Building a 3D Printer from scratch

One of my big projects for the year was building myself a Voron 2.4R2. This thing is BIG and FAST (compared to my old Ender 3 Pro anyway).

So I started with a kit (350mm) from Magic Phoenix (the kit was amazing, but unfortunately I can't recommend buying one at this point in time. The owner has been extremely unwell, and currently isn't fulfilling orders, and the site is still taking them), and added a number of upgrades from there.

So beyond a standard Voron build, the kit adds Canbus on the toolhead (much better than running a dozen wires through a drag-chain), tap for bed leveling, lighting, steel gantry backers, and a Phaetus Dragon hotend (which I've had to replace to do a really nasty clog - my own fault).

From there, I added a 5" HDMI touch screen, upgraded the Canbus to the RP2040 version, upgraded the tap to be a CNC milled aluminium version, titanium gantry backers, Wago connectors throughout, "The Filter", webcams, handles, panel clips, "RockNRoll" on the back (basically stands for when you flip the whole thing on its back to work on the electronics) and a few other minor things. It really is a case of, you don't make a Voron, you make your Voron.

So why did I do these particular upgrades? Well, let me go through them.

5" Touch Screen - I got the Bigtreetech one. They have a few options, and 5" seemed like a good match. Why add it in the first place? Especially when Klipper (the software that runs the printer) has a web interface? Convenience. The web interface is good, and you can do more than with the touch screen, but it's nice being able to just walk up to my printer, tell it to heat the nozzle so I can change filament. Also being able to pre-upload, and then print when ready, etc. Much nicer than opening my laptop or dealing with a phone screen.

EBB 2209 CAN RP2040 - In hindsight, I probably should have stuck with the standard version, but my thinking was that due to it having larger connectors, crimping would be easier. Plus being built on the RP2040 platform, I figured it would be more moddable. However, it turns out, it's been a bit of a pain. All the wires I have received with parts seem to already be pre-crimped with the smaller connectors, so I'm forced to redo them. Also from what I've read, it can't handle heat as well as the STM based one. So far hasn't been a problem, but it is getting quite a bit hotter than it's specified to do, so I'll add a heatsink and fan at some stage.

CNC Tap - With the standard (3d printed) tap, you lose a bit of build space, and the whole thing is a bit heavier than the CNC version, so this one was pretty easy. I did read one report that the Voron designers always intended the flexibility of the 3d printed tap to be all part of it's reliability, but I also read that any issues based on that were sorted out with the latest Chaotic Labs CNC Tap V2.

Titanium Gantry Backers - I knew early on I wanted to add backers to my gantry extrusions, it helps reduce the warping from aluminium expanding at a different rate to steel (the linear rails that are attached to them). Steel would be a perfect match, but titanium is close and lighter. Originally I didn't know my kit came with steel ones, and the titanium ones were the only ones available near me. Not super cheap, but at the end of the day, this makes the whole gantry lighter, which improves my speeds.

Wago connectors - The connectors the kit came with weren't great. They did the job, but when it comes to mains voltage, I want the best. They're also very convenient for attaching the various wires (heaters, thermistors and fans) that go through to the bed, so I can easily disconnect them if I'm working under the bed. Lucky for me, I know an electrician, and he sent me all the ones I needed. Thanks Jack.

The Filter - The kit came with everything needed to add a "Nevermore" filter, but everything I read was that "The Filter" is better. Higher airflow & holds more activated charcoal. I also added the optional side fans too (I add charcoal in here too), so that my chamber heats up much quicker when printing ABS. This works amazingly. The bad smell (and whatever other nasty chemicals) while printing ABS meant I could only print when I wasn't in the room, and with the window open. Not always ideal. Now with the filters, the air is nice and fresh.

Webcams - this is a recent addition. A couple of cheap webcams. This lets me monitor prints while out and about (thanks to Tailscale - see previous blog post), or even while lying in bed. I can check that everything is still stuck to the buildplate. So originally I just had an ESP32 Cam with some matching firmware sitting in the top corner, but I also bought a cheap $10 webcam from AliExpress. I've also added this in a different spot for extra monitoring.

Handles - The big downside of this printer is that it's large and heavy (I think it's around 20kg). Not very nice to move around. I found some very nice handles that I was able to print and add, these things are super strong, and make carrying it a lot easier, I no longer need to remove the side panels just to be able to pick it up.

Panel Clips - I love how these look, I also printed them with a filament swap a couple of layers in to get a nice effect on them. This make it trivial to add and remove the panels, which happens more often than you might think. When printing PLA, you want them off for the extra airflow, but ABS, you want them on for the extra heat.

RockNRoll - With the spool holder on the back of the printer, tipping it on its back is a pain, you have to either tip sideways, or take the spool holder off. Now these add some stands for it to balance on while working on the electronics (which are held in the bottom of the printer.

The build itself was a lot of fun, but took quite a while. Spaced over a few weekends, it probably came in at around 30 hours. The first weekend was spent adding all the heat-set inserts and assembling the frame. This was the part I was most worried about. Getting the frame square is one of the most important steps of the whole build, and if you get it wrong, you pretty much have to disassemble the whole thing to fix it.

The next weekend was the gantry and electronics (running all the wires took AGES). I managed to make it move at this stage. I also managed to fry one of the circuit boards, so I had to wait a couple of weeks for a new one, luckily this one was super cheap.

After that was all the final bits to get PLA printing, so then I made some temporary parts to add the side panels so I could print ABS myself (for all the main parts, I ordered them along with the kit). From there it was just reprinting the clips, and adding all the cosmetic parts like the skirts, touch screen case, etc.

So once you have a finished printer (it's never truly finished, but finished to the state where it prints, and has all the nice trims) you apply for a serial number. So welcome to V2.7438.

So extra upgrades that I'm planning on adding soon?

I've already built the majority of the "Clicky Clack Fridge Door" mod. This one will seal the door much better, and is also a lot more convenient for opening or removing. Just need someone to cut the acrylic sheet for me (I've tried the score and break method a couple of times, but I've cracked the wrong bit twice now, and that stuff isn't cheap) - I'm going to find a local sign maker to do it.

Unclicky Runout sensor. I've already built this one too, but need to do the wiring. This will let me know if I run out of filament, so the printer can notify me, and give me a chance to change it over.

Upgrade the SBC. I'm currently running the Bigtreetech CB1 because Raspberry Pi CM4's are so expensive, but it's a bit underpowered. I've bought the CB2 (which is much closer to the power of a Pi4), but unfortunately it won't boot, so I need to get in touch with the seller and get a replacement.

Upgrade all the wire covers that cover the wires in the extrusions. The kit came with some, but they're black, so I'm printing some purple ones to match the colour scheme.

Change the hotend to be a Bambu Labs X1C/P1P style one. This should give me higher speeds, especially when using larger nozzles. I've just got to do some re-crimping here and install it.

Baffles for the lighting. Currently the lights are VERY bright even outside the printer. This will help keep the light IN the printer, and give the LED's a bit of protection from bumps also.

Eventually upgrade the toolhead. While the default Stealthburner looks amazing, and works great for ABS, it's not so good with PLA. So maybe upgrade to Xol or Dragonburner. We'll see.

From there, who knows?!?!?