Trotec 400 @ School

I an a high school teacher at Village Tech Schools.We have a Trotec 400 laser engraver but the magnetic door sensor is broken. The company is charging 1500 just to come and see the issue. Can anyone point to a way to replace the magnetic door sensor.
Thanks,
Carlos Amador

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It’s more than likely just a reed switch ( https://www.google.com/search?q=reed+switch&oq=reed+switch&aqs=chrome..69i57.1552j0j1&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8 )

These are usually passive devices and as long as you confirm two items pretty easy to replace yourself:

  • what voltage the system is passing through it (typically it’s logic voltage, use a voltmeter to confirm it’s not something silly like line voltage which would require a higher rated one)
  • if the sensor currently in place is a Normally Open sensor or a Normally Closed sensor. Often switches have both modes available.

However, the real question is why the sensor failed. They do fail, but often it’s just alignment issues from physical shifting or a loose connection on the wiring. You can test a failed switch by putting a multimeter in Resistance mode and using a magnet to validate that the switch opens and closes the circuit as expected in the presence of a magnetic field.

The most difficult thing about such a replacement is generally mounting it correctly. If you can’t find something of the right footprint, and they won’t sell you the part for self-install, then you can often glue such sensors since they don’t carry much force, or you can use nutserts / sheet metal screws / whatever you are comfortable with.

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Can’t speak to the specifics of your CNC tool, but my refrigerator was upset about its door switch not triggering and all I had to do was adjust the magnet position and re-seat the sensor connector.

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2nd for misalignment. The doors on the lasers often get misaligned if they aren’t opened from the exact center every time. We have had to redo some of the hinges on ours a few times

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