Faster startup with 24v

Only thing I would be careful of is the voltage to the heater core for the hotend.
Jerry seemed convinced when I did the dual extruder mod that I needed a 19v (rather than 12v) heater core for the second Hexagon. I used a 24v heater for it and there is a slight, but noticeable lag in it heating compared to the stock one... Does this mean they used a 12v core and over rated it or that they used an actual 19v core? No clue, but in either case the 24v one does work fine.

 

They list them as different parts on their website and, like you, I could tell no difference, but @Jerry was pretty adamant that it needed a 19v heater ... bear in mind that their version of the Hexagon uses a rather custom thermistor as well (we have spent time trying to match that and had no real luck) it is a cartridge style like the generic one, but a differently sized cartridge.

We found some really cheap things on AliExpress that technically would fit but it was a standard glass bead thermistor crimped into a small chunk of brass -- low-tek all the way

 

I suspected that the control board was 24v capable -- they only have the one set of boards for both printers.
Using a 24v supply on the C2 is actually a really good project.

 

I still can't find a source for 19V heater cores, I think your sample is too small at just 2 ceramic heater cores to tell if the difference isn't just manufacturer variance. My money is that they are both 24V in the C2 and R2. Much easier to source one single part in quantity than source two different parts. Since a heater core is a purely resistive load it really doesn't matter if they did it that way.

Did you compare resistance on both cores?

 

That is an interesting choice for power brick, the R2 has a four pin not a barrel connector like the one you showed.

 

24v cores were (I bought 10) all in the neighborhood of 13.5-14.0 ohms
12v ones were 9 ohms (I measured several out of my stock of many all were ball-park 4.0-5.0 and most were 4.0-4.3)
the ?v one from Robo was 12 ohms

edit: typo

 

I agree the sample size from Robo is insufficient to the task
Calculations say the 12v ones should be 3.6 ohms... oh well. They were not reading that on my Fluke.

 

That leads me to believe that it is a 24V, just to give you one more data point, the heater core on the hexagon I got with the R2, which is supposed to be a 24V cartridge, measures 22 Ω. I think it is just their supply chain and the consistency of using multiple Chinese suppliers. I would bet that the binning done in some of these factories is very generous.

Note: According to Ohm's law (this is theoretical limit not real world when using parts of unknown tolerances), A 30 W 24 V cartridge should be 19.2 Ω and use 1.2 A. A 40 W 24 V cartridge should be 14.4 Ω and consume 1.67 A.

With these devices, being as simple as they are, my guess it the conversation goes like this at the Chinese factory.

A: We make 1M cartridges a month and sell 12 V and 24 V split evenly
B: Okay we will make 1M
A week later ...
A: I got an big order for 1M 24 V
B: Okay we will label them all 24 V​

 

The only real side effect (assuming the heater core was actually designed for 19v) is that at 24v it will draw slightly more current.
Using a 12v heater core where a 24v one is expected would be roughly double the current and that might might a difference.
19v vs. 24v? Not sure it would matter. That presumes there actually is a difference in the heater core and I am hesitant to jump on that bandwagon. It is far more likely that they are the same*.




*although why then they insist on stocking them as different parts ... no clue.

 

Even at roughly 40w that is not excessive.

 

A lesson that needs repeating. If you don't have an agent on site at a Chinese factory. One paid by the customer not the factory itself, You really have no idea what you are getting. If a Chinese factory can save 1 penny per part in a million parts they will and not tell you. I bet all those 24V and 19V parts are all in one bin in that same Chinese factory and you need a 19v one, bag it and tag it as 19V and no one will be the wiser.

Spoiler: Opinion on manufacturing in general

This is not a knock on companies that use Chinese manufacturers because all companies are in the business to make money and they try very hard to drive down costs. Even companies here do risk analysis to see if changing a manufacturing process or supply chain will cost more than any lawsuits that might arise.

 

I had concerns around that when I reworked the hotend to install the second extruder. I did not change the stock ones, but I went with a somewhat larger gauge on the ones I added.