[Things] I wish I had known

source: docs.vorondesign.com anchored to [[400-499_avocation/440-449_general_computer_science/441_OperatingSystems/441.00_anchor|441.00_anchor]] reading time approx: 4–5 minutes

Introduction

Advice commonly given to newcomers is to ask questions in Discord. After reading through the docs, the BOM, the sourcing guide, and watching Nero’s videos, a person normally has the basics down and Discord fills in the cracks that aren’t covered or things just missed. Some things, though, are not obvious to ask, so without months of lurking on Discord and watching discussions, important details may be missed. Often this information is just part of the fast-paced learning the Voron community goes through as recommended practices adjust over time as a result of community learning.

This guide as a result intends to be a summary of lessons learned that can be quickly adjusted over time. Information is meant to be sparse but searching in Discord or asking questions can fill in the gaps. The lessons are focused on the 2.4 printer, but may also apply to other printers.

Lessons

Expensive

  1. Bed tacos are expensive and can be avoided by not heating too fast and not tightening fasteners cold! When tightening do one screw tight, 2 firm, and last one loose or not even there. You can confirm a taco by rotating the bed 90 degrees then doing a bed mesh to see if it rotates as well. Twisted extrusions could also make a bed look tacoed.
  2. Nozzle crashes can bend the frame.
  3. The button by the control knob is an e stop but only kills the z motors … Wire the boards together and it will be for them all
  4. The kits from MagicPhoenix, DigMach, or most vendors with channels on the Voron Discord server will likely be of good quality. In contrast, most kits from China are considered suspect quality, especially for the power supply and SSR.
  5. Important: Do not unplug or re-plug motors from MCUs without powering down the printer. Damage to MCU may result.
  6. Do not move the the stepper motors fast by hand if they are plugged in, since they act as generators, and the generated back current can damage your stepper drivers.

Build

  1. The pulleys used on the Z motors are 16-tooth pulleys. At a glance, they look almost identical to the 20-tooth pulleys used elsewhere in the printer.
  2. Z cubes should move a little.
  3. Loosen screws on gantry to derack.
  4. While not spec, most people use a PEI on spring steel attached the the bed with a magnet.
  5. Common options for magnet (don’t use Energetic) Whambam, or McMaster.
  6. How do people hide the wires? (There is a 3d printed wire hider on Thingiverse that fits 2020 extrusions.)
  7. T nuts what are they the types and how to put them in – Nero’s video on frame has some information on them.
  8. You can tell Keenovo to not put on adhesive so that high-temp RTV silicone glue can be used instead.
  9. Belt tension meter
  10. Nero in a video mentioned that RobotDigg’s black rails are more brittle.
  11. Misumi has economy alternatives.
  12. Spare belts are handy since local sources are often pricey.
  13. There is a printable corner tool for lining up the frame.

AfterBurner

  1. There is a catch on the claw in the AfterBurner that fits into a notch. If you filament does not grip tight at all, check out the diagrams in the build guide to see if this is the issue.
  2. Hone the AfterBurner filament path with a very sharp drill bit or a reaming bit.

Wiring

  1. Connectors for hotend and the probe could be put below the cover to help save space in the cover and make toolhead swaps faster
  2. Wago wire nuts can help the build be more tidy.
  3. Use PTFE wiring from Remington.
  4. Only wiring on the drag chain needs to be PTFE, silicone, or etc.
  5. The heater should be 20 gauge but the others on the drag chain can be 24 gauge.

Things not in the sourcing guide

  1. DIN rails – DigiKey has some
  2. Amazon has cheap SSR mounts