When you’re preparing to launch your company’s latest technology to a group of journalists at North America’s biggest automation trade show (Automate 2025), it’s generally agreed that it’s a good idea to actually have the technology with you.
At the very least, displaying the technology directly to journalists proves that it exists beyond fancy graphics renderings and marketing materials.
However, if your automation very unexpectedly arrives just over an hour before the press conference is due to begin, it’s also generally agreed that you can panic and consider canceling the entire event. That’s unless your system is part of a new breed of off-the-shelf robotic systems powered by ingenious technologies like D:Ploy that can be set up and deployed within an hour.
While OnRobot executives addressed the assembled press at Automate 2025, two technicians managed to set up an entire robotic palletizing system right next to the PowerPoint presentations in the conference room. No panic. No fuss. All the complexity and engineering work and thinking that typically goes into setting up automation was handled by the technology in a matter of 50 min. It’s how automation is supposed to be.
Not just for trade shows
The usability and speed of deployment of systems powered by D:Ploy definitely spared potential trade show blushes, but more importantly they enable busy fabricators to incorporate palletizing and machine tending automation into their facilities with a minimum of costly downtime.
Dubbed Pallet EZ, the technology showcased at Automate is the first true off-the-shelf palletizing solution in North America, developed by OnRobot partner Doig Corp. in Wisconsin. The new technology enables fabricators to automate without complexity. And where traditional palletizing automation requires weeks of integration and specialized expertise, systems like Pallet EZ are ready to install and deploy the same day. This enables fabricators to be up and running within hours and to adjust to changing production needs in minutes – without programming expertise or external support.
This type of technology can be a real boon for small and mid-sized fabricators struggling with labor shortages, repetitive manual tasks and growing production demands. Instead of struggling with complex long-term automation engineering, technologies like Pallet EZ offer a path to automation that’s fast, flexible and future-proof.
From shelf to shop
Fabricators are often forced to choose between affordability and innovation when it comes to purchasing automation. The new wave of true off-the-shelf systems like Pallet EZ provide end users with both advanced technology and low cost of entry along with simplicity, safety and long-term scalability. And, if they need to change their setup – such as swapping out a magnetic gripper used for handling metal sheets for a vacuum gripper used to handle cardboard boxes of completed product – the system enables them to do so in minutes.
In a world where “turnkey” solutions often fail to live up to their promises of easy deployment and redeployment, fabricators can be skeptical about claims around “ease of use.” Technologies like D:Ploy provide a powerful alternative by eliminating traditional integration hurdles and enabling true off-the-shelf deployability.
Effectively, these systems automate the application deployment process, so end users don’t have to waste days and weeks tweaking their automation. The end result is automation deployments that are up to 90 percent faster.
The latest wave of automation powered by D:Ploy allows end users to handle new workpieces, adjust pallet layouts and evolve with changing production demands, all in-house without coding experience required. This empowers workers – even those without previous robotics knowledge – to quickly upskill to robot operators.
Removing the need for complex programming and providing full pricing transparency reduces both risk and cost, enabling fabricators to see return on investment faster and scale automation on their own terms.
These prefabricated solutions enable same-day installation, fast changeovers and require no programming expertise, allowing fabricators to automate high-mix tasks like palletizing and machine tending in just a few hours to take control of their operations.
