ABB IRB 6700

The ABB IRB 6700 lives in ABB's heavy six-axis class, and its numbers explain where it earns a spot on high-load lines. It carries a 150 kg payload across a 3200 mm reach, so one arm can cover a wide work-envelope without a shuttle or a second base. With 6 axes and 0.05 mm repeatability, it stays tight on position even out toward the edge of that swing.

Three jobs anchor its production life: spot-welding, material-handling, and machine-tending. The long reach lets it serve several fixtures or a deep press from a single mounting point, and the 150 kg rating leaves room for a substantial weld gun plus the part it's moving. That mix is why you'll see the family on automotive body lines and in general-industry cells.

At 1280 kg, this is a substantial machine, and ABB specifies floor mounting. The mass and the large footprint are the tradeoff for the reach, so a cell layout has to budget that floor space and the surrounding work-envelope up front. It's a plan-it-early arm, not something you squeeze into a corner late in a build.

It runs on ABB's OmniCore / IRC5 controllers, and the family has been in the field since 2013, so the service and parts picture is mature. The arm carries an IP67 rating. That maturity, more than any single spec, is what makes it a safe pick for a line you expect to run for years.

Against its closest rival, the FANUC R-2000iC/165F, the call comes down to ecosystem more than class, since both are staple heavy six-axis arms for welding and handling. Reach for the IRB 6700 when you're standardizing on ABB's OmniCore tooling and want its long-reach options; lean to the FANUC if your plant already runs its controllers and service network.