The Elegoo Centauri Carbon is without doubt one of the new wave of CoreXY totally enclosed machines that I’ve reviewed this 12 months, though this one is aimed instantly on the entry-level market. Elegoo already has a good historical past with this stage of printer, with their Neptune printers being among the most dependable in the marketplace—if not essentially the most well-known.
The primary causes for making the change from the normal mattress slinger to the CoreXY machines is that they guarantee excessive velocity and correct prints, and it is good to see a printer of this kind and high quality come from Elegoo.
After eradicating the printer from the field, it solely took round 10 minutes to get it arrange and began with the primary print. What actually impressed me was the truth that it was really easy to make use of. It really in contrast rather well in opposition to the brand new Creality and Anycubic machines and, once more, was simply extraordinarily quick and ran by its numerous self-checks sooner than these competing machines.
Whereas an preliminary examine by the specs confirmed that it is a slower printer than the brand new Creality K2 Plus or the S1 from Anycubic, when it got here to normal print speeds away from the usual take a look at fashions, the Centauri Carbon really outpaced them.
As I’ve seen with most of the best 3D printers, there’s plenty of self-checking that goes on, so the auto mattress levelling, pressure gauge system, and different fail-safes all assist to keep away from misprints. It is good to see a printer of this kind popping out with its personal built-in digital camera as an ordinary a part of the machine, fairly than an non-compulsory additional—the primary factor right here is that it’ll additionally print Carbon fill straight from the field, once more with none additions.
The enclosed design permits loads of materials help, and thru the take a look at, I used PLA, PETG, in addition to TPU and carbon fill, simply to offer the printer a full run of supplies. With extra superior supplies, having that enclosed construct space does assist with print high quality, and in the case of supplies reminiscent of PLA, you’ll be able to all the time pop the highest of the machine to extend airflow.
Total, whereas there’s nothing groundbreaking in regards to the Centauri Carbon, aside from the quantity of printer that you simply get for the value. On the subject of construct high quality, design, and ease of use, I’ve to say I have been extraordinarily impressed. Though it stays a closed system, as an out-of-the-box and easy-to-use answer, the Elegoo Centauri Carbon is only a actually well-thought-out and strong machine.
Elegoo Centauri Carbon: Worth and Availability
The Elegoo Centauri Carbon could be bought instantly from the official Elegoo website in addition to by main on-line retailers.
US: $299.99
UK: £299.99
EU: €329.99
CA: $449.99
- Worth and Availability: 5/5
Elegoo Centauri Carbon: Design
The very first thing I observed after I lifted the Centauri Carbon out of the field was simply how heavy it was for such a comparatively small machine. The explanation for that is that it has a totally built-in chassis, which helps increase stability, and positively, for a machine of this kind, it feels actually strong. That strong construct is carried throughout all the design of this 3D printer, and all of it feels actually high-quality, with strengthened aluminium alloy pillars and stainless-steel aspect panels. All of them add weight however, once more, add to that rigidity, which is required for a CoreXY machine.
Wanting over the machine, the general construct is sweet and strong, with a high-quality glass door on the entrance and a touchscreen for simple navigation and management of the machine. One of many pitfalls of this kind of machine is {that a} door or high must be eliminated or opened when printing filaments reminiscent of PLA, and that is definitely a case right here—among the newest machines have began to include different handbook or automated vent programs. Contemplating the value, the construct and design could be very excessive, so to not that includes a vent at this stage is not a problem. For a machine of this kind, the show is nearly normal at 4.3 inches, providing a full-colour display that’s good and vivid and intensely responsive.
Inside, as a result of design of the machine, all the things is neatly packed away, so it appears to be like like a very refined 3D printer. It will have been thought-about premium had it been launched a 12 months in the past, however now it sits simply on the higher finish of the entry-level value level. From the outset, it simply looks as if excellent worth for cash, contemplating the standard and the variety of options that you simply get.
