10× · 5×Base joint torque, and arm weight
The mounting surface must withstand at least ten times the full torque of the base joint and at least five times the weight of the arm, and be vibration free.
UR10 CB3 User Manual, section 1.8.3
TORQ Robotics Infrastructure / Workplace TORQ Bench
Workplace TORQ Bench is a welded-steel robot workstation built to let collaborative robots run at their rated speed, acceleration and payload without giving up precision or repeatability. With nearly three times the stiffness and mass of lightweight frames in the same footprint, TORQ stays planted through every move. Order it fully assembled, or knocked down with about one fifth of the assembly labor of a comparable extrusion bench.
Workplace Modular Systems · Londonderry, NH · Est. 1950
Workplace TORQ Bench
TORQ Robotics Infrastructure · Build Spec REV 2026.1
Stiffness and mass
A robot is only as capable as the structure supporting it. Lightweight frames can flex and shift under dynamic loads, forcing integrators to trade speed for stability. TORQ uses welded structural steel to give the robot a rigid, stable platform that holds position through repeated motion and load cycles.
Stiffness
Structural stiffness helps the mounting surface stay square and keeps the robot's position consistent relative to the machine, fixture or process. Less frame movement means less compensation, less re-teaching and fewer reasons to dial the program back.
What it means in the cellThe foundation supports the robot's rated performance instead of becoming the limiting component underneath it.
Mass
Mass belongs in the structure.
Every acceleration, deceleration and payload change sends load into the base. TORQ puts structural steel directly into the workstation, giving the robot a substantial foundation without consuming more floor space.
Same footprintTORQ combines stiffness and mass in the structure itself, where both contribute to a stable robot foundation.
A rigid, stable foundation built so the robot can run the way it was engineered to.
You have a finite footprint for your automated infrastructure, and the robot and base have to share it. Steel TORQ workstations nearly triple the mass and stiffness of aluminum extrusion kits.
Typical values: structural steel and 6000-series aluminum.
Make the most of your investment
Run the robot the way it was built to run.
A robust platform lets operators run the robot at higher speeds and accelerations, within its rated limits, without sacrificing precision, repeatability, accuracy or stability. The base stops being the bottleneck in the program.
Assembly labor
Order TORQ fully assembled and there is no frame to build. Ship it knocked down and its welded sub-assemblies bolt together with about one fifth of the labor of an equivalent extrusion bench, based on the extrusion supplier's own assembly estimate for a bench of the same size and shape. The extrusion bench arrives as a kit of profiles, T-nuts and screws.
of extrusion kit assembly becomes about one hour with TORQ shipped knocked down.
About 80% of the base assembly labor comes back to the project, or all of it if the benches ship built.
Assembly hours are either billed to your customer or taken out of your margin. Neither wins the next job.
Welded vs bolted
TORQ is built from welded steel sub-assemblies. Inside each one, a weld has no clearance and no preload to lose. Where sub-assemblies join, serrated flange hardware bites into the steel instead of relying on bolt torque alone. An aluminum extrusion frame is a bolted, clearance-fit friction joint at every connection: it resists rotation through preload, and transverse vibration is exactly what takes preload away.
| Property | Workplace TORQ, welded steel sub-assemblies | Bolted aluminum extrusion |
|---|---|---|
| What holds the joint | Welds inside each sub-assembly. Serrated flange hardware between them. | Bolt preload and friction at every connection |
| Clearance | None inside a welded sub-assembly | Built in, by design |
| Under transverse vibration | Welds have nothing to loosen. Serrated flanges bite into the steel and resist loosening. | Micro-slip at the joint. Preload decays over time. |
| After months of cycles | Serrated flange hardware bites into the material instead of relying on bolt torque alone | Re-torque and re-teach |
| Reconfiguration | Welded sub-assemblies are permanent. Extrusion connection points kept where modularity matters. | Fast. The right call when the cell changes every month.Extrusion's advantage |
| How it ships | Fully assembled, or knocked down as welded sub-assemblies | A kit of profiles, T-nuts and screws |
| Assembly labor | None if you order it assembled. About one fifth of the kit estimate, knocked down. | The supplier's own estimate, per bench |
That is what TORQ is built for.
Extrusion is a good answer.
Conventional lightweight extrusion frames depend on preload and friction at every connection. Repeated transverse loading can let those joints micro-slip and lose preload over time. TORQ reduces the number of joints that can move by welding the structural sub-assemblies and using serrated flange hardware where those assemblies connect.
Robot installation requirements
Every one of these requirements is in the manufacturer's own installation manual. None of them is met by the robot. All of them land on whoever supplies the base.
The mounting surface must withstand at least ten times the full torque of the base joint and at least five times the weight of the arm, and be vibration free.
UR10 CB3 User Manual, section 1.8.3FANUC warns that a robot base on uneven ground may break or perform poorly.
M-20iD Mechanical Unit Operator's ManualA tipping calculation tells you whether a stand falls over. Not tipping over is the bare minimum that keeps your people safe. It should never be the governing design constraint behind an asset you bought to multiply throughput, quality and consistency. Your robot manufacturer published a number. Ask how your base was checked against it.
