REVIEW – As my collection of 3D printers grows, it’s become increasingly difficult to choose which ones remain in constant service and which are relegated only to special projects. Currently, two Elegoo printers have risen to the top and secured prime spots in my workshop. One is the Elegoo Saturn 4 Ultra Resin printer, which I’ll be reviewing next, the other is the subject of this review, the Elegoo Centauri Carbon.
⬇︎ Jump to summary (pros/cons)
Price: $299.99
Where to buy: Elegoo
Honestly, I approached the Centauri Carbon with a lot of trepidation, mainly because it was advertised as a printer geared toward beginners. Usually, that means a smaller feature set, dumbed down configurations, and basic print quality. Turns out I was wrong on all counts. The Centauri Carbon can do it all, is endlessly configurable, and has a bunch of next-level special features. It has quickly become my go-to printer for every type of project, from quick and dirty tests to days-long prints with finicky materials. Available for pre-order at a price of $299.99, the Centauri is definitely worth checking out.
What is it?
The Elegoo Centauri Carbon is a 3D printer with a Core-XY design, featuring a build volume of 256 x 256 x 256 mm and high-speed printing capabilities up to 500 mm/s. Its special features include an internal time-lapse camera, filament cutter, overhead light, air filtration, auto-leveling bed, dual-gear extruder, and a fully enclosed aluminum chassis.
The Centauri Carbon ships in a very sturdy box with built-in plastic handles. The printer is packed in very thick foam to protect it during transit.
What’s included?
- Elegoo Centauri Carbon 3D Printer
- Top glass panel
- User manual
- Included accessories:
- Screwdrivers
- Allen wrenches
- Scrape blade
- USB stick
- Filament tube tool
- Extra silicone nozzle cleaner
- Printing bed adhesive
- Lubricant
- Test PLA filament
- Filament spool
- Power cord
- Touch screen
Tech specs
- Power: 1100W@220V / 350W@110V
- Voltage: 100-240V / 50/60HZ
- Build Volume: 256mm x 256mm x 256mm (10.08 x 10.08 x 10.08 in)
- Printing Platform Size: 260mm x 262mm (10.24 x 10.31 in)
- Printing Speed: ≤500mm/s
- Speed: Up to 500mm/s
- Acceleration: Up to 20,000mm/s²
- Net Weight: 17.5KG (38.58 lbs)
- Gross Weight: 21KG (46.30 lbs)
- Product Size: 398 x 404 x 490mm (15.67 x 15.91 x 19.29 in)
- Package Size: 475 x 480 x 560mm (18.70 x 18.90 x 22.05 in)
- Special Features:
- Filament Cutter and waste bin
- Overhead Light
- Air Filtration
- Semi-Automatic Belt Tensioner
- Screen: 4.3-inch Full-color Capacitive Touch Screen
- Motherboard: Dual-core with 8GB RAM
- Nozzle: Single
- Nozzle Diameter: 0.4mm
- Printing Accuracy: ±0.1mm
- Layer Thickness: 0.1-0.4mm
- Extruder Type: Hardened Steel Dual-Gear Extruder
- Reduction Ratio: 5.2
- Printing Materials: PLA/PETG/TPU/ABS and Carbon fiber filaments
- Filament Diameter: 1.75mm
- Leveling Method: 4-Strain Gauge Automatic Leveling
- Leveling Points: 36
- Connectivity: USB, WiFi
- Slicing Software: Orca Slicer
- Supported File Formats: STL, OBJ
- Printing File Format: Gcode
- Ambient Temperature: 5-40℃
- Max. Heated Bed Temperature: 110℃
- Max. Nozzle Temperature: 300℃
Design and features
The first thing about the Centauri Carbon that challenged my preconceived notions of a “beginner” printer is the build quality. This thing is an absolute tank!
Built primarily of aluminum, the Centauri Carbon is way tougher and more durable than any other printer I’ve tested. The panels on the sides of the printer are secured in place with Allen bolts, and the seams are tight and consistent.
