HevOrange printer with orange and black panels printing a large yellow ABS part

HevOrange: Building the Machine Before the Part

A custom large-format printer for big ABS parts, and what it taught us about reliability

The short version: to print big ABS parts for telescopes, we designed our own large-format printer. HevOrange is about 20% HevORT and 80% original design: a custom extruder pairing a Bondtech QR-M drive with a liquid-cooled Mosquito Magnum+ hotend for 2.85 mm filament, reverse-convection ventilation and a fully insulated enclosure. It prints parts like a 2.5 kg telescope section in a single run.

Sometimes the right tool for a job doesn't exist yet. When that happens, we design and build it. HevOrange is the clearest example: a printer built around one problem, printing large ABS parts that come out straight, strong and accurate.

2.5 kgPrinted in a single run, for a large telescope
80%Original design, on a HevORT foundation
2.85 mmFilament, for the flow rates big parts need

Why Build a Printer?

ABS is one of the best materials for functional parts: tough, heat-resistant and easy to finish. It's also unforgiving. As a large part cools unevenly, it warps, cracks between layers or pulls off the bed. The bigger the part, the worse it gets, and the longer every failed print costs. Printing large ABS parts reliably means controlling heat across the whole machine, not just at the nozzle.

The Extruder

The extruder body is a custom design built around two proven components. A Bondtech QR-M drive feeds 2.85 mm filament into a liquid-cooled Mosquito Magnum+ hotend. The larger filament supports the flow rates big parts need, and liquid cooling keeps the cold side of the hotend cold even inside a hot enclosure, where air cooling struggles.

Managing Heat

The enclosure is fully insulated to hold a stable, warm chamber for the length of a long print. A reverse-convection ventilation system manages how air and heat move through the machine. Of everything in the build, the insulated enclosure was the hardest part to get right.

It looks like a mad science experiment. It prints like a production machine.

Large yellow printed telescope section with the mirror cell test-fitted inside
A large yellow ABS print, with the telescope's mirror cell test-fitted. It fit the first time.

In Production

A typical HevOrange job: a 2.5 kg part for a large telescope, big enough to finish one 2 kg spool of filament and start another mid-print. The finished part was checked against its mating hardware the same evening, and the fit test passed first time.

What It Taught Us

The lessons from HevOrange went straight into the next five printers we built, based on the Voron design and customized for the parts we make. Building our own machines gives us control over how they behave and lets us service them quickly and at reasonable cost. Those printers produced parts for several of our telescopes.

When they proved not reliable enough for production, we retired them. A clever machine is only worth keeping if it delivers dependable parts, every time.

Orange printed toolhead with a glowing maple leaf on a custom printer
Moose, one of the custom printers that followed.
Printer frame with yellow parts under construction
Printer frame with orange parts under construction
Printer frame with green parts under construction

What This Means for Your Project

  • We understand machines from the inside: motion systems, thermal management and toolheads, which matters when your project is a machine too.
  • We pick processes for reliability: the right material and the right machine for the part, not the most exciting one.
  • We can build the tool if it doesn't exist: custom fixtures, jigs and equipment when off-the-shelf won't do.

Need Big, Tough Parts or a Custom Machine?

From large ABS prints to purpose-built equipment. Let's talk about your project. Based in Guelph, Ontario.