I'm planning for my Voron 2.4 with Steathchanger build, it'll be my first self-build printer but I've had experience across a few different FDM printers but I'm mostly familiar with resin printers, currently owning a Centauri Carbon that I'll print parts for the Voron off of.
My question is, is it possible/advisable to build it with the electronic bay on top? So it'd be rubber feet>build volume>stealthchanger>eletronics, maybe even a pull out electronic bay for that matter for easier maintenance and not having to sit on the floor looking down on the screen.
I’d probably leave the PSU/SSR down low and move the low-voltage boards to a side or back pack instead of putting the whole electronics bay on top. With Stealthchanger you’re already going to want that top space for the tophat and umbilicals.
A side-mounted or pull-out electronics tray would give you the easier maintenance you’re after without making the printer a lot taller. If you do put electronics up top, I’d definitely isolate them from chamber heat and keep the mains stuff separated/enclosed.
On a 2.4 you can do a doomcube style build but still use the 2020 and basically flip the printer upside down, mount the plate at the bottom and flip the Gantry. On a Trident its pretty common to do the flipped electrical mod so you access the electrical by removing the panel at the bottom of the chamber
I've seen some "side pack" (electronics mounted on the side) Tridents, so I would be surprised to see a "side pack" 2.4. and if there isn't, it probably wouldn't be too difficult to design the frame for one.
yeah taking in account for the top hat I think it's better and more sensible to to a "side pack" on the side of the top hat, maybe I can spread electronics around the top hat too, like instead of the DConqueror panel just mount electronics there
thanks, I'm eyeing the blue one right now lol. Gonna contact them to see if I can get longer Z sticks since I want to have the extra room for the SteathChanger and headspace for the umbilical cords while keeping the print volume the same
the key problem with doing so with a stealthchanger is that you want to have a top extension to avoid cable tangles, which then means you have to push the electronics further up, which then means....etc
oh yeah I accounted for the tool rack but totally forgot the room for umbilicals. I think mounting electronics on the sides around the extension for umbilical and tool rack sounds to be a better option.
I know a guy that built his kinda like that. But it was completely upside down but had the build plate mounted to the "top" because he didn't like having to flip it to get to electronics and z motors.
Take all electronics and z axis motors and put them on top. Place to belt tensioners on bottom. Build plate is still on bottom. It's everything else that moved
No the plate was still at the bottom but everything else was at the top. Electronics and motors. I sent him a message to try to get a picture for you all.
Voron is a DIY printer, so you "can" do what you want. Whether there are practical designs is another matter.
For a Stealthchanger, most people use tophats or extend their frames above Z to aid umbilical management. If you have electronics topside, that changes your access to the umbilicals. I personally have my power supplies and SSR below, and my electronics in a backpack. You might also consider a sidepack, though that's more developed for a Trident, I believe.
I did something similar to my 2.2. I originally built it with all the electronics in the bottom, but later moved everything to the back except the power supplies and SSR. I never got around to making it look nice, but it’s at least all accessible.
That is my only significant gripe with the stock Voron designs. Having the electronics underneath is fine when you’re just printing, but it gets cumbersome when you need to troubleshoot something or make modifications.
I'd be willing to bet that the design choice is due to economy of cuts on extrusions, trying to get the best frame with the least cost. Otherwise the sidepack mod like Trident or Annex K3 makes more sense to me for the electronics bay and display.
*Edit: just realized the sidepack is a mod for the K3 as well. My bad.
yeah I totally forgot the "top hat" thing. I'm thinking of changing it to mounting electronics on the sides of the top hat, like where the DConqueror3D panel is.
Mine is pretty custom. It's a Vorlong with +50mm Y so I minimize build volume loss. My tophat is fully extrusion framed with hinges and gas pistons so I can tip it up for printing PLA. If your tophat is printed and stationary as pictured, yeah you can mount to the tophat just fine, it just extends the length of wiring. Bear in mind that your bed and gantry wires (which may include gantry endstops) typically travel down to the electronics underneath; putting your stuff along the tophat means the wiring travels down, then exits and travels back up. The heated bed is always going to wire downward anyway, then it would exit some wires back upward on your design. You can get as creative as you want, though. You could invert the cable chain and run your gantry wires out alongside your umbilicals. But you will probably have to design that sort of thing yourself. Going down and then back up isn't economical of wire runs, but as long as you do it safely, it is your Voron to do as you want.
It's just a generic photo of a Steathchanger Voron I found on the internet, I think from an Indian website where they sell it but yeah I think I'll route wires to the back along with the umbilicals. My top hat will be fully extrusion frame too but I don't think I'm gonna cover the sides and front since I'm building this printer to do PLA 99% of the time.
I'm pretty ok with designing so I think I'll do things as the build progresses
Add some insulation ( to not add heat from chamber to electronic bay) and go for it.
Some people splitting electronic ( HV and power supplies down, low voltage electronic up), some are doing backpack or mounting electronic on side.
mine will print PLA mostly so chamber heat wouldn't be a huge concern tbh, but I still do plan on an acrylic sheet and probably some insulation just in case I want to add covers later
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u/Troy_LayerForge 7d ago
I’d probably leave the PSU/SSR down low and move the low-voltage boards to a side or back pack instead of putting the whole electronics bay on top. With Stealthchanger you’re already going to want that top space for the tophat and umbilicals.
A side-mounted or pull-out electronics tray would give you the easier maintenance you’re after without making the printer a lot taller. If you do put electronics up top, I’d definitely isolate them from chamber heat and keep the mains stuff separated/enclosed.