No problem 👍 Yeah that printer is dropping all over social media like the same day I post this haha. From what I can tell, it's a "cheaper" Troodon. Molded plastic parts instead of stamped and extruder metal. And its not complete, no side panels. Also the tool head is proprietary.
@@ashers_workshopI don’t think his review is representative of the actual unit. Unless you’re expecting a cheaper version to be of the exact same quality
So you can make life a lot easier with better macros. And KAMP. KAMP will slice off a lot of time in the start sequence. Adaptive mesh is built into klipper now also so if you don’t wanna install KAMP you can just use the adaptive mesh portion. A longer retract at print end will save you from the nozzle cleaning and you can also add a brush and bucket and add that to the tap macro. Outside heat soaking my Voron starts very fast. One last and most important thing. Build a never more filter and stop using the vent in the back. You’ll never get consistent performance and max layer adhesion sucking all your heat out.
Thanks for your suggestions! The great think about an open source printer like this is we have the ability to customize about every aspect to meet our individual needs.
@@designbydave very true! My 2.4 has definitely come so far since my initial configuration with the baseline stuff. I look forward to seeing what awesome things you get up to with this new one :)
I found this video when researching Troodon, if you are upgrading to a eddy probe, I'm deffinitely intrested in how your're doing it and how much it improves
Cool, thanks for checking it out. I have an Eddy probe, but I am just waiting for support for it to be included with mainline Klipper before installing.
Hi, great vid. The Exhaust fan, technically isnt needed for printing abs. its counter productive as its meant to pull air out through a filter but you can disable that fan easily. Regarding TAP, depending on start gcode, your printer should heat to 150C to push away any oozing that might have occured. The issue with beacon is, you are not actually probing the print surface but the spring steel below which is the main "selling point" for tap. Let me know if I can help you in any way with TAP Setup etc. Cheers, Takuya
Thanks. The exhaust fan is necessary for printing ABS for me as my printer is in my small studio apartment where I do not want ABS odor where I sleep. Reducing the speed to 30% seems to be the balance between odor filtering and warp free printing.
@@designbydave I suggest closing up the Exhaust, but installing a nevermore filter instead. its way more effective, plus passively bumps up the chamber temps by blowing the warm air under the bed into the chamber. Keeping the printer closed up with foam tape between the panels and the frame + waiting at the end of a print for the chamber temp to stabilize, also reduces nasty stuff going into the air as the VOC´s can settle down.
Thanks, yeah, from what I understand, adaptive meshing is now integrated into Klipper so there is no need for KAMP. However, I should be upgrading to the Eddy probe soon which also pretty much makes that unnecessary. Stay tuned for a video on that.
If you switch to a scanning probe -- try the cartographer, switch to canbus and umbilical in the process, since beacon is USB only and cartographer works with canbus. I have both on different machines, and the resolution and precision is the same. There are a few gotchas with both of those, I've run into a couple of flex plates that just don't work with either, even though they're spring steel, the scanning probes pick up some variations in the steel that are not really there. Also if you change sheets, you need to re-calibrate the probe, it's quick, but something to keep in mind.
Good to know thanks! I would like to change to canbus to eliminate the cable chains so I guess cartographer is what I would want. That's a project for later on.
Use the same style of insulation with the reflective bubble wrap, but cut it to be the same exact size as the panels, including the holes the screws pass through. Then sandwich the insulation between the panels and the frame. No mod to the printer needed and they act like gaskets.
@@designbydave Will do! Finding information about this specific revision of this printer has proven to be difficult, so what you showed already helps a ton. What did you end up doing for input shaper? USB ADXL345?
@@XHolyPuffX Yeah, not a lot of info out there, partially why I made this video. FWIW, the guys in the Formbot discord have been quite helpful and it's pretty active in there. I haven't even messed with input shaping. I think it has been factory pre-configured.
@@dog2bert Yes! As far as I can tell, the supplied toolhead is 100% the latest Stealthburner with Clockwork extruder. Cable runs through the cable chains with the rest of the toolhead cables. That was a huge pain though as there is barely enough room in the cable chains for the extra wires. Makes me kinda wish I had installed a CAN toolhead board.
I can manage to hit approx 45c+ for my v2.4 chamber I use nevermore, abs works great also helps the chamber heat quickly, if possible under bed fans really help heat the chamber. Also for tap, I preheat the bed to 110/abs temps and the nozzle to 150c the nozzle being 150c gives abs enough squish to not seem to affect my leveling. Also check out KAMP so you don't probe the whole bed. also idk how precise your qgl is set but 0.075 should be all you need afaik, i am typically leveled in 1-3 cycles. Hope some of this helps.
