FlexLink, a Swedish company that is part of Coesia, has designed the RC20, a collaborative palletising cell for the end of packaging lines that works without the fences, laser scanners or light curtains often placed around industrial robots. It uses a FANUC CRX-20iA/L robot arm and was shown at PACK EXPO International 2026 in Chicago.
The arm carries a 3D-printed safety shroud held on by magnets, made to come off at 65 newtons or less, a limit FlexLink took from the ISO/TS 15066 standard. Sensors watch the shroud, and if it comes off the cell stops. Padding with built-in safety switches covers the robot's wrist and elbow.
The palletising area is marked on the floor but not fenced. David Shaw, FlexLink's head of engineering for North America, said people do not share the space with the robot while it works, and that after a contact stop an operator puts the shroud back, presses reset and the cell carries on mid-cycle.
Background
FlexLink
Packaging automation company
Company based in Gothenburg, Sweden, and part of Coesia, that makes palletising and packaging equipment.
RC20
Collaborative palletiser
FlexLink's collaborative palletising cell built around a FANUC CRX-20iA/L robot arm.
David Shaw
Head of engineering for North America at FlexLink
FlexLink's head of engineering for North America.
