Two nearly identical-looking palletizing robots can be quoted 40 percent apart, and the difference is rarely the margin. Here is where the money goes, in the order it usually appears on a real quotation.
1. Payload and reach class
The arm is the largest single line item and its price is not linear with capability. Moving from a 100kg to a 180kg class costs more than the extra capacity suggests, because the reducer and the structure scale faster than the payload. Over-specifying here is the most common way buyers waste budget: a single 25kg bag does not need a 180kg arm. Our 180kg 4-axis palletizer is priced for double-bag and box duty; a light single-bag duty is a cheaper machine.
2. Which arm is inside
Genuine ABB, KUKA or FANUC arms cost more than equivalent-capacity Chinese-brand arms, and the gap is in the brand’s dealer network, documentation and resale value, not in stacking ability. Two more things hide in this line: whether the arm is new or refurbished, and whether it is a purpose-built palletizing model or a general-purpose arm with palletizing software bolted on. Ask which model number, and check it against the manufacturer’s own catalogue.
3. The gripper
This is where the cheapest quotations are thinnest. A standard suction plate is cheap. A custom scissor gripper with compliant pads, an adjustable stop, multiple bag sizes, and stored quick-change settings costs real engineering hours. If two quotes differ by ten thousand dollars and one of them just says ‘gripper included’, that is the difference.
4. Everything that is not the robot
- Infeed conveyor, squaring station and back-pressure accumulation.
- Empty-pallet magazine, full-pallet conveyor and pallet changer.
- Safety fencing, interlocked gates, light curtains and the safety PLC.
- Layer sheet and slip-sheet dispensing.
- Electrical panel component grade — the brand of contactors, relays and drives.
- Stretch wrapping on the outfeed.
On a complete cell these items commonly add as much again as the robot itself, and they are precisely what a low quotation leaves out. Compare quotations by what is physically on the list, not by the headline.
5. Commissioning, travel and training
Engineer travel to your site is a genuine cost that some suppliers quote and others quietly omit, expecting you to run the machine from a manual. Installation, FAT witness, pattern programming against your bags, and operator training should be itemised. The language of the manuals matters too: an English manual written by the engineer who built the machine is worth more than a translated datasheet.
6. Warranty, spares and the ten-year question
Price the machine you will own in year six. Ask for the spare-parts list with prices and stock commitments, the reducer and servo warranty terms, and whether local independent service voids your cover. A one-year parts-and-labour warranty with ten-year parts availability and free remote support is usually better value than a headline three-year warranty from a supplier with no service path to your plant. Our terms are on the support page.
7. Freight, duty and the payment structure
Crate and skid cost, the Incoterm you chose, inland trucking, and duty classification of a machine versus a line. Ask your broker, and get the crate dimensions early so you know whether the machine fits your building.
Getting a comparable number
Send five facts and you will get five comparable prices: filled bag or box dimensions, weight range, bags per hour at peak, pallet size and stack height, and a photograph of the space with the conveyor height. The quote form asks for exactly those, and we answer within two hours during working hours.