Voron Design is an open-source project run by a team of volunteers. You don't buy a finished Voron: you follow free blueprints (GPLv3), gather the parts — either from a bill of materials (BOM) or via a kit — and assemble your own enclosed, fast CoreXY running Klipper. The machine even prints its own plastic parts (in ABS/ASA). It's as much a hobby as it is a printer.
"You don't build THE Voron, you build YOUR Voron." Everything is designed to be modified, upgraded and understood. It's the opposite of a closed, ready-to-run Bambu — a different mindset.
The philosophy
- Fully open-source: blueprints, BOM and firmware free and community-maintained.
- Self-build: no Voron is sold "officially" assembled. You build it — and so you understand it.
- Quality & technical materials: enclosed frame, designed for ABS/ASA and composites, not just PLA.
- Mod culture: hundreds of printable mods (spool holders, toolheads, sensors); the machine evolves with you.
- Klipper: advanced firmware, fine calibration (pressure advance, input shaping), web interface.
Model table
Indicative costs (quality kit or self-source), excluding component price swings.
| Model | Motion | Volume | Difficulty | Cost ≈ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| V0.2 | Enclosed CoreXY | ~120 mm³ | Medium (tiny) | ≈ $400–600 |
| Switchwire | CoreXZ (belt) | ~250 mm | Approachable | ≈ $700–900 |
| Trident | CoreXY, fixed gantry | 250/300/350 mm | High | ≈ $1,000–1,300 |
| 2.4 | CoreXY, flying gantry | 250/300/350 mm | High (most complex) | ≈ $1,200–1,600 |
The models in detail
Voron V0.2
The "little" Voron: an ultra-compact enclosed CoreXY (~120 mm³), fast and loudly effective. Ideal as a first build, an ABS backup machine, or for tight spaces. Short but fiddly build (small parts).
Voron Switchwire
The most approachable: a belt-driven CoreXZ motion (toolhead driven in X and Z) in a Mendel/i3 form factor. You can build it from a donor printer (Ender/Prusa) to cut costs. A good bridge between a classic Cartesian and the Voron world.
Voron Trident
A fixed-gantry CoreXY where the bed rises and falls on three lead screws (Z). Simpler to build and tune than the 2.4, very stable, available in 250/300/350 mm. Often recommended as the best reliable "big Voron" balance.
Voron 2.4
The flagship and the project's icon: a flying gantry (the gantry itself moves in Z) with quad gantry leveling (auto-leveling at all 4 corners). The most complex to build, but the most precise and versatile, in 250/300/350 mm.
Kit or self-source?
- Self-source (BOM): you buy each part separately following the official list. The cheapest, most educational route — but long and risky if you pick the wrong components.
- Vendor kit: a box with (almost) everything. LDO is the benchmark (quality parts vetted by the community); others like Formbot, Fysetc, Siboor are cheaper, with trade-offs. Some kits are "no board" or partial — check what's included.
For a first Voron, a quality kit (like LDO) avoids half the headaches. Self-sourcing makes sense when you know exactly what you want — or for the joy of the parts hunt.
Pros & cons
Pros
- Performance & quality: fast enclosed CoreXY, comfortable with ABS, ASA and composites.
- Total customization: everything is open, modifiable, repairable — zero proprietary lock-in.
- You genuinely learn: building it teaches you the mechanics, electronics and Klipper.
- Community & docs: exhaustive documentation, active Discord, endless mods.
- Longevity: no forced obsolescence; you upgrade instead of rebuying.
Cons
- You have to build it: dozens of hours of assembly, wiring and tuning — it's not "set and print."
- No official support or warranty: if something breaks, it's you (and the community).
- Learning curve: Klipper, tuning, maintenance — you have to enjoy getting hands-on.
- Real cost: once you gather quality components, the price often matches a ready-to-run enclosed machine.
- Time: it's a project, sometimes a hobby in itself — not a quick fix.
Who's it for?
A Voron is for those who want to understand and master their machine, enjoy building and tinkering, and target technical materials without proprietary lock-in. If you want to print "right now" without building anything, a ready-to-run enclosed machine (Bambu, Creality) or Prusa's assembled open-source (Core One) will fit better. And to go further into tuning, see our printer upgrades.
The best printer for those who want to build it as much as use it — total performance and freedom, at the cost of time and involvement.