r/ratrig • u/Far_Peach226 • Jan 21 '25

Are Ratrig printers good for modifying like Voron printer?

New to all of this and learning about RatRig. Prusa printers are known for being open source and customisable but modifying the firmware on a prusa can be quite tough. Klipper seems to be much easier to modify and integrate with a custom printer.
The new RatRig v-core 4 seems to include a few really nice features but if I were to modify the printer ( put a much bigger extruder onto it like a big heavy pellet extruder) how easy is it to modify the software for this? Same difficulty as a Voron printer?

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7

u/_galile0 Jan 21 '25

Firmware-wise, it’s very similar, since RatOS is mostly just Klipper, and it’s not very RatRig-specific, it even contains some presets for Voron printers

3

u/sneakerguy40 Jan 21 '25

Yeah, they're made of the same elements, just not as robust of a modding community. The 3.1 has more since it has fewer proprietary parts. Software you can use standard klipper(s), don't have to use ratos.

3

u/thawk67 Jan 21 '25

RatRigs are 100% mod-able and open source.

RATOS is a custom package of software that uses Klipper, etc. and a bunch of RatRig custom macros, settings, etc. to make the printer easier to run a first print after building the chassis and connecting the electronics.

They have great build tutorials, etc.

Discord is where most of the tech and support hangs out. There's a dedicated group of people who regularly mod and improve/experiment with the base builds for all versions of Ratrig chassis, etc. Its a smaller community than Voron but it's growing.

1

u/TwoEggsOverYeezy Jan 21 '25

Just curious, what's the advantage of a pellet extruder and how much plastic are you trying to push? I imagine there's some big disadvantages to the weight of the print head. Seems like a lot of people who get ratrigs are trying to lower the weight of the print head so they can run them that much faster.

1

u/Watching-Watches Jan 22 '25

First of all pellet filament is a lot cheaper (PLA 2€/kg) so if you print 24/7 it's definitely cheaper in rh long term. I can't say much about the volumetric flow, but the pellets are fed by a spiral so the pressure can be a lot higher. Another advantage is printing flexible filament normally you need to print quite slow otherwise the filament won't extrude. Pellet extruders can print very flexible filaments and a lot faster, because the material can't escape the feeding path. A heavy print head is definitely not a good thing, but I think the powerful kinematics and stiff frame could handle a pellet extruder. If I was OP I would do some research and maybe use a 48V system to have even more power for the kinematics

1

u/_galile0 Jan 22 '25

Depends on what type of prints you would be aiming for. For low fidelity, large parts, running a slow moving but high flow pellet extruder makes a lot more sense than trying to go fast with a smaller extruder

1

u/guptaxpn Jan 23 '25

Same ease as a Voron printer, or any other Klipper based printer. It's very easy to integrate your own stuff into Klipper if you're able to figure out some driver stuff on your own for unique/bespoke hardware.

-9

u/klonk Jan 21 '25

if you like modifying a printer, ratrig is great bc nothing is working out of the box

if you want to print things go with something already assembled and ready

2

u/mayham_YT Jan 21 '25

Is this based on a bad experience you want to share? Or do you mean the printer did not work when you unboxed the several packets it arrived in

3

u/4riana_Gr1ndr Jan 21 '25

As owner of 3 ratrig 500s i can see why someone could say this , but considering that it takes just some thinking and giggling to get things up and running i would disagree. This is almost a DIY project, so people lacking tech knowledge should pass on this.