Greetings From Pittsburgh, PA!

[thenixhex311]

Hello everyone, I stumbled across this site a little over a week ago in my everlasting journey of 3D printing, tinkering, and now Voron.

I've been 3D printing now for almost 3 years. Around 6 years ago, I had a coworker at the time buy a little Monoprice 3D printer and thought that was the coolest thing ever, and I was convinced I would buy one. But just like pretty much EVERY purchase I EVER make, it's not just a buy...it's a do way to much research into brands, reviews, feedback, mods, etc. So, that being said, I went from wanting to get a tiny little trinket printer, to a Prusa MK3S back in January of 2020. It took me a full Saturday to assemble the thing, but man...when that was done....WOW. The bug bit me.

FFWD a little bit through all the things in between then and now-ish ( learning about Fusion 360, learning how to make my own parts, model stuff from my favorite game, Destiny, printing all kinds of mods for my printer, things for my kids) I learned about the Prusa Bear "project". I purchased an LDO frame kit and was hellbent on building a separate one to put in my garage, in an enclosure I've had built for a few months now.  The dilemma I think some people kind of go through similar to Voron builds is should I go kit, bom, or aliexpress. Well, in this case it would be direct from Prusa, BOM, or Chinese clone. TL;DR it seems cheaper to directly buy an MK3S+ from Prusa than source higher-quality parts!

So browsing AliExpress, I first saw it. WHAT IS THIS HUGE PRINTER? VORON? WTH IS THAT?

Now we're here. I've watched countless YouTube videos (Steve Builds, Nero3D, and more) It seems so daunting of a project but the end result just seems amazing. As excited as I am, there's so many questions I have that I continue to search for answers for as go on this journey. I think I still plan on buying a 2nd Prusa to make the Bear, so I have a device in an enclosure to print my Voron parts! But until that time, I'm continuing to digest as much as I can.

I'm sure a lot of you have had the same kinds of questions. I'm sure a lot of you are WAY more knowledeable (as I've seen in some of the over-my-head posts in the forum), but I feel it's a blessing finding this site to use as a resource for previous guides, mods, and build journeys (I might make my own).

Since I'm on a roll typing I figure it's probably good to document some of the things that weigh on my mind in regards to questions/options and update as  I go.

• LDO vs Formbot kit
  • I've read all about the quality of LDO kits. I've purchased an LDO Prusa Bear kit, I see it. I've seen a lot of builds on here using the Formbot kit, and the general concensus seems like it's decent/comes WITH a hotend, and is obviously a decent amount less. My confusion lies in things like compatible toolheads (Hartk) and all the extraneous things I might need to get purching a non-LDO kit. Wiring kit difficulty, quality of electonic components, etc. Would hate to think I have everything ready and then find I'm missing a PCB, pancake motor, etc. Trying to figure out all the things I need to get separately.
• Printed Parts List
  • There was a really awesome spreadsheet that Dajo posted that will hopefully be updated by the time I get around to getting a kit. I realize the github has all the parts, but trying to wrap your head on exactly what you need to print when it comes to the extruder area is slightly confusing. Especially when things like the LDO kit say the toolhead pcb isn't compatible with Clockwork 2. But I want Clockwork 2 and Stealthburner. I admit in the end, it's probably just easier to print everything and figure it out later.
• Mods like Klicky, etc.
  • I've seen a decent amount of posts, and the Steve Builds video on upgrading his LDO kit with Clicky...just need to wrap my head around all this a little more.

 

Well, off to do some more research. Thanks for all the help everyone has indirectly provided thus far, I greatly appreciate it. I can't wait to get my own serial number!

[smirk]

Welcome aboard! You have picked the best forum (and I'm not in the least bit biased). You will definitely find a lot of experienced people ready to answer your questions and provide guidance.

Personally, I've got two V0.1 (well 1.73 to be precise as  I haven't finished my second V0.1). Both have been Formbot kits and in my experience they include everything needed (with the exception of the printed parts). Having said that I see most places not including Raspberry PIs (as they're rarer than hens teeth these days) but other than that all the eletronics are there. As you're already discovering you will acrete a selection of additional and spare components as you go along (sometimes left-overs; sometimes deliberate "just in case" purchases and other times "Oh, that would be interesting, I'll get to that project before I die.....") You can never have too many spare bits.

A good place to have a look is in the Build Diaries section where you can see plenty of choices. Not having succumbed (yet) to a 2.4 (or trident or switchwire) I have no experience of CW1 vs CW2, etc (although I'd definitely pick the Stealthburner as I would want the improved part cooling) so I would point you in the direction of @mvdveer and @Buurman (sorry guys I always rope you in) as they have some gorgeous 2.4 builds. However, if you're after finding a better use for those Prusa's there's a Switchwire conversion. @Penatr8tor has a good example of one, including a klicky probe. The klicky probe seems to be a very popular mod (I'm adding one to my never-completing V0.1 build) and they avoid "questionable" repeatibility/accuracy from inductive probes.

