Stealthburner vs Afterburner — Voron Toolhead Comparison

Toolhead Upgrade Comparison

The toolhead is the heart of any Voron printer — it carries the hotend, extruder, part cooling fan, and probe all in one integrated package. The Voron project has produced two major toolhead designs: the original Afterburner (released in 2020) and the updated Stealthburner (released in 2022). If you're building a new Voron or considering an upgrade, understanding the differences is critical for print quality, reliability, and maintenance.

Last updated: May 2025. This guide covers both toolheads in depth — design philosophy, cooling performance, extruder options (CW1 vs CW2), weight, compatibility across Voron models, cost, and upgrade difficulty. We'll also share our recommendations for new builds versus existing printers.

Design Philosophy: Two Generations

The Afterburner was Voron's first integrated toolhead. It combined a compact Bowden-style extruder (the Clockwork CW1) with a dual 4010 fan cooling duct and an integrated probe mount. It was a huge step forward from the original Voron toolheads, which relied on separate extruders and custom fan shrouds. The Afterburner's all-in-one design made builds simpler and more consistent.

The Stealthburner, designed by Voron team member cloutier, is a complete redesign. It features a sleeker, more aerodynamic外形, improved part cooling with dual 5015 blower fans, and the CW2 extruder — a significant mechanical upgrade from the CW1. The Stealthburner also adds support for LED lighting (Neopixel strip), a redesigned probe mount (better Omron/PL-08N alignment), and optional "ears" for chamber thermistor mounting.

The key philosophy shift: the Afterburner was designed to be functional and reliable, while the Stealthburner aims to be functional, reliable, and high-performance — with better cooling, easier maintenance, and a more modern aesthetic.

Cooling Performance — The Biggest Difference

This is the most impactful difference between the two toolheads. The Afterburner uses dual 4010 axial fans (one for part cooling, one for the hotend heat sink). The Stealthburner uses a single 3010 fan for the heat sink and dual 5015 blower fans for part cooling.

Part cooling comparison:

• Afterburner: Single 4010 axial fan (~4 CFM). Adequate for PLA and PETG at moderate speeds (60-100 mm/s). Struggles with overhangs and bridges at high speeds. Bridges over 50mm are difficult without significant droop.
• Stealthburner: Dual 5015 blower fans (~20 CFM combined). Dramatically better cooling. Clean bridges up to 100mm. Sharp overhangs at 60-70 degrees. Enables printing PLA at 200+ mm/s without quality loss. The blower fans also direct air more precisely at the print zone rather than diffusing it.

If you print a lot of PLA — which requires aggressive part cooling for good quality — the Stealthburner is a massive upgrade. For ABS/ASA printing, both are adequate, but the Stealthburner's extra headroom means you can print faster even with high-temperature materials.

Heat sink cooling: The Afterburner uses a 4010 axial fan for the heat sink, which is effective but noisy. The Stealthburner uses a smaller 3010 fan, which is quieter but still provides adequate cooling for most hotends. If you're running a high-flow hotend like the Rapido UHF or Goliath, you may want to upgrade the Stealthburner's 3010 fan to a higher-static-pressure model.

Extruder: CW1 vs CW2

The extruder is another major differentiator. The Afterburner uses the Clockwork 1 (CW1) extruder — a direct-drive, geared design with a 50:10 gear reduction. The CW1 has a 3:1 gear ratio and uses a single M3 screw for idler tension. It works well but has some quirks.

The Stealthburner uses the Clockwork 2 (CW2) extruder. Key improvements:

• Better gear mesh: The CW2 uses a more robust gear engagement system with less backlash. The bondtech-style drive gears mesh more consistently, reducing the chance of skipping on filament changes.
• Improved idler tensioning: The CW2 has a captive spring-based idler with adjustable tension via a thumb screw. The CW1's single-screw tensioner is harder to adjust consistently.
• Faster filament changes: The CW2 has a larger filament path opening and a lever-style release that makes loading/unloading smoother. The CW1 requires more force and is prone to filament grinding if tension is too high.
• Lighter weight: The CW2 printing profile is slightly lighter (by about 6 grams) due to optimized geometry, though the overall toolhead weight difference is dominated by the fans.
• Planetary gear option: The CW2 supports a planetary gear reduction module (the "CW2 Planetary") that provides higher torque for flexible filaments like TPU. This is not available for the CW1.

Bottom line on extruders: The CW2 is a meaningful improvement over the CW1, especially for flexible materials and high-throughput printing. If you build a new printer, there's no reason to choose the CW1. For existing Afterburner builds, the CW2 can be retrofitted — though you'll need to print new parts and possibly upgrade your toolhead board if your current one doesn't support the CW2's different sensor position.

