Odrive drivetrain at Voron 2.4

[artemiy03]

Hello everyone!

I'm planning to build a Voron 2.4 using ODrive motors (BLDC + servo controller) instead of the standard NEMA 17 stepper motors.

The main advantage I'm aiming for is the increased power of the BLDC motors, which should allow for stronger acceleration (jerk) and higher speeds.
Putting aside potential issues with the printing process itself, I have two main questions:

1. Is it mechanically feasible to replace the standard NEMA 17 motors with ODrive-controlled BLDC motors to move the axes and toolhead?
2. Will the motion system — especially the belts and frame — be able to handle the increased force and stress without degrading performance or reliability?

Thanks in advance for any advice or experience you can share!

 

[Maas101]

I'm no expert but my 2c worth.. The limiting factor of a 2.4 is not the motors, NEMA 17s are more than capable of driving the frame beyond its limits. If speed is your goal, start with a Trident, the fixed gantry is inherently more stable than a flying one and if you're set on a 2.4 then there are better ways of amping up the speed. Start with a doom cube frame, add an AWD 48v monolith gantry and you'll still not be able to use the full power of the NEMA 17s. Vibrations and frame rigidity are the weak links not the motors.

 

[vinnycordeiro]

Is it mechanically feasible to replace the standard NEMA 17 motors with ODrive-controlled BLDC motors to move the axes and toolhead?

AFAIK not as-is, you'll need to redesign some parts in order to be able to swap from stepper motors to BLDC motors.

Will the motion system — especially the belts and frame — be able to handle the increased force and stress without degrading performance or reliability?

You can always go for gantry mods that uses 9mm belts for example, that's what some of the people of AWD gantry mods do.

However, you need to answer some questions before going this route:

1. Why? Truth be told, 3d printers are scarcely an application where BLDC/servo motors will show their potential, the forces are just too small in comparison to a CNC mill for instance.
2. Have you looked at the software/firmware side of things? AFAIK only reprapfirmware have support for BLDCs at the moment. There have been developments of a plugin for Klipper that would allow them, but you would be forced to use TMC4671 drivers for that.

Needless to say, this is "here be dragons" territory and you'll have little to no help just because no one (or near to no one) have experience with such a setup.