Can a cobot work without a safety fence?

Sometimes — but the fence decision comes from the risk assessment of the complete application, not from the robot's category. A cobot carrying a sharp, heavy or hot workpiece can still need guarding or reduced speed, and an industrial arm can sometimes work unfenced with scanners and safety-rated controls. The robot being a cobot is the start of the safety conversation, not the end of it.

Are cobots always cheaper than industrial robots?

The arm itself often costs less, and integration is usually lighter because programming is simpler and guarding may be reduced. But the comparison that matters is total project cost per part produced: a cobot that cannot hold the required cycle time is expensive at any price, and an industrial arm's higher installation cost is spread over much higher throughput.

What payloads and speeds can cobots handle?

Most cobot models are built for light-to-medium payloads and moderate speeds, because their safety concept depends on limiting force and momentum. High-payload cobots exist and the range keeps expanding, but when an application needs heavy payloads at high speed, physics pushes the design back toward a traditional arm behind guarding.

Which is easier to redeploy to a new task?

Cobots, by design: hand-guided teaching, lighter mounting and simpler safety validation make moving one to a new station a smaller project. Industrial arms can be reprogrammed too, but their guarding, foundations and safety circuits make redeployment a formal engineering job. For high-mix, changing work, that difference is often decisive.

FANUC CRX-10iA/L

FANUC collaborative robot — Product image from FANUC's official site, via the GlobleMatch directory.

10 kg payload1,418 mm reachContact detection

Specs verified Listed 12 November 2026

Why it matters

Same payload, longer arm: the CRX-10iA/L exists for cells where the work point sits just beyond the standard model's reach — a deep conveyor, a wide fixture, a machine door set back from the base. The 169 mm difference is a layout decision, and FANUC's sensitive contact detection keeps the longer arm in collaborative territory.

The CRX-10iA/L is the long-reach variant in FANUC's CRX collaborative robot series. FANUC lists it at 10 kg maximum payload and 1,418 mm reach; its sibling, the CRX-10iA, carries the same 10 kg at 1,249 mm. The reach difference at equal payload is a layout question, not a performance verdict — cycle behaviour still depends on the application. See Payload Is Not the Whole Specification for how to compare the pair.

Key facts

Category	Collaborative robot arm
Maker	FANUC
Payload	10 kg
Reach	1,418 mm
Sibling model	CRX-10iA — 10 kg / 1,249 mm
Noted features	Sensitive contact detection (per FANUC); applications listed by the maker include welding, palletizing and assembly
Official source	fanucamerica.com/products/robot/crx-10ia-l
Facts verified	11 November 2026

FANUC
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Listing basis: manufacturer-published information, checked against the source shown above. Where a figure could not be substantiated it is left out rather than estimated. Companies can claim their directory profile and submit new products free of charge.