Finally Getting to it, a 350mm Formbot Voron 2.4 r2 Kit (With Pro+ added later)

[Th3Cap3]

Hey Everyone! I'll let this be my inaugural post to the Voron forums

I've always been fascinated with 3d printing, building, tinkering, modding, etc... I have a heavily modded Ender 3 Pro that I started out with (that currently needs a full rebuild to Klipper along with some other modifications) and as I wanted a much large build area (originally I was thinking cosplay forever ago), I ordered my Voron 2.4 r2 kit.

This all was back in 2022 and unfortunately, as it tends to happen, life got in the way and kept getting in the way, but now (knock on wood), I can finally sit down and put everything together.

I am extremely out of the loop on all the mods, suggested tips and tricks, caveats, etc... So feel free to share your wisdom if you would like!

So lets get to the basics, I have the Formbot 2.4 r2 350mm kit that I purchased a while ago (2022), then ordered a supplemental pack from Formbot in 2025 to bring it up to spec with their pro+ offering as I was planning to build it last year. I opted for the Dragon hotend and I noticed in the Pro+ I will be using CAN for the tool head which I am extremely excited for. I went with the black with red accents though I plan to rebuild it later on (or build another one) in a different color scheme.

I also noticed that the pro+ kit runs everything off the Manta M8P+CB-1 combo versus the original 2.4 r2 kit which was a pi4 and I forgot what the mainboard is. I've not done anything with the newer boards so looking forward to learning more about those.

I did find out after unpacking things today that I'm missing my heat inserts so the build is delayed until my amazon order comes in (I also can't find my soldering iron to install them, I think my ex threw it away along with some space printer stuff I had.... >.<), Everything else looks like it's here though so I'm hoping to get started this week.

I know one mod I've been seeing lately on YouTube is the tool changer, that will be something I want to explore later down the road, just want to get this built and working first then plan out my next mods once I'm able to print everything else I need (my Ender 3 Pro is INOP currently).

I'll be sure to post pictures of my progress, depending on what's going on, they may be in chunks, but I'll try and be consistent, but looking over my dining room table covered in parts to build my rig is very exciting! Can't wait to dig in!

If anyone reading this has any wisdom, tips, tricks, caveats, or things I should keep an eye out for, please don't hesitate to let me know!

 

[NoGuru]

Welcome!
I would always recommend doing the stock build and and then mod it. Plan on taking it apart many times as you do this.

 

[Th3Cap3]

Welcome!
I would always recommend doing the stock build and and then mod it. Plan on taking it apart many times as you do this.

Definitely my plan, I'll build the kit as is and make sure it all works before modding. I've been out of the game for a bit, definitely don't want to bite off more than I can chew lol.

 

[Th3Cap3]

Day 1 in the books, made some decent progress I feel, only hiccup was the manual only showed 8 tnuts per z rail. I'm assuming it's due to smaller rails so I ended up using 10 on each z rail.

If I run out later on I'll just order more

 

[NoGuru]

If you are following the Voron build manual I can tell you there are no more mistakes. They few that have ever popped up were fixed and it is very dialed in now.

 

[Th3Cap3]

If you are following the Voron build manual I can tell you there are no more mistakes. They few that have ever popped up were fixed and it is very dialed in now.

That's excellent to hear! I am working through the voron manual, it's really well written.

Today's progress, got a good bit done but found that my tool head rail was mislabeled and is not mhn12h but a 9h like all the others. I also found out that the z belts are too short (1110mm instead of the minimum recommended 1200mm).

Bed installed and gantry mostly completed, I've ordered a 400mm mgn12h rail and 10 meters of 2GT 9mm belt, should be able to start back on it Monday.

 

[NoGuru]

I can't believe they shipped the wrong stuff. Its too bad too, I have an extra 12H rail I could have sent you if I read this in time.

Looks like you are progressing nicely.

 

[Th3Cap3]

I can't believe they shipped the wrong stuff. Its too bad too, I have an extra 12H rail I could have sent you if I read this in time.

Looks like you are progressing nicely.

I greatly appreciate it! Yeah, the kit has been giving me issues... Maybe it's because it's older, maybe it's better now.

Day 2 progress:
The the replacement mgn12h and z belts came in over the weekend and was able to get them setup and tightened just not tuned.

My youngest kitty Willow saying the old belts aren't good:


Got the new belts in and the gantry installed.

 

[Th3Cap3]

Day 3 progress:
Focused on getting the A/B belts ran, x gantry installed, CW2, and StealthBurner done.

Got the A/B belts run through and realized that the pro+ kit comes with Voron Tap, so slight deviation from the plan but got it setup.