Wow the troodons are pretty cheap now. They used to be a lot more than a 2.4 kit. A LOT more. I got my 2.4 kit from formbot about 2 years ago and remeber looking at them back then. Comes with aklipper screen as well. Nice. Got the same setup on my 2.4. Im also not a fan of the nozzle homing methods which is why I went for a eucalid probe. Was before TAP. Had the rubbish inductance probes back then. Still needs to home off the nozzle against the z end stop but this isnt an issue if you heat the nozzle while the chamber comes up to temp and let all the oozing finish the run a nozzle clean with a nozzle brush. At least the meshing doesnt use the nozzle. I also highly reccomend building a nevermore filter to go under your bed and circulate hot air around you chamber. Will heat up way faster and allow you to get over 45C within 15 minutes without any insulation. Mine gets up to over 60C during summer. You also wont need to run the chamber fan and dump your hot air as the nevermore has carbon filtration. Also the chamber fan filter doesnt do jack for reducing VOCs just so you know.
Dunno what you are talking about, the US price has not gone above $1099 since I started looking at them in Jan 2023. I bought 3 that winter/spring, and one of them was $50 less.
@@mkhmkh1266 The Troodon 2.0 did not exist at the time I'm talking about. It was the vivedino core xy. Which if you take a look at the formbot website were / are much more expensive. More than twice the price of a 2.4 kit. So now you know what I'm talking about.
@@bobmac6050 I'm not sure, I measured it a couple years ago on my Voron 0.2 but don't remember what I was getting. I rarely push it very hard though, so a high flow hot end probably isn't that necessary for me. However its nice to have the overhead in case I need it.
I actually heard about Troodons a while back, but didn't consider them because they were so pricy. After I heard about the SV08 the other day, I looked into it and it seems undercooked and it's ironically made me more likely to buy a Troodon (I could never get a V2.4 since I don't think I can make the time investment). I might be imagining things but Troodons seem to cost a lot less than when I last looked into them
Yeah I've looked into the SV08 since it's exploded on the socal medias lately. Sure it's about half the cost of the Troodon, but as it's shipping it's also probably about half as "functional", so to speak. Personally, the SV08 won't work for me because its not enclosed (yet?) and I'd prefer not to have plastic mechanical parts. Also I really don't like proprietary hot ends.
Oh man this couldn't have come at a better time, Dave -- mine is arriving in the mail in a few days 😄 I'm thinking of swapping in a Phaetus Rapido 2 UHF in it for fast ABS printing. Why would you say the enclosure exhaust fan is necessary for printing ABS? I'd think a warm chamber is first priority. I'll be doing some of the mods you mentioned here. Cheers!
Those LEDs look sweet, really adds a nice touch. Might be able to squeeze in once of those thermal space blankets instead of a thicker insulation, worked very well for me in other use cases. Some tips for TAP, heat to 150, nozzle wipe with the brush, then proceeded with leveling and QGL, then park and heat to full temp, should help reduce the pre oozing! Looking forward to getting my Troodon 2.0 Pro, how do you find the stealthburner is for partcooling? Thinking I might need to swap to dual 5015s for some higher speed PLA printing. How did you find the ABS smell with the exhaust fan?
Thanks! There's really not much room for any kind of insulation, like maybe 2mm. That is basically the procedure I ended up with for pre-printing with tap. I throw in an extra nozzle clean after it reaches print temp. The main issue is oozing AFTER the print has finished. Which means you have to either clean the nozzle right after a print finishes, or heat up the nozzle and clean before starting the print. Sorry if that wasn't clear. I haven't even come close to pushing the cooling and high print speed on this. Most of what I print for my projects doesn't require cooling, polycarbonate, so that has not been much of a concern to me. Once or twice I got a few hours into an ABS print and realized that I forgot to turn the exhaust fan on. So, the enclosure alone is pretty effective at keeping the odor under control. I have been using 30% on the fan and can not notice really any smell.
@@designbydave The space blanket stuff is pretty thin, about a sheet of paper thick but works surprisingly well at reflecting heat, might work here for something extra with minimal work, might even work on the outside honestly. Thanks for the clarification! Might be able to add a bit of retract in the END_PRINT to help with oozing afterwards, I was able to stop it on my other printers with a hefty retraction afterwards to completely remove filament from the nozzle. May not be perfect but might help a bit. Good to know about the enclosure fan, thanks!
@@papplemyapple Oh, a space blanket, yeah those are super thin and might work. I'm pretty sure it does already retract some after the print, but I'll look into it.
Insulation -> Why not just install on the outside? You can buy huge EVA foam sheets on a roll. I wouldn't use inside because EVA Foam despite being ubiquitious and used to seal the panels, is actually flammable. but on the outside, why not?
You can get hollow core acrylic panels from the big box hardware stores. Cut to size, seal the openings with a printed frame, use longer screws. Should improve heat retention and still look good.
Formbot is Vivedino. They had the Formbot name first had problems with the name in some other country so the changed their name. The got the problems fixed so the have both names now. But the have had Formbot for many years. The had the Trex series the raptor series. Now they have the troodon series.
Thanks for the background on the company names. I've heard of Formbot for a while now, but never Vivedino. I think my point about a lack of "real company" name, web site, reputation still stands. However, like I said, it's not really something that I am personally concerned about, but I feel it's important to highlight it.