I suppose my best advice would be - jump in and learn by doing (having worked on your Prusa's you're not a novice) otherwise you could spend the rest of eternity trying to decide which mod you fancy. Apparently there are zillions of them.

Only other question - do you play the kazoo?

[Kyle]

Edit: Forgot to say: Welcome!

So far I've only built a 0.1 (waiting serial number approval on it now) but I will tell you what I know so far:
Printing the parts in ABS goes *much* easier with an enclosure. Even if it's just some foam insulation board cut up and taped together into a cube to set over your printer. Also obvious (except to "past me" apparently) is that it's easier to warm up less space, so you want the smallest enclosure that your printer won't bang into.

• I went with a formbot kit, and it went together fine. That said, I think it comes down to cost vs time-spent-tinkering. I expect that you can get to the same quality of prints with a formbot kit as you can an LDO kit, but it will be a little more hassle to get there. 
• For the printed parts list, the VORNDesign Discord channel named #pif_discussion has pinned messages about the parts included in a PiF kit, which is probably a good place to start with what's needed to get the printer going. 
• I'm pretty sure you're going to end up changing your mind on what mods you want about 100 times in the process. Buy extra filament so when you decide "Oh, I want *that* version of the part instead of this one" you have enough to print the new one.

Edited August 15, 2022 by Kyle

[thenixhex311]

44 minutes ago, smirk said:

...so I would point you in the direction of @mvdveer and @Buurman (sorry guys I always rope you in) as they have some gorgeous 2.4 builds. However, if you're after finding a better use for those Prusa's there's a Switchwire conversion. @Penatr8tor has a good example of one, including a klicky probe. The klicky probe seems to be a very popular mod (I'm adding one to my never-completing V0.1 build) and they avoid "questionable" repeatibility/accuracy from inductive probes.

I DID see both of their builds! SO nice. I didn't realize I wanted Neon Yellow until I saw @Buurman's builds! Throwing me off my plans.

I do have that enclosure out in my garage ready for my Bear build, so I have a spot ready. I'll probably throw my current Prusa in there to print my parts (leaning towards ASA vs ABS) I technically do have some time for this build, albeit I want it to happen sooner than later. Our oldest just turned 21 and is looking to move out soon. Once she does, my current desk setup (big L-shaped desk that goes like 12 feet down the one way and makes up my wife's side, will be all mine once the oldest moves out and my wife converts her room into a semi She-shed/office. It will be my new Voron/hobby/tinker station.
 

Stealth-edit:  Unfortunately, no Kazoo!

Edited August 15, 2022 by thenixhex311
kazoo!

[smirk]

While I remember (if you haven't already perused) I'd suggest Andrew Ellis' print tuning guide kinda the gold-standard for Vorons but equally applicable to other printers (especially being used to print parts for your Voron).  Initially I failed to tune my flow/EM properly and printed a lovely set of parts for my V0.1 that were mostly useless (but nice looking). 

[Penatr8tor]

Welcome!

Yeah, I like it here. Good people, little to no drama. 

Seriously though... It really is a great site. I have a Voron 2.4 R2 built from a Formbot kit. Major Upgrades include, Klicky Probe, Stealthburner and Nozzle Scrubber. Plus some other cool stuff like the squash ball vibration isolators. I'm currently building a Formbot Switchwire so if your interest is along that route then maybe take a look at my build diary. I'm also a design engineer with a crap ton of CAD knowledge so if you want/need some CAD (Fusion 360 or SolidWorks) help, hit me up.

Again, Welcome and look forward to following your journey.

Cheers, Pete

[claudermilk]

A belated welcome to the forum (I was on vacation).

Having built a Prusa, you already have the basic knowledge for building a Voron. I started with a Mini+ kit myself, and started sourcing parts for my Trident almost immediately after completion. I stuck the box the Mini came in over it and it printed the Trident parts like a champ. I did print up a complete set of spare PETG parts (still in the box) just in case.

This forum is a great resource and has added so much knowledge & users since I did my build. The Discord is the main place for Voron information though it can feel like drinking from a firehose at times.

While I self-sourced my printer, today I'd probably go with an LDO kit. From watching Nero & Steve build a few they look like excellent kits and the extras you get with the added cost seems well worth it. I appreciate leaving out the hot end since that leaves you to pick what you want (my preference is Revo Voron). Probably start looking for a Pi now rather than later.

I would highly suggest the Klicky Probe mod, but only after getting the printer built and running. There's additional complexities introduced that are easier to troubleshoot off a known good base.