Moved on to building the CW2 and Stealthburner, got as much done as I could, in building these (with EBB SB2209 CANBUS which I also forgot was in the kit). While building I found out the motor I thought was for the CW2 was in fact not (was the regular bowden setup). My kit didn't have the nema-14 pancake for the CW2 I needed to complete the tool head build, so I got one on order.

I went as far as I could and still a productive day.

 

[NoGuru]

Wow, you are making great progress.
Tap is okay but maybe in the future thing about Beacon or Cartograhper. I have a Beacon on my 350 and the speed and accuracy is mind blowing to get surface scan.

 

[Th3Cap3]

Wow, you are making great progress.
Tap is okay but maybe in the future thing about Beacon or Cartograhper. I have a Beacon on my 350 and the speed and accuracy is mind blowing to get surface scan.

I've been looking at those since I have to wait for my nema-14. What do you run it with as far as printing surface(s) and toolhead? I may have to wait until after get it up and running to print any parts I'd need to install it.

I've been trying to see if there are any laser or LiDAR projects for the voron I could check out as well as I think that would be an amazing addition.

 

[NoGuru]

I know a few people have done LiDAR, but it was never adapted as far as I can tell.

Bed is from Formbot so just standard and I run WhamBam PEX and Fabeeko PEI sheets on the Steathburner. I might be switching to an AT4 toolhead soon if I ever find enough time to make the change. It should be litter with better cooling.

 

[endstop]

>> I know one mod I've been seeing lately on YouTube is the tool changer, that will be something I want to explore later down the road
...
>> Beacon
...
>> I would always recommend doing the stock build

Hi,

I would at least look into the "long term goal", how the pieces are supposed to fall in place eventually.
You might consider skipping the fixed print head mount and go straight for the toolchanger shuttle (either keeping drag chain or umbilical, doesn't matter at this point), even if you own only a single head initially. This has one important implication, touch probing with the eddy current probe can't be done with the nozzle anymore, when the probe is on the shuttle. My point is, try to sketch out the way ahead to not lose time in dead ends. Also, you may need to shift the printbed for the nozzle to reach the Z endstop, as the shuttle moves the head a bit forward in Y (if that is your plan - I do NOT use the nozzle as reference but a screw on the shuttle - see next paragraph. Also possible that the TAP mod on your picture does that already).

One thing I figured out for myself (not saying this is canon but it seems the solid engineering approach after too much tinkering) is clearly separate between "gantry Z" and "toolhead Z": For a flying gantry toolchanger, I need to home Z against the frame (Z endstop switch at the back) and - as the tools are in front, make sure Quad Gantry Level is accurate. Otherwise, tool changes (which you'll probably want to run at speed) are a gamble and will destroy plastic parts on miss.
The nozzles, however, need to be Z-calibrated against the print sheet (which may vary in height if you swap for a different type). And, Z offset between heads varies greatly as the UHF hotend is quite a bit longer than SF. With identical hotends, I might get away with blurring the distinction as toolchanging has some Z margin. In the general case, not a chance. And honestly, I don't want to worry whether the height of the newly bought replacement nozzle is still within tool change margins or risks crash at pick-up)

Those are probably at the top of the list of "things I should have thought through earlier".

An eddy-current probe in itself is a no-brainer, it's so absurdly fast (also in Quad Gantry Level - I use the "touch" probe mode with a washer under one of the mounting screws as mechanical probe).
However, it's mechanically exposed so may become the first victim in spaghetti monster / blob-of-doom incidents or uncontrolled head movements e.g. if Z steppers go out of sync for whatever reason.

 

[dbird-2]

Hey Everyone! I'll let this be my inaugural post to the Voron forums

I've always been fascinated with 3d printing, building, tinkering, modding, etc... I have a heavily modded Ender 3 Pro that I started out with (that currently needs a full rebuild to Klipper along with some other modifications) and as I wanted a much large build area (originally I was thinking cosplay forever ago), I ordered my Voron 2.4 r2 kit.

This all was back in 2022 and unfortunately, as it tends to happen, life got in the way and kept getting in the way, but now (knock on wood), I can finally sit down and put everything together.

I am extremely out of the loop on all the mods, suggested tips and tricks, caveats, etc... So feel free to share your wisdom if you would like!

So lets get to the basics, I have the Formbot 2.4 r2 350mm kit that I purchased a while ago (2022), then ordered a supplemental pack from Formbot in 2025 to bring it up to spec with their pro+ offering as I was planning to build it last year. I opted for the Dragon hotend and I noticed in the Pro+ I will be using CAN for the tool head which I am extremely excited for. I went with the black with red accents though I plan to rebuild it later on (or build another one) in a different color scheme.

I also noticed that the pro+ kit runs everything off the Manta M8P+CB-1 combo versus the original 2.4 r2 kit which was a pi4 and I forgot what the mainboard is. I've not done anything with the newer boards so looking forward to learning more about those.