There’s rather a lot right here that’s harking back to the outdated bed-slinger Cartesian printers, so we now have the massive 256 × 256 × 256 mm print space, and as normal, there’s a versatile magnetic construct plate. This allows simple mannequin removing when wanted.
On the surface of the machine, you’ve your USB port so as to switch information offline to and from the machine, and the right-hand aspect of the machine options the filament holder, which is fairly normal and never enclosed. As of late, it is extra widespread to place your filament right into a dry field of some sort, and the design of this machine really makes that subsequent to unimaginable, so if a dry field is added, will probably be an exterior module.
On the subject of the nozzle, there’s a normal 0.4 mm possibility fitted by default, and as is now normal, this may be swapped and adjusted for a variety of different diameter nozzles relying on the kind of work you are doing. On the subject of the utmost temperature, this will attain as much as 320°C—excellent for specialist supplies—and there may be loads of flexibility over the adjustment of the temperature when wanted. That is the Carbon mannequin, so that you guessed it, as normal out of the field, it is Carbon prepared. Likewise, the mattress temperature also can rise as much as 110°C, once more superb for specialist supplies.
Elegoo Centauri Carbon: Options
Specs
Construct Quantity: 256 × 256 × 256 mm
Nozzle Diameter: 0.4 mm (default)
Max Nozzle Temperature: 320°C
Max Mattress Temperature: 110°C
Filament Compatibility: PLA, PETG, TPU, ABS, ASA, PLA-CF, and so forth.
Printing Velocity: ≤500 mm/s
Acceleration: 20,000 mm/s²
Slicing Software program: ELEGOO Slicer, helps third-party slicers
Connectivity: USB, Wi-Fi
Show: 4.3-inch full-color contact display
Energy: 1100 W @ 220 V, 350 W @ 110 V
That is Elegoo’s first CoreXY movement machine, and if we take a look at the standard of their earlier 3D printers, this primary launch units a fairly good normal in the case of entry-level machines of this kind for others to observe.
Beginning out with the construct space, at 256 × 256 × 256 mm, that is massive all issues thought-about and offers you loads of flexibility over the kind of mannequin that you simply print. On the subject of the precise dimension and weight of this machine, it measures 398 × 404 × 490 mm, which once more actually is not that enormous for a machine of this kind and construct space. While you evaluate that with the normal mattress slinger, it really takes up rather a lot much less house. Nonetheless, in the case of weight, these machines are in a distinct league in contrast with the older bed-slinging Cartesian fashions and has a weight of 17.5 kg. So, regardless of that comparatively small footprint, with the energy and high quality of the development, the load of this machine is way larger.
Simply taking a fast run-through of the instrument head, and it is fitted with a 0.4 mm nozzle diameter, and this may be swapped out and adjusted for others. It is heated by a 60 W heater, which is kind of highly effective, that means that the recent finish will warmth up rapidly. Contained in the instrument head there’s that filament cutter, which helps to keep away from filament clogs but additionally lends to the assumption that that is going to be a multifilament machine within the not-too-distant future, and as normal, it takes 1.75 mm filament—so good requirements throughout.
The construct plate is a double-sided versatile magnetic plate, which once more is fairly normal, and it might attain temperatures as much as 110°C. Together with the nozzle’s most temperature and the enclosed design of the machine, that may allow loads of flexibility over the kind of supplies that you simply print.
The CoreXY kinematics allow a number of benefits over the earlier Cartesian design. Primarily, they’re rather a lot sooner and in addition extra correct. On the subject of velocity, it has a most instrument head velocity of 500 mm/s, which is spectacular, and a most instrument head acceleration of 20 m/s²—once more, exceptionally quick. However as I’ve come to understand, velocity is not all the things, and while it won’t match as much as the likes of the Creality K2 Plus or the Anycubic S1 with these speeds, the velocity at which it does its self-checks and heats the recent finish may make all of the distinction.
