So I finally got an opurtunity to get a 3D printer, and i want to buy a Voron. I found a V2.4 with 350mm build volume for 770€. Is it worth it? How reliable is a Voron? Have any of you got any experience? All input welcome.
(Edit) I forgot to clarify, the printer is new, not second-hand.
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The reliability is largely dependent on how well it’s built. I have a 0.2 and a 2.4 and both have been quite reliable overall, but I did have some issues with my 2.4 recently where the frame came out of alignment (I didn’t tighten the screws enough when I built it), so my z axis belts became too loose. Assuming this will be the only capable printer you have access to, I would highly recommend printing spares of the more critical parts once you have it running. Otherwise, a catastrophic failure could lead to weeks of downtime while you try to source new parts.
Good point, thanks!
Voron 2.4 and a Bambu here. My voron is rock solid at this point, but definitely more work into it. It’s big and warming up the plate definitely makes me less likely to use it over the Bambu. I’ve learned more about everything from the voron though, so the question is, what’s your goal?
It was definitely worth it for me.
I previously had a Ender 3v2 and an Ender 5 Plus and the E5P had constant issues in which I tried to upgrade it step by step to address those issues. However, never really could fix all of them. The last issues I just gave up on was the bed. While it worked fine, I never really could get a good first layer on the bed, when I calibrated the Z-offset correctly on one side, it wasn’t good on the other side because the nozzle was too far away from the bed. I rarely could get the bed mesh range under 0.4mm which was quite annoying. But smaller prints, it printed well.
Last year in October, I decided to build a Voron and got the 2.4 LDO kit for 350mm. Took a bit of time to get it all assembled and some hiccups here and there but since it is up and running there is really only one issue that I haven’t quite figured out yet (the A motor sometimes doesn’t want to turn, after re-plugging the cable and restarting, it works without issues).
But I could print PLA, ABS and ABS-GF on it so far. I am also currently building the Armor Turtle AFC (filament changer) for it.
But 770€ for a 250mm V2.4 sounds very low to me so I would assume that it is 2nd hand. This could be fine but keep in mind that the printer also could have issues, issues you might not know about where they would be coming from because you simply bought the machine as a whole. So, identifying the problem could be a bit annoying.
Other than that, I am really happy with mine, I usually get 0.1mm difference in the bed mesh range (running a voron tap as probe), the print speed is great (but I also didn’t optimise it and just used the speed settings from the default profile in Orca Slicer)
I suggest checking out this post. I have quite a few replies about the voron experience.
TL;DR - agree that a Voron can be a start and walk away printer. Building it will take some time, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing but know what you’re getting into. It will take some configuration and tuning to get it printing, but the Voron initial setup guide and Ellis’s print tuning guide are very easy to follow.
From a 2.4 owner.
I love mine. Always fire and forget printing. My 2.4 has a chaotic lab tap, never any issues.
Printing with abs, petg and pla never fails. Quite a learning curve, but well worth it.
If you are not afraid to take it apart an reassemble, go for it.
Does the 2.4 have auto z calibration? That is what really makes a “set and forget” machine when you switch nozzle sizes and such and it with auto adjust.
With my prusa MK3, I calibrate the z offset every time I switch filaments and recalibrate every time I switch nozzles which takes a lot of active time.
Mine does.
Probably most of the builds do. But you got to keep in mind, every Voron is unique. It is not a 100-a-day from the factory kind of product.
Well, I’m quite happy to build and rebuild it, but wdym by learning curve?
Getting to know all the minor tweaks, the ins and outs of your device.
Every Voron is unique, so digging up a yt to solve your issue is not going to help much.
Ah, reasonable enough.
I just got a Sovol SV08, which is like a Voron but changed up a bit so the teacher doesn’t get mad… and to be cheaper :-)
I’m just coming in from an Ender3 clone, but overall, other than the potential of taco bed messing up some prints, I’ve been really pleased with it. I’m still fine tuning what it likes to do, including slowing it down on some small vertical prints, letting the bed “heat soak” for a while to even out, and running the Z Offset calibration on every print, but Core XY, auto leveling, and all the other little QoL advantages are nice, and I’ve already used the big bed to print stuff that wouldn’t fit on a “normal” bed.
