Side by side
ABB IRB 1600-6/1.45 vs KUKA KR 6 R900-2
Two industrial arms a buyer shopping for machine tending would honestly weigh against each other, with the manufacturer-published figures in one table and a plain reading of what the differences mean on a floor. We sell across brands, so we have no reason to tilt it.
| ABB IRB 1600-6/1.45 | KUKA KR 6 R900-2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Class | Industrial arm | Industrial arm |
| Payload | 6 kg (13 lb) | 6 kg (13 lb) |
| Reach | 1450 mm | 901 mm |
| Sold as collaborative | no | no |
| Applications listed | welding, machine tending, material movement, sanding and finishing | pick and place, assembly and screwdriving, machine tending, inspection |
| Specs checked | 2026-08-22 | 2026-08-22 |
Every figure is a manufacturer-published claim, checked on the date shown against the maker's own material, and not one of them survives contact with your part, your rate and your floor without an applications review. Prices are deliberately absent: quotes are prepared by our team and confirmed with the manufacturer.
What the numbers mean on the floor
- Payload is effectively a tie at 6 kg and 6 kg. The gripper and the part decide it, not the arm: rated payload is measured at the wrist with no tool on it.
- The ABB IRB 1600-6/1.45 reaches 549 mm farther than the KUKA KR 6 R900-2. That matters for pallet height, bin depth and machine door clearance more than it matters at a bench.
- Neither is sold as collaborative. Both need guarding and an integrator's risk assessment before a person shares the floor with them.
- Both are listed for machine tending. The ABB IRB 1600-6/1.45 is also listed for welding, material movement, sanding and finishing. The KUKA KR 6 R900-2 is also listed for pick and place, assembly and screwdriving, inspection.
What a spec sheet cannot tell you
The gripper, the fixture and the integrator decide more of the outcome than the arm. Cycle time on your part is a test, not a datasheet figure. Service footprint, spare parts and who answers the phone at 2 AM differ by brand and by state. And the price difference between two arms in the same class is usually smaller than the difference between two integrators' quotes for the same cell. A model number is not a specification, and the gripper is the project.
From our matrix
ABB IRB 1600-6/1.45. ABB lists arc welding, machine tending, gluing and deburring.
KUKA KR 6 R900-2. KR AGILUS six axis; EP and HO hygienic variants listed at the same specs.
Also on the shortlist for machine tending
- ABB IRB 1600-6/1.2, 6 kg
- Epson VT6L, 6 kg
- fruitcore robotics HORST800 G2, 6 kg
- Hyundai HA006B, 6 kg
- ABB IRB 1200-5/0.9, 5 kg
Ask about these two for your job
Free, about two minutes, no phone number. Joe will tell you which belongs on your shortlist, what beats both, and what has to be true for the math to work.