Items falling off back of bed

[Keith Winter]

From time to time small objects fall off the back of the Trotec Speedy 400 bed, there is a gap behind the table that allows this. Problem is if something falls off the back while the bed is up it can fall all the way under the bed and then you cannot get it back out.

Has anyone with a speedy 400 come up with a solution to this?

[Jiten Patel]

Not sure if I understand you correctly, but with the bed up, just open the front door (the red one) and retrieve the item which will be down the bottom?

[Keith Winter]

Hi Jit,

You're on the right track there but the bed actually goes lower than the front lip. So if something falls behind the laser. You shut off the laser and turn it back on the next morning it tries to hone and go all the way down. When something has fallen down there below the bed the bed tries to go down and gets stuck, and the object is trapped below the bed. The laser bed cannot hone to the bottom so it won't move up or down.

[Matt McCoy]

Maybe take a peak under the bed when you clean up at the end of the day?

[Kev Williams]

more pics, wide angle-- there must be access to the area below the bed. Might have to remove a few screws...

[Keith Winter]

Maybe take a peak under the bed when you clean up at the end of the day?

What happens, not often but time to time, is the operator leaves what he was working on the night before on the bed. When he turns it on in the morning it automatically lowers. When it automatically lowers it can be enough movement to make something fall off and below the bed, causing the problem.

It's a strange problem I know. It would be less likely to happen if it was just one operator but when you are running two shifts with two different people occasionally weird things happen.

[Keith Winter]

more pics, wide angle-- there must be access to the area below the bed. Might have to remove a few screws...

No it's screwed on from below. You'd have to get under the closed cabinet to access from below. You can disassemble the screws holding the bed to access it but that takes about 20 minutes to do and then reassemble.

Really looking for a solution to prevent the problem from ever happening.

[Kev Williams]

dumb question, why does it lower on startup in the first place? It should only home XY unless the rotary is in place, THEN it lowers to avoid interference.

[Keith Winter]

dumb question, why does it lower on startup in the first place? It should only home XY unless the rotary is in place, THEN it lowers to avoid interference.

Not sure all the trotecs do it. I wonder if that can be disabled? Would fix the problem...

[Gary Hair]

dumb question, why does it lower on startup in the first place? It should only home XY unless the rotary is in place, THEN it lowers to avoid interference.

It's actually very necessary that it homes Z. In Job Control you can program the Z height for your job and only knows exactly where it is after it has homed.

[Jiten Patel]

I get you - maybe you need a big sign that say before you turn on the machine, clear the bottom!

Maybe sticking on some brush draft excluders used on doors on the gap which hopefully shouldn't interfere with the z axis motion?

[Neville Stewart]

That's a good idea Jit, I've had the same issue once with a focus gauge but now I just retrieve if it or debris falls. Gary showed me a neat idea and that is to lower the table before you switch off, then it's already homed when you switch it back on. Simple but effective. Thank you Mr. Hair

[Keith Winter]

Great ideas thank you!