Welded steel robot base
Welded steel where the robot needs structural stability. Extrusion connection points where integrators need modularity. The numbers match the balloons on Fig. 1.
Robot workstation applications
Wherever repeatability is the job, the base is part of the process. TORQ is aligned to the application language your robot manufacturer and integrator already use.
Taught points stay where you taught them.
A rigid, stable base holds the robot in position relative to the machine through every load and motion cycle. The robot's position relative to the chuck or vise is the whole job, so the base cannot drift. Less re-teaching, less drift, fewer service calls.
CNC mills and lathes · injection molding · press tending
Full reach, full payload, all shift. That's where reaction loads run highest and mass earns its keep.
Bin picking, kitting and part transfer, with every pick and place landing at the same coordinates.
Offset robot mounting keeps the full work surface free for fixtures and your process.
Controlled paths where tool position is the job. A bead that wanders is a reject.
Controlled contact force across repetitive passes, on a base that doesn't give back.
Contact loads push back into the structure every pass. Stiffness keeps the tool on the line.
Measurement that returns to the same point every cycle. Here the repeatability is the measurement.
WMS already builds the instrument benches in analytical and clinical labs. TORQ brings the robot onto the same infrastructure.
A teaching cell is handled by hundreds of people who never specified it. Welded steel takes that.
Specifications
The Bench is the first TORQ product, not the last. It is the configurable robot workstation available today, and further robotics infrastructure follows as it ships.
Buy it in one session
Size, finish, work surface and accessories update the price live.
Built to order in Londonderry, NH. Ships in 4 to 6 weeks.
Lifetime on the welded steel frame for the original owner. Read it before you spend a dollar.
US tariffs of 50% on specified Canadian goods took effect August 22, 2026. Separate Section 232 duties apply to covered metal products, with rates and exemptions depending on the product. TORQ is built in Londonderry, New Hampshire from US-sourced steel; US customers avoid importing the base across the Canadian border.
Configure the bench, see the price, get a ship date and complete the purchase. Nothing about how we build changed. You just no longer wait for permission to find out what it costs.
Qualified equipment acquired after January 19, 2025 is eligible for a permanent 100% first-year depreciation deduction. The base can be expensed in the same year as the robot.
See the tax math
Tax treatment for manufacturing equipment
A robot purchase is already a capital equipment conversation with your CFO. Include the workstation in the same capital request, and confirm its eligibility and placed-in-service year with your tax advisor. Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, qualified property acquired and placed in service after January 19, 2025 is eligible for a permanent 100% first-year depreciation deduction.
For automation integrators
You design the solution and you are accountable for it on site. TORQ is built to make that easier, and to stay behind you with your customer, not in front of you.
Why believe us
Workplace Modular Systems has engineered welded-steel work environments in Londonderry, New Hampshire since 1950. TORQ applies 76 years of that to the newest thing on your floor.
76 years of domestic manufacturing. US-sourced steel, sold direct from the manufacturer with no distributor markup.
A leading collaborative robot manufacturer bought five TORQ units as the infrastructure its own product demonstrations run on.
Two ways to start
For standard configurations and buyers who already know the application.
For custom cells, new applications, or a second opinion on the base you already have. We'll scope arm and tooling compatibility, layout and delivery.
No homework. Book the call and you're done until we talk.
Engineering questions
TORQ is designed to put more stiffness and mass under the robot in the same footprint. Structural steel is roughly three times higher than aluminum in both elastic modulus and density, and welded construction puts those material properties to work without turning every structural connection into a bolted joint.
The practical goal is simple: keep the base planted, hold the robot's position, and avoid making the foundation the reason you reduce speed or acceleration.
That is what TORQ is built for. The welded-steel foundation is designed so the base does not become the limiting component beneath the robot. Your final program still needs to stay within the robot manufacturer's rated limits and installation requirements.
TORQ is robot agnostic: Universal Robots, FANUC, ABB, Doosan, Techman and others, on a robot-specific mounting plate. Change robots later without changing the base.
TORQ uses welded steel sub-assemblies joined with serrated flange hardware. Provisions for a variety of internal and external peripherals and accessories let you adapt the Bench to your cell. Options include monitor and keyboard mounts, power strips, air troughs, storage drawers, pullout trays and adjustable shelves.
Your choice. Order it fully assembled and it arrives built: level it, mount the robot, route the utilities. Order it knocked down and assembly takes about one fifth of the labor of an equivalent aluminum-extrusion bench, based on the extrusion supplier's own assembly estimate.
Not at launch. Configure one of three standard work heights, then fine-tune up to 1 in. up or down with the vibration-damping leveling feet. Units on casters are fixed height.
Standard configurations show price and ship date in the configurator and ship in 4 to 6 weeks. Custom configurations are scoped and quoted by a Design Specialist. Need it sooner than our standard lead time? Just ask. We can often accommodate expedite requests.
A Design Specialist who works directly with WMS engineering in Londonderry. No distributor in between.
Book the call and you're done until we talk. No pre-call forms, no videos to watch first.