This is part of our series covering automation technologies you can find at IMTS 2026. Check out our other articles: Material Handling & Unattended Operation Systems, Tool Change and Management Automation Solutions, Workholding Automation Innovations, Quality Control and Inspection Automation Solutions, Automated Scrap and Coolant Solutions, Digital Solutions that Improve Shopfloor Productivity, Advanced Machine Tool Automation Features, and Automation Solutions for Secondary Processes.Robots aren’t just for big factories anymore. Today’s robotic solutions are smarter, more affordable, and easier to deploy – especially for small and midsized shops. Whether it’s collaborative palletizing, welding, or machine tending, automation is now within reach for any team looking to boost productivity and free up skilled workers for higher-value tasks. With user-friendly interfaces and quick setup times, even first-time adopters can start seeing results fast. Here are 10 key robotic technologies transforming modern manufacturing:1. Industrial Robot Arms for Machine Tending: Traditional six-axis industrial robots can load and unload CNC machines, perform machine tending around the clock, and handle heavy castings. For example, Standard Bots’ AI-powered robot arms, like RO1, integrate seamlessly with machining centers to automate part loading, unloading, and in-cycle tasks, boosting spindle uptime and enabling continuous operation. FANUC demonstrated a 500-kg payload robot for heavy part handling. An industrial robot arm tends to a CNC machine.2. Collaborative Robots (Cobots): Cobots are a true workforce multiplier. They are designed to work safely alongside humans, making them ideal for job shops new to automation. Cobots come with simplified programming (touch-to-teach technology) – a cobot can arrive on a loading dock in the morning and assist with production by noon thanks to easy-to-use teach pendants. Universal Robots, Kuka, Yaskawa Motoman, and other IMTS exhibitors display these flexible robots tending CNC machines, performing light assembly and inspection tasks, and welding. (Left to right) An industrial robot arm works from behind safeguarding alongside a collaborative robot arm out in the open.3. Vision-Guided Robotic Picking: Advanced vision systems enable robots to locate and pick up parts that are randomly oriented or jumbled in bins. At IMTS, for example, a FANUC robot with 3D vision bin-picking technology picked randomly piled parts and handed them off to other robots for loading into machines. Vention’s bin-picking robot cell frames allow vision-guided robotics to automate part sorting, kit assembly, or feeding of raw parts without precision fixtures. (Foreground) A collaborative robot arm with collaborative end-of-arm-tooling confirms the part it needs via the end-of-arm mounted camera vision before grabbing it.4. Robotic Machine Tending Cells: Turnkey robotic cells dedicated to machine tending can be a “quick win” for automation. For instance, HM Manufacturing installed a RoboJob Turn-Assist robot on their CNC lathe, instantly boosting capacity for larger production runs. Such cells typically include a robot, safety enclosure, infeed/outfeed stations for parts, and integration with the machine tool, providing an out-of-the-box solution to run a machine unattended. A collaborative robot arm reaches into the work envelope of a multi-axis CNC lathe.5. Gantry Loaders and Integrated Robots: Some CNC machines – especially lathes, turning machines, grinders, and multitasking centers like those from Mazak, Okuma, Murata, and United Grinding – offer built-in gantry loaders or optional integrated robots. These purpose-built pick-and-place units can automatically load blanks and unload finished parts with minimal human intervention. Designed for efficiency, they often require little floor space and operate at high speeds, making them ideal for high-volume tasks like loading shafts, gears, or plate work into machines without human intervention. An integrated robot arm seen through the window of a CNC machine's enclosure.6. Mobile Robots: Autonomous Guided Vehicles (AGVs) or Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) can transport material between stations in your shop without human drivers. They can carry bins of parts, deliver kits to work cells, or even move pallets. By automating internal logistics – say, fetching raw stock from storage and bringing finished parts to inspection – AGVs ensure machines stay fed and productive. Modern AMRs use sensors to navigate safely around people and equipment. Boston Dynamics’ mobile warehouse robot, Stretch, uses an advanced vision system and a robotic arm atop a mobile base to unload shipping containers without needing a network connection – and it can be up and running in a matter of days. A pack of Boston Dynamics' quadrupedal AMR, Spots, could be seen frolicking in a roped-off pen with their handler at IMTS 2024.7. Robotic Palletizing and Packaging: In shops that need to pack parts or palletize boxes for shipment, robotic palletizers can automate that end-of-line process. A robot equipped with a gripper can stack parts or filled boxes onto pallets in a consistent pattern. Collaborative palletizer robots are popular first automation projects for smaller manufacturers, reducing the strain of repetitive lifting tasks on employees while speeding up shipping prep. Pinaxis designs automated pallet shuttle systems for a variety of manufacturing environments, and Hennig and Advanced Machine and Engineering integrate automated pallet systems. An industrial robot equipped with vacuum end-of-arm-tooling for pick-and-place applications holds a bag of sunflower seeds.8. Welding and Fabrication Cobots: For shops that also do welding or fabrication, cobot welding systems provide an easy automation win. They can be programmed by a welder to handle repetitive weld seams, improving consistency and freeing welders for more skilled work. The same cobot might also handle plasma cutting or grinding with the appropriate end-of-arm tool. Hirebotics empowers metalworkers with welding cobots that deploy rapidly for repetitive tasks and help even small companies automate their welding jobs. A collaborative robot equipped for welding is guided into position by hand via lead-through programming.9. Multi-Machine Robotic Cells: One robot can tend multiple machines in a cell, essentially acting as a flexible manufacturing system. For instance, MetalQuest Unlimited built a cell with three machining centers served by three robots and a vision system. The robots can fetch a raw piece, pass it between machines for different operations, and place finished parts on an output tray, achieving a fully automated production sequence. Such cells are scalable; you can start with one robot and one machine, then expand. A collaborative robot tends to both a CNC machine (background) and an optical inspection station (foreground).10. End-of-Arm Tooling Innovations: A robot is only as useful as its gripper or tool. Automation providers now offer adaptive grippers, vacuum cups, magnetic grippers, and toolchangers for robots, enabling one robot to handle diverse part shapes and even switch tasks. For example, at IMTS, you’ll find a robot that can change its own gripper jaws to handle different parts, maximizing flexibility. These tooling innovations delight shop owners by allowing one automation system to take on multiple jobs without manual intervention. SMC Corporation of America offers magnetic, magnet, pneumatic, and electric grippers. Schunk makes a residue-and-particle-free adhesive gripper that holds up to 35 pounds. Close up of a lightweight robot gripper EOAT.These 10 robotic technologies are just the beginning. In nine additional articles in this series, we’ll explore 89 more automation solutions, giving you a complete view of how to transform your shop floor with practical, ready-to-deploy tools.Save the date for IMTS 2026, Sept. 14-19, in Chicago. Get ready to experience these technologies live, talk to experts, and discover solutions to move your business forward.Interested in more automation technologies you can find at IMTS? Check out our other guides: 10 Material Handling & Unattended Operation Systems you can find at IMTS 202610 Tool Change and Management Automation Solutions at IMTS 202610 Workholding Automation Innovations to See at IMTS 202610 Quality Control and Inspection Automation Solutions at IMTS 2026From Waste to Workflow: 9 Automated Scrap and Coolant Solutions at IMTS 20269 Digital Solutions that Improve Shopfloor Productivity at IMTS 20267 Advanced Machine Tool Automation Features to See at IMTS 2026From Clean to Complete: 4 Automation Solutions for Secondary Processes at IMTS 2026
Discover how today’s robots and cobots are making it easier than ever to automate tasks, free up skilled workers, and run machines unattended – even in small and midsized shops.
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