Machine tending (CNC load / unload)
The cobot category's anchor application. Cell loads parts, machine cuts, cobot unloads. Operator-shift displacement is direct and measurable.
What this application actually is.
Machine tending is the cobot category's volume application — load a part into a CNC mill or lathe, wait for the cycle, unload, repeat. It's where Universal Robots built its installed base and where Productive Robotics' OB7 became a category alternative. The operational shape is forgiving: parts are repeatable, the machine controls cycle timing, and the cobot has clear go / no-go states. Most cells are buffered so a brief cobot fault doesn't starve the machine. That forgiveness, plus the fact that the displaced task is measurable in operator-hours, is why first-cell buyers should start here. On AMD Machines' published figures it is not the fastest payback in the category — palletizing is — but it is the most predictable.
Which cobot fits, and why.
The cost most buyers underestimate.
Parts have to arrive at the cobot in repeatable orientation. Custom fixtures or vibratory feeders run $8-15K for simple geometry, $25-35K for complex. This is the most commonly underestimated line item — typical integrator quotes show '$12K integration' that doesn't separate this out.