeks. Deployment then depends on the complexity of your cell. Because we simulate the cell in 3D before installation, commissioning holds few surprises and the system reaches production faster than most integrator projects.
No. Our robots run on RobFlow, a no-code platform, so your team configures motion sequences without writing code. Cloud-based remote access, over-the-air updates, and predictive maintenance are handled by RobCo. You get the benefits of robotic pick and place without hiring specialized robot programmers.
Pick and place robots are used across automotive supply, metalworking, food and beverage, logistics, and woodworking. Typical tasks include feeding machines, loading trays, bin picking, kitting for assembly, and end-of-line packaging. Any repetitive handling step with parts within the payload range is a candidate for automation.
Experience RobCo Live
RobCo brings an end to rigid automation with Autonomous Industrial Robots that adapt and improve, powered by Physical AI. We make industrial automation finally work for manufacturers.
Book a site assessment and see what your cell could look like: a product demo, a technical concept for your task, and a calculation of amortization and savings. We handle the robot, the vision, and the integration, so your team can stay focused on production. Get it done.
Product demo
Technical concept
Calculation of amortization and savings