The top and front have dark glass panels, which add to the black and grey industrial aesthetic. The top panel is totally removable while the front panel is a hinged door. Elegoo suggests removing the top panel when printing with PLA, which is mostly what I use, so it is a bit inconvenient trying to find a place to store the panel while printing. Ideally, the top panel should be hinged as well or there should be a holder for it on the side or back of the unit.
The interior is also aluminum with a build plate that rises up and down on three Z-axis threaded rods. Since the Centauri Carbon is a Core-XY design, the print bed moves along the Z axis while the print head moves in the X and Y directions. This design allows for faster and more precise movements, as well as higher print speeds compared to traditional Cartesian printers.
The enclosed chamber is insulated, helping to maintain precise temperature control. With a printing volume of 256 x 256 x 256mm, the Centauri Carbon can’t make huge prints like my beloved Creality Ender 3 Max Neo that I reviewed in October 2022, but it should meet the printing needs of most users.
The front of the Centauri Carbon has a single USB port for the included removable drive along with the touch screen.
The Centauri Carbon’s 4.3-inch capacitive touch screen is bright, easy to read, and makes it easy to navigate the printer’s menu items. Although, I always prefer physical buttons and knobs over touch screens.
With the top panel removed during printing, it’s easy to monitor your print, but the Centauri Carbon’s built-in fans can get quite loud.
One of my favorite features of the Centauri Carbon is the flexible, magnetic, dual-sided textured PEI plate. It makes removing finished prints effortless, eliminating the need for additional cleanup. The plate also prevents warping during printing by helping to maintain an even temperature.
The Centauri Carbon automatically makes two long test strips before each print to make sure the filament is flowing properly. I appreciate this feature as it’s helped me avoid a few issues before printing had begun.
On the interior rear of the Centauri Carbon there’s a small silicone nozzle cleaning brush which cleans the nozzle off before each use with waste falling down the integrated waste chute.
Elegoo includes a model on the USB stick for a tiny waste bin to attach to the back of the Centauri Carbon. I instead opted for a quick and easy solution to catch waste.
The power port and switch are both located on the rear of the Centauri Carbon. I’d rather the switch was on the front of the unit, making it easier to access.
There are several vents located on the rear of the unit as well to help regulate the print chamber temperature.
The filament tube snakes out the top rear of the Centauri and bends around the corner where the filament holder is located.
The integrated filament holder is in an ideal spot on the side of the unit and it works perfectly, holding every type of filament spool I tested.
Just above the holder is the filament run-out sensor which detects filament shortages. It also has an automatic alarm and pause feature.
The interior belts of the Centauri Carbon are kept under tension by a semi-automatic belt tensioner that maintains optimal tension to help reduce vibrations during the print process.
The interior chamber is equipped with a built-in camera for real-time monitoring of the prints. You can enable this setting while starting up a print to create a time-lapse video. Even with the camera, I still had several prints fail without catching them in time resulting in the dreaded bird nests. The chamber has built-in overhead LED lighting to make it easier to monitor your prints.
The filament tube on the top of the print head is easily removable allowing quick access to clear any filament jams. Additionally, the extruder features an integrated filament cutter for automatic cutting and retraction of filament.
The Centauri Carbon’s hot end can reach up to an impressive 300℃, which makes it great for printing with various materials, including specialty filaments like carbon fiber, marble, and wood composites.
The design of the Centauri Carbon lends itself well to printing at faster speeds. I was surprised at how quickly the majority of my prints finished while still being of high quality. The speed of 3D printers varies widely, slow printers go around 30 to 50 mm/s, fast ones run 60 to 90 mm/s, faster printers can go 100 mm/s and higher, with the fastest printers hitting about 200 mm/s. The Elegoo Centauri Carbon, can reach speeds up to 500 mm/s, which is great, but if the settings, temperature, and materials aren’t just right, the quality of the prints will suffer.
Assembly, Installation, Setup
Elegoo says that the Centauri Carbon arrives pre-assembled and ready to print. That’s true for the most part, but there are a few steps to take before that first print.
Out of the box, three shipping screws need to be removed from the build plate.
The screws are clearly marked with red arrows and are easy to remove using the included Allen wrench.
With the screws removed the next step is to attach the touch screen to the front of the printer.
