Does the tool changer count toward payload?

Yes. Both the robot side and tool side halves sit beyond the flange, so the robot carries them like the gripper. A changer also lengthens the tool, which moves the CoG away from the wrist.

Should I weigh the finished tool or trust CAD?

Weigh the finished tool before you enter its load data in the robot controller. CAD runs light unless fasteners, fittings, hoses and adhesive are modeled, so use it for the design budget.

Do hoses and cables count toward tooling weight?

Count the length the flange carries: from the flange out to the tool, plus any loop hanging from it. Cable routed along the arm is an arm load, which datasheets rate separately from wrist payload.

How much rated payload should the tooling use?

Whatever still leaves room for your part inside your own payload ceiling. Enter the part weight here, then use the payload utilization calculator for your ceiling and the J5 wrist moment.

Robotics & Automation calculator

EOAT Weight Calculator

Add up everything mounted beyond the robot flange and see how much rated payload is left for the part. You need component weights from CAD or vendor datasheets, the rated payload and your part weight.

What this calculator does

Total weight of the tooling on your robot flange, and how much rated payload it leaves for the part.

Formula used

Total tooling (kg) = gripper or vacuum assembly + fingers or tool plate + sensors and cabling + tool changer
Tooling share (%) = total tooling ÷ rated payload × 100
Payload left for the part (kg) = rated payload − total tooling
Spare after the part (kg) = payload left for the part − part weight carried

Inputs explained

Gripper or Vacuum Assembly: Gripper body, or vacuum manifold with cups, from the vendor datasheet.
Fingers, Jaws or Tool Plate: Custom fingers, jaws and adapter plate, from CAD mass properties.
Sensors, Valves and Wrist Cabling: Sensors, valves, vacuum generator and hoses the flange carries.
Tool Changer: Robot side plus tool side halves, from the vendor datasheet.
Rated Payload: Max load capacity at the wrist, from the robot datasheet.
Part Weight Carried: Heaviest part, or all parts a multi-grip tool holds at once.

How to use the result

Best suited to budgeting tool weight during gripper design, adding a tool changer to a working cell, swapping a pneumatic gripper for a servo gripper.
Weight only: a long or offset tool can exceed the wrist moment or inertia rating first. Catalog weights may leave out fasteners, fittings and custom plates; weigh the built tool before sign-off.

Current U.S. benchmarks

Global copper trades at $13,543 per tonne (IMF via FRED, Jul 2026), up 38.6% in a year, and U.S. industrial electricity averages 9.77 cents per kWh. Both feed electrified-hardware unit economics.

Common questions

Does the tool changer count toward payload? Yes. Both the robot side and tool side halves sit beyond the flange, so the robot carries them like the gripper. A changer also lengthens the tool, which moves the CoG away from the wrist.
Should I weigh the finished tool or trust CAD? Weigh the finished tool before you enter its load data in the robot controller. CAD runs light unless fasteners, fittings, hoses and adhesive are modeled, so use it for the design budget.
Do hoses and cables count toward tooling weight? Count the length the flange carries: from the flange out to the tool, plus any loop hanging from it. Cable routed along the arm is an arm load, which datasheets rate separately from wrist payload.
How much rated payload should the tooling use? Whatever still leaves room for your part inside your own payload ceiling. Enter the part weight here, then use the payload utilization calculator for your ceiling and the J5 wrist moment.

Last reviewed 2026-10-01.