Getting Great Prints on the RatRig V-Core
V-Core 3 and V-Core 4, in every size RatRig sells, are open-frame Klipper CoreXY kits with panels sold as a separate accessory — this guide covers the shared tuning approach across the whole V-Core family.
Is the RatRig V-Core enclosed?
Enclosure: No. Auxiliary part-cooling fan: No.
Every V-Core size is open-frame with no enclosure and no auxiliary fan out of the kit. Builders who add their own panels move into enclosed-printer territory for warping-prone materials; those who don't should treat the machine exactly like any other open CoreXY.
Baseline settings for RatRig's RatRig V-Core profile
RatRig publishes one shared filament-profile baseline across its OrcaSlicer-family lineup rather than a separate one per model, so these are the numbers the RatRig V-Core starts from — use them as the floor and calibrate flow/retraction per spool:
| Material | Nozzle | Bed (textured/hot) | Fan max |
|---|---|---|---|
| PLA | 200 °C | 60 °C | 100 % |
| PETG | 235 °C | 80 °C | 100 % |
| ABS | 243 °C | 105 °C | 30 % |
| TPU | 220 °C | 35 °C | 100 % |
Getting a kit-built CoreXY dialed in
Input shaping before speed. A freshly-built kit almost always benefits from a first SHAPER_CALIBRATE run before trusting any slicer acceleration value — frame assembly tolerances vary kit to kit. See the acceleration and input shaping guide.
Pressure advance per filament brand. Klipper's pressure advance is a per-filament calibration, easy to forget when switching brands after initial setup. See the pressure advance guide.
ABS/ASA on a stock (unenclosed) V-Core. Tent it, maximise bed temperature, minimise part-cooling fan, brim. If you've built panels, treat it as enclosed instead and back the fan off further. See the ABS/ASA warping guide.
Symptoms this machine's form factor is prone to
Without a chamber, the RatRig V-Core inherits the classic open-printer failure modes in full: warping and adhesion loss on hot materials, and higher sensitivity to room drafts than any enclosed machine has to deal with:
- Warping and bed adhesion — the two symptoms an enclosure would otherwise mitigate.
- First-layer problems — open frames are more exposed to bed-leveling drift from handling and transport.
- Ghosting and ringing — lighter open frames typically need more belt-tension attention than an enclosed cube at the same speed.
A sane first-print checklist
- Match the plate/surface selection in the slicer to what's actually on the bed, if the machine supports more than one build surface. Mismatches are the leading cause of "it should have stuck" reports.
- Run a flow-ratio calibration on any filament that isn't the exact spool RatRig's profile was written against. Off-brand and generic spools routinely land several percent off the stock flow ratio; that shows up as over- or under-extrusion that looks like a hardware problem but isn't.
- Change one variable per test print. Temperature, fan speed and retraction all interact; the fastest way to a dialed-in RatRig V-Core is small, single-variable tests read one at a time, not three changes at once.
For the full RatRig lineup and its common failure modes, see the RatRig troubleshooting hub.
Frequently asked questions
What baseline settings does the RatRig V-Core profile use?
RatRig's shared OrcaSlicer-family baseline: PLA 200 °C nozzle / 60 °C bed / 100 % fan, PETG 235 °C / 80 °C / 100 % fan, ABS 243 °C / 105 °C / 30 % fan, and TPU 220 °C / 35 °C / 100 % fan. RatRig publishes one baseline across the lineup rather than per model — use these as the floor and calibrate flow and retraction per spool.
What should I calibrate first on a freshly built RatRig V-Core?
Input shaping before speed: a freshly built kit almost always benefits from a first SHAPER_CALIBRATE run before you trust any slicer acceleration value, because frame assembly tolerances vary kit to kit. After that, calibrate Klipper's pressure advance per filament brand — it's a per-filament calibration that's easy to forget when switching brands after initial setup.
Can I print ABS on a stock RatRig V-Core without panels?
Only with the open-printer workaround: every V-Core size ships open-frame with no enclosure and no auxiliary fan, so tent it, maximise bed temperature (the ABS baseline is 105 °C), minimise the part-cooling fan (baseline 30 %) and use a brim. If you've built the optional panels, treat the machine as enclosed instead and back the fan off further.
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