For your specific printer, Vorons are generally even more kit built than most printers, sometimes even completely assembled from a BOM by the builder/user. If they did it well, and if it loks to be in good shape, it should be an excellent and well supported printer. I paid USD490 for “We have Voron at home” and I feel like it was a good deal. I’m not super well versed in pricing in Europe, but EUR770 seems like a good deal on a kit, a REALLY good deal on a new 350mm, and a very solid one for a used printer in good shape.
Now, all that said, I am super glad that I kinda had some experience with more primitive printers before I got the Sovol. I’m less panicky about little inconveniences and realities of printing (especially on a budget), and I feel like I at some high level understand how it’s all supposed to be working and that I can look up how to fix things and implement what I learn. If you don’t want to deal with any of that, a Bambu, even with its potential walled garden “sword of Damocles”, might be a simpler idea.I understand they really are just super easy to live with.
Thanks! Actually, i have got some experience with 3D printing already, and I don’t mind fiddling with the printer and assembling it, so I’ll probably steer clear of Bambulab. Actually, I just searched the Sovol up, and it looks really similar to the V2.4, just like 300€ cheaper, but how is it different from the V2.4? Actually, now I’m tempted to buy the SV08.
I know the beds are worse, apparently almost all of them. Sovol chose to change the Voron reference design to be cheaper and it’s just not held down right, so they exhibit varying degrees of “taco” inconsistency that the diagram accentuates visually. Mine has a corner that seems to be about 0.4mm too high, and the rest is a bit wavy to lesser amounts. This is the main reason I set it to redo its z offsets before every print.
The Sovol doesn’t use standard extrusion profiles so it’s less moddable, its hot end is not completely standard, and it uses injection molded parts in places the Voron uses 3d printed parts (that last may be be an advantage, lol). The Sovol also doesn’t run a completely clean version of Klipper. I think it’s set in a way to make it work a little better with their cheaper BOM.
It’s big and fast and Voron-like, but it’s just not a hand crafted super printer like a Voron can be.
Look on github for Rappetor’s SV08 mainline repository. You’ll need a new mmc or sd card (both are ok) and a “five bucks” STLink programmer, but then it is quite easy to put mainline klipper on your sv08. The mainboard is a cb1 clone with the “main” ST microcontroller for driving the steppers on the same board (for cost reduction, probably)
That’s the prerequisite for using a probe. like a btt eddy on a SV08, for example.
Other than the SV08 has a few issues like super noisy board fan which can be very easily be taken care of. (Funnily software control of the fan is possible, but just not done in the default firmware)
My mods are mainline klipper, btt eddy, new (printed) extruder shroud with better airflow, a microswiss hotend and a second camera (USB webcam for second viewing angle and better resolution).
Out of the box the SV08 has a bit of problems keeping a consistent Z offset due to missing temperature calibration for the probe. More reliable solutions (ported from voron) like klicky are available. I chose eddy - but haven’t perfectly tuned it in, either. I’ll try the eddy-ng firmware (github) next week.
Thanks! I am going to keep those all in my back pocket for when the honeymoon of not having a $99 “box o’ parts” Voxelab wears off, though I feel a little guilty for never installing that BLTouch clone now.
I haven’t printed much with the Sovol yet. So far, the main things I’m running into are bed adhesion (the old standby of a washable glue stick is helping), and I’ve had a couple of vertically oriented parts get knocked off the bed, and slowing down quite a bit helped.
Depends which one you are looking at, what your needs are (advanced filaments, print sizes etc) - and, importantly, prices where you are.
We went for Prusa and are super pleased with the XL. Assembly was time-consuming, but clearly explained and they even included milestone prizes in the package. 🙂
