Material Handling
Robotic palletizing and case packing for your bottle line
We integrate Yaskawa Motoman and FANUC arms into the end of the line, so bottles stack, pack, and move without the labor and the repetitive lifting.
In summary
Custom Metal Designs integrates industrial and collaborative robots into bottle-handling and packaging lines: palletizing, depalletizing, case packing, decasing, and general shop-floor automation. We work primarily with Yaskawa Motoman and FANUC arms, build the tooling and guarding in-house, and program the cell to run with the rest of the line.
Because CMD engineers and fabricates its own equipment, the robot is not dropped in as a separate island. The end-of-arm tooling, the conveyor feeding it, and the safety guarding are designed together and tested under power before the cell reaches your floor. CMD has built bottle-handling lines since 1972, has integrated robots since 2017, and is ISO 9001:2015 certified.
Key facts
- Yaskawa Motoman and FANUC integration
- End-of-arm tooling and guarding built in-house
- Cobot or industrial robot, matched to the job
Palletizing and depalletizing
Palletizing and depalletizing without the lifting
Stacking full cases or layers of bottles by hand is slow, and it is where most line injuries come from. A palletizing cell takes that off your crew and runs it at a steady rate, shift after shift.
We build the pattern, the layer forming, and the slip-sheet and pallet handling to your product and your pallet spec, then feed the cell from the conveyor line CMD already builds. Depalletizing runs the same cell in reverse for incoming empties.
Case packing and decasing
Case packing and decasing at line speed
Loading bottles into cases, and pulling them back out, is repetitive work that has to keep pace with the filler. A robotic case packer holds that rate and handles a changeover between formats without retooling the whole line.
CMD designs the pick head, the case handling, and the infeed together, so the cell keeps up with the conveyor rather than becoming the bottleneck.
Shop floor
Shop-floor and general automation
Not every automation job is a full palletizer. Sometimes it is a pick-and-place, a diverter, or a cell that ties two machines together. We scope those the same way: measure the problem, design the cell, and prove it in our shop.
Technology guide
Cobot or industrial robot?
Two very different technologies, often confused. Understand the distinction, then answer five questions to get a recommendation for your specific application.
Five questions, one recommendation.
Collaborative Robot
Cobot
Traditional
Industrial Robot
Payload
Up to 35 kg
5 kg to 2,000+ kg
Max speed
≤ 250 mm/s (collaborative mode)
1,000 to 2,000+ mm/s
Safety
Force-limiting built in, often no fencing
Fencing, light curtains, and area scanners required
Setup time
Easy programming
More complex programming
Full cell cost
$100k to $200k typical
$150k to $400k typical
Typical payback
6 to 18 months
18 to 36 months
Payload, speed, cost, and payback figures are typical industry ranges for guidance, not quotes. Your line, layout, and volume set the real numbers.
Cobot fits best when…
- High-mix or lower-volume production
- Tasks where operators share the robot zone
- Machine tending, kitting, and light assembly
- Seasonal or variable-volume applications
Not the right fit when
- Payload over 35 kg
- More than ~25 cycles / min sustained
- Hazardous environments (paint, extreme heat)
Industrial robot fits best when…
- High-volume dedicated production lines
- Heavy payloads and large-reach applications
- High-speed palletizing, welding, press tending
- 3-shift long-run operations
Not the right fit when
- Frequent SKU changeovers
- Operators must access the zone during a run
- Floor space or budget cannot accommodate a full guarded cell
Not sure which fits your application?
Our partners
Next step
Thinking about automating the end of your line?
Tell us the product, the rate, and the pallet or case spec. We'll tell you whether a cobot or an industrial cell fits, and what it takes to integrate it.