FANUC M-410 palletizing robot: the models in the series and the alternatives

M-410iC/185: 185 kg at the wrist, 3,143 mm of reach, 4 axes, a 1,330 kg robot with compact base and 140°/s on the J1 axis (FANUC America spec sheet, checked November 3, 2026; FANUC catalog, November 2025). Anyone looking into a FANUC M-410 palletizing robot usually lands on that spec sheet. Two numbers are missing from it, and only you have them: what your gripper weighs and how many picks per minute your line calls for.

FANUC M-410 palletizing robot, model by model

FANUC designed the M-410 series for this job. Its RM-410(E)-03 catalog (November 2025) presents it as a large palletizing robot, with six payloads to choose from. Those payloads and reaches appear under two names: with the R-30iB Plus controller they are called M-410iC or M-410iB, which is how FANUC America still lists them; with the R-50iA they change to names like M-410/185F-31C. If two quotes seem to be talking about different robots, check the name and the controller first.

Where each column comes from. Axes, payload, reach, J1 and inertia: catalog RM-410(E)-03 (November 2025), which matches the FANUC America spec sheets checked November 3, 2026 on payload and reach. Vertical reach: FANUC Corporation tables checked the same day. Cycles: FANUC America spec sheets and FANUC Europe for the 110 and 140 kg models; the FANUC America bulletin of September 25, 2017 for the 2,040, with no explanation from FANUC of the difference from the 2,200; and Food Engineering (January 10, 2014), with data from FANUC America, for the 1,700. “Unpublished” means we did not find it on the spec sheet or in a FANUC bulletin.

The vertical reach has to be divided up. FANUC America talks about stacking up to 2 meters with the series (checked November 3, 2026); from the 2,958 mm of the 185 kg model you have to subtract the gripper, the height of the pallet off the floor and the entry clearance.

FANUC America still lists the M-410iB/700: 700 kg, 3,143 mm and 60°/s on J1. FANUC Corporation introduced the M-410/800F-32C as its successor (January 2025), with 7% more speed per axis and 32% more range. The series page at FANUC America still says 800 kg in one paragraph and 700 kg in another.

How much product fits in the 185 kg on the spec sheet?

The wrist payload includes everything hanging from the flange: gripper, suction cups, hoses and product. In this table, a Target Robotics calculation with assumptions, the gripper weights are our own examples to show the math; FANUC does not publish them. Weigh yours or ask for the number in the quote.

The second calculation is inertia. The catalog allows 88 kg·m² on the 185 kg model and 155 kg·m² on the 315 kg model. A 100 kg mass concentrated 0.9 m from the axis of rotation gives 81 kg·m² (mass times distance squared, a simplified Target Robotics calculation): it uses 54% of the 185 kg model’s payload and almost all of its inertia margin. A wide gripper eats up the inertia allowance first and the weight second.

Whatever you mount on the arm has a limit too. The catalog allows 30 kg on the J3 arm on the 4-axis models from 110 to 500 kg and 50 kg on the 800 kg model, and notes that this depends on the wrist payload. If you mount the vacuum pump or the valve bank there, they count toward that limit.

How many cycles per hour does an M-410 deliver on a line?

The spec sheet number is a standard cycle. For the M-410iC/185, the article in ZI Ziegelindustrie International (January 2014) describes it this way: lift the load 400 mm, move it 2,000 mm and lower it 400 mm, and it warns that grip time changes the result. The catalog adds that on short moves, an axis may stay below its maximum speed.

Converted to minutes, 2,200 cycles per hour are 36.7; 1,900 are 31.7; 1,700 are 28.3. For contrast, the 2017 bulletin shows the M-410iC/110 at 32 bags per minute in a demonstration, and FANUC’s Spanish-language page talks about up to 30 cases per minute depending on robot and application (checked November 3, 2026).

A line running 60 cases per minute, a figure Target Robotics has reached (corporate presentation, 2026), comes down to 20 cycles per minute with 3 cases per pick, or 1,200 per hour. With a layer gripper, 2 layers per minute (Target Robotics video, 2024) are 120 cycles per hour, and there a slow, strong robot has room to spare. These are Target Robotics calculations with those assumptions. The gripper and the stacking pattern change the cycle count more than the robot’s name does.

From the M-410/185F-31C to the /315F-31C, J1, the base rotation, drops from 140 to 90°/s, and J4, the wrist rotation, from 305 to 195°/s: 36% less on both (FANUC catalog, 2025; percentage calculated by Target Robotics). A model with more payload than you need turns more slowly on every cycle.

What other FANUC robots work for palletizing?

Five alternatives with public FANUC America spec sheets, checked November 3, 2026:

The CRX-30iA spec sheet gives 1,889 mm in the table and 1,756 mm in the text of the same page: ask for that number in writing.

The wrist on the M-410 series always faces down, and the 5-axis model tilts it up to 20° (FANUC catalog, 2025). If the gripper has to come in from the side or pick bags off a jumbled pallet, a 6-axis robot gives you those degrees; FANUC shows the R-2000iC/165F depalletizing bags with 3D vision. The environment matters too: the M-410 series declares IP54 on body and wrist, while the M-710iC/50H and the R-1000iA/80H reach IP67 on wrist and J3 arm. With frequent washdown or fine dust, compare that line before speed.

Cobots fit low payloads and low rates. To decide, see cobot vs. industrial robot and how much a cobot palletizer costs.

What to ask before accepting a model in a quote

• Which controller does it come with? R-30iB Plus or R-50iA. FANUC Europe credits the R-50iA with smart functions, lower power consumption and more cybersecurity (March 2025). Confirm that your training and your spare parts cover the one you are getting.
• Compact base or pedestal? On the 185 and 315 kg models the robot weighs 1,330 kg with compact base, without controller, and 1,615 kg with pedestal, with the controller inside (FANUC catalog, 2025). The compact base lowers the maximum height for low ceilings; the pedestal saves floor space.
• Does it fit your environment? The catalog calls for 0 to 45 °C, normal humidity of 75% or less without condensation, and vibration of 0.5 G or less. If your cold room runs below 0 °C, get the answer in writing.
• Is there a simulation with your gripper? FANUC offers PalletPRO to simulate cell and stacking pattern on a computer, and PalletTool 3 to create and change patterns from the tablet on the plant floor (FANUC’s Spanish-language page, checked November 3, 2026). If your team will run simulations on its own, Target Academy teaches a ROBOGUIDE course.
• Who checks the floor? The M-410iB/140H manual (B-83164EN/04, March 2017) links vibration to a loose base or a floor without enough rigidity.

To quote any of the 3 versions of the Target Robotics palletizer, low, medium and high in speed and weight, the same data is needed: product weight and dimensions, picks per minute, pallet height and gripper. The cases-per-pallet calculator gives you cases per layer and height. For bags, add the stacking pattern and how many go per pick.

Ask that the proposal state cycles per hour with your product and your gripper, along with the test or simulation that backs them up. The standard cycle on the spec sheet is good for comparing one robot with another.