Cutting Table for Trotec Speedy 300 Laser Cutter

Inspired by the Ible from vstrulev, I decided to make my own design for a cutting table while I was waiting for the wire to come from China to also make his design.

I have a nice Trotec Speedy 300, but I do not have the money to buy the super high end parts from Trotec.

This cutting table is very cheap, easy to make and extremely sturdy when it is in place. (it is a bit flimsy to take out)

Step 1: You Will Need

Materials:

• A piece of 3 mm acrylic in the full with of the laser bed (74 x 16 cm)
• Some small pieces acrylic.
• 24 meter 2 x 15 mm aluminum

Tools:

• Well... a lasercutter
• A metal saw (hacksaw or bandsaw)

Step 2: Laser the Standoffs

Cut at least 6 pieces of the long standoffs from your 74 cm piece of acrylic. You could use thicker acrylic, but I only had 3 mm.

Cut at least 9 pieces of the small cross pieces. (if you use thicker acrylic, you will have to adjust the design a bit) I've made 12.

First I designed this table without the cross pieces, but the standoffs wouldn't stand up without the help of the cross pieces.

The holes in the standoffs are there to make it easier to extract the fumes when cutting.

Step 3: Cut the Aluminum

Cut 48 pieces of 47.5 cm of aluminum 2 x 15 mm strip.

I did cut them 4 at the time on my bandsaw from 6 meter stock.

The length doesn't have to be very exact.

Step 4: Put the Rack Together

Make (at least) 3 standoffs by connecting two long standoff strips with at least three (I used 4) cross pieces. (this helps them stand up)

Push the 48 aluminum strips in the three standoffs.

Don't use glue if you want to easy replace a part when it is worn down or dirty.

Pick the rack up by holding the middle standoff.

Put it in your lasercutter and move it in place until it is flat and square.

Step 5: Test It

I expected the acrylic to wear down fast, but in the testcut it behaved much better than I expected.

All in all I'm happy with my design.

Great because:

• It can hold a great load.
• When one or more strips are dirty, it is easy to take them out and clean them.
• When a standoff is worn down, they are easy to remake and replace.
• It was only about 30,- euro in materials to make this.
• It took me little time to design and make this.
• It looks very nice in the laser cutter
• The fumes are extracted much better than on the original honey cone bed.

What could be better:

• I would make slots in the standoffs to hold the cross pieces in place.
• Cross pieces over the whole hight might make the cutting table more stable to pick up.
• Thicker acrylic would be more sturdy.