Making sure to orient the ribbon cable correctly, the plug should snap into the touch screen’s port securely.
Then the touch screen is simply locked into place by pushing it down onto the tabs on the front of the Centauri Carbon.
All that remains for physical setup is attaching the filament holder to the slot on the side of the printer.
The tabs on the filament holder rotate and lock in place, keeping the holder firmly attached.
I do need to note that while I was setting up my unit I was unable to open the glass panel door at first. I also noticed that the top glass panel wouldn’t sit perfectly inside the frame.
After some investigating and a lot of foul language, I discovered that the frame of the Centauri Carbon must have somehow been bent significantly during shipping, despite there being no indication on the shipping box of any damage. It took me about 30 minutes to fix the door hinge which was bent at 25 degrees from being perfectly flat. Once I did that, the door closed without issue.
But, with the frame about 1/4 inch off center, the top panel won’t ever sit perfectly within the grooves, instead always resting above the proper position. I’m chalking this up to a shipping issue, but I hope it’s not a problem with the quality control of these units.
Performance
While testing the Centauri Carbon, I made some truly amazing 3D prints. I also experienced some very typical failures. Overall, though, the printer far exceeded my expectations.
A few prints failed to adhere properly to the build plate and resulted in wasted filament. I caught some in time, others wound up “bird nesting” for some time before I noticed.
However, when it came to really complex, days-long prints using tricky materials like Transparent PLA or Wood filament, the Centauri Carbon performed flawlessly.
The Baby Groot model printed with Wood PLA Filament that I use to test all of my printers came out beautifully with barely any stringing or warping.
Most impressive, though, was the White Matte PLA print of an intricate Skull Dice Tower. The quality of this print was absolutely amazing.
I printed it at a much higher infill than I normally would to give it some weight and the Centauri Carbon was able to capture every bit of detail from the model. Even in good light and up close, it’s hard for anyone to quickly tell this is a 3D print from a home printer.
The included Elegoo Slicing software took a while to figure out since the instructions weren’t as clear as I would have hoped. But once I got it configured properly it turned out to be pretty powerful.
The option I really enjoy is the seamless network printing. Once you get the Centauri Carbon onto your wifi network and enter its IP address into the Elegoo software it’s as easy as “press to print” to send a file to the printer and have it start printing. You can even configure all of the options on the fly once you send the file to the printer and it keeps track of the files you’ve printed previously.
Overall, the Centauri Carbon, to me, is as close to perfect as you can get for a consumer-grade 3D printer. The feature set, ease of use, print quality, and consistency all outweigh the few issues I have with the printer. It’s one of my favorites right now and will likely remain so for a while.
Test Prints and Timelapse Videos
I’ve included photos and timelapse videos of some of the good and bad prints I tested the Centauri Carbon with below.
Print-in-place Block Robot
Torture Toaster (fail)
Human Skull Dice Tower
3D Benchy Test
RPG Faceted Dice Set
Transparent Skull
Baby Groot
Final thoughts
The Elegoo Centauri Carbon is an ideal 3D printer suitable for pros, amateurs, and everyone in between. The Centauri is ready to print with minimal setup and consistently produces high-quality prints at impressive speeds. The durable construction of the Centauri’s chassis stands out in that it is primarily made of aluminum. Although my unit arrived with a bent frame that prevented the door from opening and the glass top from sitting properly, I believe this was an anomaly. The included Elegoo slicing software is user-friendly, and its network printing option is a real game changer, significantly simplifying the printing process. Along with other features like a built-in time-lapse camera, filament cutter, and waste bin, the Centauri Carbon more than justifies its price of $299.99 and stands out in the growing market of consumer 3D printers.
What I like about the Elegoo Centauri Carbon 3D printer
- Ready to print out of the box
- Consistent printing quality
- Very fast and accurate prints
What needs to be improved
- Needs a sturdy table due to violent printer head movement
- Glass top should have a hinge or place to store
- Unclear instructions for setup and software
Price: $299.99
Where to buy: Elegoo
Source: The sample of this product was provided for free by Elegoo. Elegoo did not have a final say on the review and did not preview the review before it was published.
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