Sir, excuse me my bluntness, but that's one hecking sexy printer ;). Btw how is the voron 0 doing for you? I have the voron 0 kit waiting for assembly but I am on the fence regarding going with it and honestly contemplating selling it further.
Thanks! I love my little V0.2. Building it was a pain, but I sure am glad to have it up and running now. I can really hammer out projects much faster having the two printers going.
Great review my friend. Very detailed and informative. Does anyone know if the Voron Project has any plans of making a 500X500X500 printer? 350 seems huge until you want to print a droid without glueing a zillion pieces together.
Oh man, there are so many applications for 3D printing in RC aircraft... I'd really love to work on those but time, space, money etc etc. Just another hobby! Maybe some day.
@@designbydave yeah I know - I just thought the allure of gliding might help ;) I'm 3d printing my first plane (the free cub from 3dlabprint) and I can see how inviting it is, to be able to pretty quickly print a new plane and in the scheme of things it's cheap. And it's why i bought my 3dp, so may as well :) :) 🤣
Oh yeah, tough to find. I don't know if they are no longer being manufactured or what. I found it here - www.creality3dparts.com/product/all-metal-voron-dragon-hf-hotend-extruder-kit-for-voron-2-4-v6-hotend-i3-mk3-titan-ddb-extruder/
@@designbydave things are going well! Loving your content now that I'm able to get on RU-vid more often. Our Internet has been out at the fire station for years lol
It looks like it, yeah. All the various brackets are unique to the Troodon and are either stamped sheet metal or a custom metal extrusion. Not sure if stock, 3D Printed Voron parts would work as replacements should you need to replace something.
Unfortunately Creality have gone the route of proprietary hot ends like with the Sovol SV08 (see my video on that.) So no, not interested in that printer. I'm sure there are many that it will work well for, but I don't think it would suit my needs.
That printer just happened to start blowing up on social media at the same time I was finishing up this video. From what I can see, it's not something I would want. Perhaps a comparison video is in order.
Do the toolhead lights connect to the PCB board on the toolhead or do you have to route that all the way back under the printer to the electronics bay?
All the way back, painstakingly through the cable chains to the mainboard. The toolhead PCB does not have any extra data/power pins. It might be better to commit to switching to a CAN setup.
Long wires running up, umbilical style along the bowden tube, out the back and down to the electronics chamber. +5v and ground go to a 24v to 5v buck converter (which gets 24v from the power supply) and then the data cable to the PG3 or PG5 pin on the main board
Please explain half the price. LDO kits are 1500. This is $950. Are we just rounding? Nice vid. Gave me a lot to think about as I approach a print kit purchase
A similarly spec LDO kit, with cnc metal parts + printed parts is around $2000 on Matterhackers. There is a lot more nuance to the price discussion that I perhaps could have been more clear on. Either way, I still feel this printer is an excellent value.
Yeah, I just looked it up but the cost comparison is a bit more nuanced. At $600 that doesn't include the printed parts and probably not the electronics. The closest configured Formbot kit is currently $959 (USA warehouse) and that does not include printed parts. The ~$2000 kit price I was referencing in the video is for the LDO kit sold by Matterhackers that includes CNC machined parts. That is about the closed "feature" equivalent kit to the Troodon 2.0 that I know of.
@@designbydave no printed parts, but all electronics and everything else needed. Oh wait, no raspberry pi so add another $40. Of course I bought it during an AliExpress sale and stacked multiple discounts. Shipping was free and I got it in two days in California. I like the idea of a mostly built voron for some people. It makes sense for those who don't want or have the time to build one.
@@jasonjennings6686 Yeah, there's a lot of variation in cost depending on how you source the parts. I should have been more clear about the "half the cost of a Voron kit" statement.
The +5 and ground wires run to the buck converter, the signal wire to PG3 or PG5 on the main board EXP1 header - teamgloomy.github.io/images/octopus_x7_pins.png
@@designbydave is there a profile in the Prusa slicer already that support that build plate? Does WiFi come with this printer to send files over wirelessly?
@@Average3djoe I think Formbot includes a basic profile, but you will have to do your own specific configurations. There may be some community profiles out there. Yes it has wifi and you can send files and control every aspect of the printer remotely.
haha, that's the attitude I take to riding my bike up hills. You don't "have" to go up that hill, you GET to. I guess we like to suffer in our own ways.
I see now that there is a 12 month warranty claim on the web site. Also, at least one person commented that they are very responsive via email, so there's that. Also, as for the price being "half" of a Voron kit, that quote is based on the LDO kit from MatterHackers with all metal parts, basically "functionally" equivalent to the Troodon as it ships. There are definitely cheaper Voron kits out there. However it still stands that this printer is a great value.
Had some Creality printers once...never again. That being said, hard to take a recommendation from someone who refers to their Creailty printer as a "workhorse"
