FANUC America will introduce its next-generation R-2000/E Series at Automate 2026 in Chicago, the company said ahead of the June 22-26 show. The new robots replace one of FANUC’s most widely deployed heavy-payload families with a streamlined, maintenance-free design that targets faster cycle times and reduced installation footprint.
What is new on the R-2000/E
The R-2000/E line features higher axis speeds, increased wrist load capacity and a redesigned cable routing that FANUC says lowers maintenance requirements over the robot life. The motor and reducer modules have been re-engineered for the now-standard 25,000-hour service interval, and the work envelope has been tuned for high-density automotive welding cells.
Physical AI demos at the booth
Beyond the new arms, FANUC’s Automate booth will showcase AI-enabled vision-guided systems, collaborative robots and emerging physical AI capabilities. Earlier this year, NVIDIA disclosed that FANUC, ABB Robotics, YASKAWA and KUKA are integrating NVIDIA Omniverse for virtual commissioning and Jetson modules for real-time AI inference at the edge.
Why this matters
Heavy-payload industrial robots are the workhorses of automotive body shops, machine tending and metal fabrication. A meaningful step up in payload, speed and uptime can shift the unit economics of a stamping line or weld cell. FANUC is also adding a Cobot & Go program built around rapid deployment kits aimed at smaller manufacturers that lack systems integrators.
US capacity build-out
FANUC America has also been investing on the manufacturing side, including a previously announced $90 million Michigan facility. Combined with the new R-2000/E line and the Automate showcase, the announcements position FANUC for a contested 2026 against ABB, Yaskawa and an increasingly aggressive group of Chinese arm makers.
Reporting based on coverage from RoboticsTomorrow and PR Newswire.