ABB IRB 6700 Robot Financing

Throughput on a heavy-assembly or structural welding line often comes down to one asset that is either running or not. The ABB IRB 6700 is engineered for that kind of dependency: it is ABB's main large-robot platform, covering payloads from 150 kg to 300 kg across multiple reach variants, and it carries service intervals twice as long as the prior IRB 6600 generation. For a plant running two or three shifts, that reduced maintenance frequency is a direct line to higher OEE without adding headcount to the maintenance crew.

We finance ABB IRB 6700 installations for automotive suppliers, structural fabricators, and aerospace operations where the asset cost and integration scope make financing a sensible alternative to a lump-sum capital purchase. Most complete IRB 6700 cell projects, including the robot, ABB IRC5 controller, tooling, guarding, and integration, land landing between $200k and $500k. We work from a $50,000 minimum. Projects under about $400,000 qualify for application-only treatment with three months of business bank statements. Larger projects move into a full financial review, which is still a clean process for businesses with organized records.

Plants considering both the IRB 6700 and the smaller ABB IRB 2600 for a parallel cell can have both reviewed in one submission so the credit decision covers the whole line investment at once.

IRB 6700 Technical Characteristics That Drive the Financing Decision

Understanding what you are paying for helps explain why the IRB 6700 commands a premium over older large-robot alternatives and why that premium is often justified on a total-cost-of-ownership basis.

• Payload range: The IRB 6700 family spans six variants from 150 kg to 300 kg payload, each with reach configurations from 2.6 m to 3.2 m. The 235/2.65 and 205/2.80 variants are the most common in North American automotive shops. Choosing the right variant at purchase avoids the cost of upgrading an underspecified robot later.
• Extended service intervals: ABB rates the IRB 6700 for service intervals of 8 years or 40,000 hours at baseline. That doubles the maintenance cadence compared to the IRB 6600, which directly reduces maintenance cost over a 10-year asset life. This matters to lenders because a better-maintained asset holds residual value better through the loan term.
• True Lean ID cable management: The integrated dressing system routes cables along the arm rather than hanging them externally. External cables are a significant source of wear and unplanned downtime on heavy robots that move at high cycle rates. Lean ID reduces that failure mode at the source.
• IRC5 controller: The current IRC5 controller runs ABB's RAPID programming language and integrates with the full suite of ABB application software including RobotWare Arc, RobotWare Spot, and ABB's Integrated Force Control, which handles force-sensitive assembly and machining tasks beyond standard path control.

For Automotive Parts Suppliers (Tier 1/2) building a spot-weld or MIG weld cell, the combination of payload, reach, duty cycle, and welding application software integration makes the IRB 6700 a complete platform rather than an arm that needs extensive add-on software to function in a weld application.

Financing New vs. Late-Model Used IRB 6700 Units

The IRB 6700 entered production in 2013, which means there is now a meaningful secondary market of refurbished and re-certified units available through ABB's certified used robot program and through independent integrators. The used market for this platform is worth understanding before committing to a new purchase.

A new IRB 6700 robot with controller typically prices from $100,000 to $200,000 depending on the variant, before integration. A certified used unit from an ABB Authorized Value Provider can price 30 to 50 percent lower and still carry a warranty. That gap compresses the total cell cost substantially and can mean a shorter payback period on the same throughput improvement.

We finance both new and certified-used IRB 6700 robots. For used units, we look for documentation of service history, the certification standard the refurbishment was performed to, and whether a meaningful warranty accompanies the sale. ABB's own certified used program meets our documentation standards directly. Third-party refurbishments are evaluated case by case.

If the used unit requires post-purchase integration and programming, those costs are part of the financed amount. A robot that arrives on the floor without a functional program is not yet an asset, and the integration work that makes it productive belongs in the same credit facility as the hardware.

For plants interested in Used Production Line Equipment Financing more broadly, we write transactions on a wide range of automation platforms, not only ABB.

Term and Structure Options

IRB 6700 cells are mid-to-large capital investments and the financing terms should reflect that. Most complete projects land in the 48 to 72 month term range. Longer terms reduce monthly outlay, which helps when the cell is replacing labor but the productivity gain phases in over two or three quarters rather than day one.

We offer Equipment Loans for plants that want to build equity in the asset and own it outright at term end. We also offer leases, including dollar-buyout structures for straightforward ownership at the close and fair-market-value structures for plants that expect to upgrade after five to seven years. The right structure depends on the asset's expected economic life relative to the term you select and your accounting treatment preferences.

Sale-leaseback is available for existing IRB 6700 installations that are owned free and clear. If your plant commissioned one or more IRB 6700s and paid cash or has paid off the original financing, the equity in those assets can be monetized without selling the robots or disrupting the production cell.

Teams evaluating this usually look at Raymond Forklift Financing, Dematic Financing, and Honeywell Intelligrated Financing.

Get Financing Terms for Your ABB IRB 6700 Cell

Send us the project scope and we will put together a term sheet. Most clean applications on this platform get approval within two to three business days. Reach out and we will start immediately.