I have a UR16e. It is rated for a 35 lb payload. I have an application for using a 68 pound payload. My application is not for use in a high-volume production environment, so I judge I have some latitude to operate slightly outside its recommended window of opertaion.
Are there safety settings (or other settings) I can modify to better accommodate the payload?
Can I restricted travel speed or position?
Can I flag if the motor currents get too high?
68 lbs from 35 lbs max is not “slightly outside recommended window of operation”. It’s almost twice the rated capacity.
You can absolutely restrict speed and position and I’m sure you can monitor the motor current, but I don’t know about doubling the payload. Will the robot even pick up that much?
Would be curious to see what UR says. 
The UR16e will not be able to handle 68 pounds by itself. Polyscope will currently (5.11) let you input a slightly higher payload than 16kg, but it’s nowhere close to 68 pounds. Even then, I wouldn’t encourage going higher than the payload limit of the robot as you would be opening yourself up to reduced joint life.
You would need some sort of external device (similar to this) which would reduce the overall payload the robot is seeing.
Thank you for the link to the external device.
What if I am able to reduce my payload capacity to 35 - 40 pounds (just slightly greater than capacity)? Are there any specific changes or recommendations (altering machine settings) for use then?
Are there any recommendations or techniques that would be useful to operate both in a wide range of motion and without equipment damage? I’m trying to see what types of conditions are the limiting factor for use at high payloads and if I can change my approach to accommodate.