Festo Connects Automation from Design to Commissioning at MODEX 2026
ISLANDIA, N.Y., April 9, 2026 — OEMs and system integrators in the warehouse automation and intralogistics industries must design, deploy, and commission automation systems faster with less risk and cost.
At MODEX 2026, Festo displays its unique ecosystem that unifies automation systems from design to commissioning, which shortens machine build time and reduces commissioning errors. Festo Booth #B9127 at MODEX 2026, Atlanta, April 13–16.
“What we are hearing from customers is a need for more integrated automation systems that reduce rework and integration errors,” said Brad Schulz, Manager for End-of-Line Packaging and Intralogistics, Festo. “Festo connects design, sizing, component selection, and commissioning into a unified workflow so OEMs and integrators can move from concept to a running system with less risk and more reliable startup.”
Before a system is built or commissioned, time is often lost as engineers move among tools, sizing components, and validating designs. At the booth, Festo brings that work into a single design to commissioning environment. An interactive display shows how Festo connects system design, sizing, component selection, ordering, and commissioning into a seamless workflow.
OEM designers, for example, can configure multi-axis systems, access CAD models, and receive a quote with a delivery window in minutes, not hours or days. All the components in the system will be correctly sized for the application. Festo says that no other automation supplier offers the same breadth of products, over 30,000, and software-tools based workflow.
Festo invited CODI Manufacturing, Littleton, Colorado, to feature its new palletizer at the Festo booth. This gantry-based palletizer outperforms cobots in capacity, cost, setup, operation, and ease of maintenance. Flex Stack Pro handles 44- to 110-lb. boxes at rates of 4 to 10 per minute without the weight and reach that constrains cobot palletizing cells. Flex Stack Pro’s compact footprint suits it for installation in existing operations where space is limited. Depending on local labor rates, Flex Stack Pro can show a one-year return on investment.
At the core of the CODI Flex Stack Pro is Festo’s FPaKit, a pre-engineered multi-axis handling system that reduces the time and risk of building a palletizing cell. OEMs and system integrators configure the complete system – axes, drives, cabling, and accessories – in minutes using Festo’s online tool Handling Guide Online, part of the Festo design to commissioning ecosystem. FPaKits are scalable from simple palletizing and depalletizing units to two-pallet cells, with slip sheets, vision, and Category 3 safety.
That same pressure to move from design to a working system carries into basic motion, where pneumatic cylinders have long been the default despite their energy use. Festo’s Simplified Motion Series replaces pneumatics with integrated electric actuators that combine motor and drive into a single unit. These actuators are commissioned directly on the device without specialized software, allowing OEMs and integrators to deploy electric motion with minimal setup while maintaining flexibility through digital I/O and IO-Link control.
Secure gripping and vacuum generation are critical to handling boxes and other products reliably in warehouses and distribution centers. Festo addresses this need with a range of suction cups and next-generation vacuum technology, including vacuum generators designed to improve grip reliability while reducing air consumption. A highlight of the gripper display is the new HPSX universal adaptive gripper for food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic applications.
Even using the correct systems, system uptime can be less than optimal because companies do not have enough trained technicians to install, operate, and maintain automated systems. Festo Didactic addresses this challenge with mechatronics training that builds the foundational skills needed to support automated material-handling operations. Learning systems, such as the MecLab, which will be in the booth, provide hands-on experiential training for work on conveyors, sensors, pneumatics, and PLC-controlled automation.
Visitors to MODEX 2026 can explore these technologies and discuss application requirements with Festo experts at Booth #B9127. For more information on Festo’s automation solutions and engineering tools, visit http://www.festo.com/.