I did find out after unpacking things today that I'm missing my heat inserts so the build is delayed until my amazon order comes in (I also can't find my soldering iron to install them, I think my ex threw it away along with some space printer stuff I had.... >.<), Everything else looks like it's here though so I'm hoping to get started this week.

I know one mod I've been seeing lately on YouTube is the tool changer, that will be something I want to explore later down the road, just want to get this built and working first then plan out my next mods once I'm able to print everything else I need (my Ender 3 Pro is INOP currently).

I'll be sure to post pictures of my progress, depending on what's going on, they may be in chunks, but I'll try and be consistent, but looking over my dining room table covered in parts to build my rig is very exciting! Can't wait to dig in!

If anyone reading this has any wisdom, tips, tricks, caveats, or things I should keep an eye out for, please don't hesitate to let me know!

Congrats. I am right behind you and just created the start of my build log.

 

[dbird-2]

If you are following the Voron build manual I can tell you there are no more mistakes. They few that have ever popped up were fixed and it is very dialed in now.

I am taking notes in my PDF build log and making it a bit easier for me to read by changing the text color form Gray to Black and adding in some build notes. Attched is the first 21 pages. Hoping this helps people with some of the learning I am having in my Voron Journey.

 

[NoGuru]

I am taking notes in my PDF build log and making it a bit easier for me to read by changing the text color form Gray to Black and adding in some build notes. Attched is the first 21 pages. Hoping this helps people with some of the learning I am having in my Voron Journey.

Interesting idea, I like that the notes are on the page. Could be very useful if someone is confused about the directions.

 

[Th3Cap3]

Hey everyone! My apologies, it's been a crazy bit of time so I'll try and catch everyone up on where I'm at currently.

@dbird-2, a pdf for your build log and notes is a fantastic idea! Thank you for sharing! If you run into any questions, I'm happy to help as best I can though there are tons of people here more knowledgeable than I.

@endstop , an Eddy current probe will probably be my next mod, along with something to make those panels less of a pain to deal with, thank you for the insights!

@NoGuru, glad to hear it as that will likely be what I'm running, good to know it won't be an issue. I love the WhamBam build plates, I have one on my Elegoo Saturn 2 and my old Ender 3 Pro. I'll get one for the voron soon as well .


On to what I worked on this week

Finally got the right nema-14 in for the CW2 but had to shorten the wires quite a bit as it wasn't meant for a CANBUS setup.



Was able to finish building the tool head finally.



Once all that was setup for the most part, I started working on wiring everything up. My goal was to get everything plugged in where it needed to go so I could get to loading firmware and making sure the basic checks all worked properly.



This eventually turned into this lovely rats nest lol



But with everything plugged in (I need to print a new skirt piece for the power plug and switch, the kit didn't come with the separate plug and switch like as described in the BOM).

Got Klipper, Moonraker, and Mainsail installed along with katapult, CANBUS also flashed. No sparks or smoke wheni powered it up!



I went through the basic stepper buzzer checks and setup sensorsless homing on XY just to verify all my connections were properly done so I could button things up.

First priority was addressing the rats nest.



Much happier with that and then put the panels minus the bottom one, it doesn't fit with the feet on it, so I'll either have to cut it down or just leave it off.



Next steps will be doing all the heated calibrations and tuning, I was hoping to have it printing this week, but it's been busy busy trying to find a job (had a few interviews this week, we'll see if anything pans out from them).

 

[endstop]

Question is, would I really go for CAN. I went with USB and (so far - fingers crossed) didn't regret it.

If you're working on electrics, print an additional 3-WAGO clip as a MeanWell terminal block cover - not its intended purpose, it just happens to have the right size.
It gives some additional protections for the input voltage terminals, never hurts.

 

[Th3Cap3]

Question is, would I really go for CAN. I went with USB and (so far - fingers crossed) didn't regret it.

If you're working on electrics, print an additional 3-WAGO clip as a MeanWell terminal block cover - not its intended purpose, it just happens to have the right size.
It gives some additional protections for the input voltage terminals, never hurts.

I'm interested to hear what your experience is with USB, I've quite enjoyed CAN so far, but I'm a noob so my exposure is limited.

An update for today!

Printed my first calibration cube! I haven't done any input shaping or pressure advance, just got QGL running and that's it.



Next up is making a few adjustments to my x/y steps and then input shaping. I also need to work on my z offset some as the first layer looked a bit thin.

 

[NoGuru]

Not too bad looking. I love calibrating. Z offset is Numero uno then everything else.
This was my calibration bible for years https://ellis3dp.com/Print-Tuning-Guide/?mwg_rnd=4684631
I don't know how relevant it still is since I have been doing my own thing for a while now and a lot of slicers have built in calibration tools.