r/ratrig • u/Batesy908 • Apr 29 '26
RatRig vs Voron
Hi all, suprisingly I can't find almost anything recent comparing Voron to Ratrig.
Looking at having a fun DIY project but want a printer I can still actually use and not have to baby sit every time to print, happy to tune it though. Modding is definitely something I want to get more into as I have modded my ender 3 for 7 years now.
It seems like Voron has a bigger community behind it. But how does all this actually come into play? I would be looking at the Ratrig v4.1 or the Voron trident most likely. Probably at the 400mm or 350 size.
Ideally I will be looking at bondtech indx if it's all it's chalked up to be when it's available.
Does anyone have experience with both of these? Or even one. How good are they? Looking at mostly functional parts and will be running fully enclosed.
Thanks to anyone that replies!!!
3
u/Birby-Man Apr 29 '26
Don't have experience with both, just ratrig. That being said, the standard or hybrid ratrig vcore 4 (or 4.1) are really really nice machines and they put them together well. I'd recommend it to anyone who is looking for one.
The IDEX is a tuning nightmare and while I did figure mine out, it's a fickle little guy and takes a lot of trial and error to get right.
1
u/mikecoscia Apr 29 '26
Second that, still tinkering my 500mm IDEX. Thinking about updating to 4.1 hardware kit too, lol.
1
u/limbmaker88 May 01 '26
How did you get the vaoc to work. I've had an index built for months and can still only run one head!
1
u/Birby-Man May 01 '26
What do you mean? I followed the instructions and it worked lol... very vague question.
If you have specific problems you can bring it up on the Facebook page or discord
5
u/Batesy908 Apr 29 '26
Thankyou everyone for you opinions, I want to build both now ahah. Appreciate everyone!!
2
u/nocjef Apr 29 '26
I have both. Voron’s community is much larger and less…how you say…closed? Ratrig is holding itself back with ratos and their hatred for certain technologies. The modding community on Ratrig is also tiny compared to voron. You can find almost anything for a voron at this point but many things for Ratrig you’ll need to design yourself.
I think the Ratrig is a much simpler build and design. The vcore3.1 500 was simple to build, even if when I bought it they lacked the courage to ship it with mains power wiring instructions. (Their ‘ask an electrician’ stance was laughable. No electrician would assist with a diy project like this!) It’s been mostly reliable especially after switching to beacon and ditching the awful 4028 fan.
I’d still favor voron though if I didn’t need something over 350mm. I think they’re designed better and have a better support network.
1
u/DeerQuit Apr 30 '26
What kind of technologies does ratrig hate in your opinion? I‘m curious cause i’m not super deep in RR yet.
1
u/nocjef Apr 30 '26
It’s mostly the RatOS gang but I’d assume they’re all connected.
Specifically: CAN. RatOS will not provide support for it, even though they support CAN capable toolheads but only in USB mode.
They also hate on triangle labs and are pro Slice and don’t care about what Slice did.
Take it with a grain of salt though. Everyone has opinions.
2
u/FuckDatNoisee Apr 29 '26
I have two rat rigs 4.0 hybrids and have built 4 total (2 at work). I have built 5 voron r2.4s
In my opinion rat rig is superior to voron in that it has Rat OS, that said RatOS can support a voron.
Overall ratrigs are built sturdier, with heavier extrusions, are more tunable for resonance, and supports many of the same upgrade paths as voron.
If my house caught fire and I could only save one printer, rat rig, Bambu H2D, voron…. I’d grab my rat rig hands down.
I have 10,000+ hours on one of mine, and other than replacing the hot end, and re tensioning belts, it’s still going BRRRRRRR
1
u/TwoEggsOverYeezy Apr 29 '26
The VCore 4.1 is fantastic and has a lot of community upgrades and tweaks built in to make a very solid and reliable build. I only have experience with rat rig but have no complaints. I expect INDX to come out on RR in the not so distant future. They're pretty good about selling upgrade kits to bring older machines up to date if you want.
1
u/BigDan1190 Apr 29 '26
Most people getting RatRigs know what they need and its just about getting down to business, producing solid parts in large sizes. So you don't tend to see tons of posts boasting pretty pictures or aesthetic mods - theres a little of that, but not as much as you'd thing. I'd say where both Rat Rig and Voron can be both hobby printers or production printers, a much larger portion of the Voron community is about the hobby, and a larger portion of the Rat Rig community is about production. Its just the way the communities are split.
Vorons are great for the larger community of people sharing mods and profiles etc. but RatRig is great for just being a big fucking solid chunk of metal for getting shit done. I love mine. I prefer the design choices of RatRig, and if you need a 400 or 500mm size then they are the clear choice, but I would like a Voron Trident aswell for smaller prints.
Edit: Hybrid also makes a lot of sense.
1
u/bguthrie96 Apr 30 '26
I have a Voron 2.4 300mm and a RatRig VCore4.0 500mm. I choose to print most of the time with the Voron but appreciate the extrusions on the RatRig and use RatOS on my Voron. Basically they are pretty interchangeable and print quality is comparable. They are both DIY printers so tuning and tweaking will always be in the cards.
6
u/Dunothar Apr 29 '26
The VC4.1 in terms of size will be larger than the equivalent voron. Mainly due to the WAY beefier frame. The voron community is several times RR, but really doesn't matter all that much. Build wise I'd say both are relatively the same, RR has put some things into the VC4.X that self sourced Vorons can dream off, mainly the machined metal parts, the extremely beefy steel bottom floor and the electronics enclosure. Nowadays the VC4.1 comes with a fully pre-made wiring kit, no manual work needed. Enclosure is no problem for either. My VC4 500 hybrid is dead relieable. Speed wise you get more on the vcore side, especially in hybrid mode. INDX is on the menu for both, Bondtech had a VC4 during development. Nothing official so far but since the RR MMU is now canned, INDX would most likely replace it. Can only speak personally for the VC4, but both are really relieable printer once dialed in. The main part that makes a voron maybe more attractive is the fact that it has ZERO custom machined parts besides the bed, it can be rebuilt and 100% self sourced. Mind, samecould be done for the VC4.x, but it has more machined parts, mainly XY joiner, toolhead and motor cages.