Practical guidance for planning robot automation.
Twelve practical guides and tools for planning robot and cobot projects, including selection, grippers, cycle time, layout, cost, ROI and current UK safety considerations.
Choose the next topic for your project.
Each page is written around a distinct search and buying question, with direct answers, engineering checks and links to relevant robot platforms.
Industrial robots vs cobots: which suits your application?
Compare industrial robots and collaborative robots by speed, payload, safety, footprint, flexibility, cost drivers and suitable manufacturing applications.
Read guide →Types of industrial robots and where each architecture fits
A practical guide to six-axis, SCARA, parallel/delta, palletising, collaborative and Cartesian robots, with typical applications and selection factors.
Read guide →How to choose the right robot for a production task
Choose an industrial robot or cobot by payload, reach, cycle time, orientation, environment, safety, tooling, footprint, interfaces and lifecycle support.
Read guide →Robot payload, reach and repeatability—what the figures really mean
Understand industrial robot payload, reach, work envelope, wrist moments, repeatability and cycle time before selecting a platform for automation.
Read guide →How much does robot automation cost?
Understand robot automation cost drivers: robot, tooling, guarding, controls, conveyors, vision, engineering, installation, commissioning and support.
Read guide →Robot automation ROI and payback calculator
Estimate robot automation payback using labour, shifts, uptime, scrap, maintenance and investment inputs. Use the result as an initial feasibility model.
Read guide →Cobot safety and guarding: what UK manufacturers need to assess
Understand cobot safety, collaborative operating modes, risk assessment, tooling hazards, speed and separation, guarding and application validation.
Read guide →Industrial robot and cobot selection matrix
Compare 20 reference robot, cobot, SCARA, delta, palletising and injection-moulding platforms by payload, reach, machine range and applications.
Open matrix →Robot gripper types guide
Compare vacuum, mechanical, magnetic, soft, needle and hybrid end effectors.
Explore →Robot cycle-time calculator
Build an early task-cycle budget and compare it with required production rate.
Explore →Robot cell layout design guide
Plan work envelope, material flow, access, guarding, recovery and maintenance.
Explore →UK industrial robot safety standards
Review ISO 10218:2025, cobot considerations, PUWER and machinery obligations.
Explore →Discuss the production task with an automation engineer.
Send the product details, required output, available space and a photo or short video of the current process. We will review the application and identify the next engineering step.
What should be agreed before an automation system is built?
Define the required process, product range and accepted output, then document the interfaces and operator tasks. Agree what will be demonstrated during factory and site acceptance, including changeovers and fault responses. A written acceptance brief helps connect the quotation, engineering decisions and production handover.
- Process and operating range
- Factory and site acceptance scope
- Changeover and fault-response checks
Related guidance: Robot safety standards