Weight and Inertia

Despite the Stealthburner's larger fans, the overall weight is nearly identical to the Afterburner. The CW2 extruder is lighter than the CW1, and the printed parts are slightly more optimized. The result is that the Stealthburner does not add meaningful inertia — you won't need to retune your input shaper or reduce acceleration limits when upgrading.

Compatibility Across Voron Models

Both toolheads are compatible with V2.4, Trident, V0.2, and V1.8 — but there are some important caveats.

V2.4 and Trident (all sizes): Both toolheads fit natively. The Stealthburner is the recommended toolhead for any new V2.4 or Trident build as of 2023+. The Afterburner is still supported but no longer the default recommendation. For existing V2.4 and Trident builds, upgrading to Stealthburner is straightforward — you print the new parts, swap the extruder, and update your Klipper config (new fan pins and potentially new probe offsets).

V0.2: The Stealthburner was specifically designed with the V0.2 in mind. The mini-Stealthburner (a slightly scaled-down version) is the standard toolhead for V0.2 builds. The Afterburner also fits the V0.2 (the "Mini Afterburner") but the Stealthburner's better cooling is especially valuable on the small build volume where you're more likely to print PLA at high speeds.

V1.8: Both toolheads work, but the Stealthburner's LED support is a nice addition since the V1.8 has an enclosed chamber where good lighting is harder to achieve. Pro tip: add a chamber LED strip regardless of which toolhead you choose.

Printable vs Pre-Assembled Options

The printed parts for both toolheads are available in the official Voron GitHub repository. You'll need to print them in ABS or ASA — PETG is not recommended due to its lower heat deflection temperature inside an enclosed printer chamber.

If you don't want to print your own parts, pre-printed Stealthburner and Afterburner sets are available from community vendors. Expect to pay $20-35 for a quality set printed in ABS with proper layer adhesion. Through our mini-program, we offer pre-printed Stealthburner sets at factory-direct pricing — the same prints from the same Chinese factories that supply the kit brands.

For the metal components (extruder gears, idler, screws), the CW2 hardware kit costs about $15-20 on AliExpress versus $10-15 for the CW1 kit. The difference is negligible in the context of a $800+ build.

Upgrade Difficulty

Upgrading from Afterburner to Stealthburner on an existing Voron is a medium-difficulty job. Here's what's involved:

• Print the new parts — about 8-10 hours of print time on a well-tuned printer (if you're upgrading, your current toolhead is still functional for printing the new parts)
• Disassemble the Afterburner — remove the CW1 extruder, fans, and printed housing. Keep the hotend, probe, and toolhead board
• Assemble the Stealthburner — print the CW2 extruder body, assemble the gears and idler, mount the 3010 heat sink fan, install the 5015 blowers, route the wiring through the cable channels
• Update Klipper configuration — change the fan pin assignments (from one 4010 to two 5015s), update the probe offset (X and Y offsets differ slightly), and recalibrate the extruder rotation distance if you're changing the extruder gear type
• Retune pressure advance — the new extruder and cooling duct may affect PA values slightly. Run the PA tuning tower again
• Update input shaper — while the weight is similar, it's good practice to re-run input shaper calibration since the center of mass shifts slightly

Total time: 3-5 hours for an experienced builder. Plan for a weekend afternoon if it's your first time.

Cost Comparison

The cost difference is $10-15 in favor of the Afterburner. For that small premium, the Stealthburner provides substantially better cooling, a better extruder, and future-proofing. The cost difference is a non-factor in the overall build budget.

Recommendations

For new builds (V2.4, Trident, V0.2): Build the Stealthburner. There is no reason to start with an Afterburner in 2025. The improved cooling alone is worth it — and the CW2 extruder is a genuinely better design. The extra $10-15 is negligible.

For existing Afterburner builds: It depends. If you're happy with your print quality and rarely print PLA at high speeds, there's no urgent need to upgrade. The Afterburner is a perfectly capable toolhead. However, if you're chasing higher speeds (200+ mm/s), struggling with PLA overhangs, or want to print flexible materials, the Stealthburner upgrade is worth the weekend of work.

For V0.2 builds: The mini-Stealthburner is strongly recommended. The V0.2's small build volume means you're often printing at high accelerations, and the improved part cooling gives you significantly better quality on small parts with sharp overhangs.

One final note: If you have a well-tuned Afterburner build that's working perfectly, don't feel pressured to upgrade. Many Voron builders have produced thousands of excellent prints with the Afterburner. The Stealthburner is better, but the Afterburner is still great.