As we have seen with the likes of the Bambu Lab P1P and plenty of different machines in the marketplace, cooling is as essential to print high quality as heating, and Elegoo has actually tackled this with a high-speed 5020 cooling fan, an inner enclosure cooling system, and an auxiliary cooling fan—all to assist with the environment friendly cooling of fashions as they’re being printed. Along with cooling, there may be additionally a filtration system, so in case you are utilizing poisonous filament reminiscent of ABS, then the built-in nano mineral crystals ought to assist to cut back the odours and particles popping out of the machine.
One of many touches that I actually like is the built-in digital camera, which permits timelapse recording in addition to monitoring. Whereas that is potential on most fashionable machines, it is not all the time the case that the digital camera is included as an ordinary half once you purchase the equipment, so it is nice to see that it is normal for the Elegoo Centauri Carbon.
Elegoo Centauri Carbon: Efficiency
Establishing the Elegoo Centauri Carbon took me round 10 minutes, with essentially the most effort being lifting the 3D printer out of the field. The explanation for this was that, whereas it regarded small, it was really surprisingly heavy, and I wasn’t fairly ready for that weight. At 17.5 kg, it’s about common for a CoreXY machine, however with its barely smaller footprint than most, it was nonetheless a little bit of a shock.
Inserting the printer onto a piece floor, and all of it appears to be like extraordinarily neat with meeting primarily consisting of plugging within the small LCD and eradicating all of the packaging.
Switching it on, the printer ran by its setup course of and auto-levelling, with all checks operating by comparatively rapidly and easily. Feeding within the filament and following the load directions, and all was full.
Beginning out, I ran a couple of of the take a look at prints from Elegoo, and the machine rapidly proved simply how environment friendly and quick it might be. Whereas this is not the quickest 3D printer on paper, when it really got here to make use of, it gave the impression to be extremely fast. Utilizing the instance 3DBenchy, it produced this in just a little over quarter-hour, and to be sincere, the standard of that print was actually good.
Because the take a look at went on and I produced extra prints, I turned more and more impressed with the precision and velocity that the Elegoo Centauri Carbon was able to when printing with a wide range of completely different supplies. One factor that actually struck me was that, due to its dimension and high quality of the bodily machine’s development, there was little or no vibration. Though it triggered just a little bit extra noise than some, the velocity at which it printed and the consistency and reliability it was able to have been actually spectacular.
Once more, when it got here to checking over these prints for print high quality, there was little to fault. The take a look at fashions confirmed that it dealt with detrimental house, overhangs, bridging, and dimensional accuracy exceedingly nicely.
|
Dimensional Accuracy |
x |
x error |
y |
y error |
|
Goal 25 |
24.77 |
0.23 |
24.91 |
0.09 |
|
Goal 20 |
19.80 |
0.20 |
19.77 |
0.23 |
|
Goal 15 |
14.80 |
0.20 |
14.82 |
0.18 |
|
Goal 10 |
9.77 |
0.23 |
9.76 |
0.24 |
|
Goal 5 |
4.92 |
0.08 |
4.78 |
0.22 |
|
X Error Common |
0.18 |
Row 6 – Cell 2 | Row 6 – Cell 3 | Row 6 – Cell 4 |
|
Y Error Common |
0.192 |
Row 7 – Cell 2 | Row 7 – Cell 3 |
0.254 |
|
X&Y Error Common |
0.186 |
Row 8 – Cell 2 | Row 8 – Cell 3 | Row 8 – Cell 4 |
|
High quality Circulation Management |
4 |
|
High quality Unfavorable Options |
5 |
|
Overhangs |
5 |
|
Bridging |
4 |
|
XY resonance |
2.5 |
|
Z-axis alignment |
2.5 |
|
Complete |
28 out of 30 |
That is the fourth 3D printer that I’ve checked out in as many weeks that reveals full separation between the older Cartesian printers that I used to be reviewing a 12 months in the past and this new wave of CoreXY machines. The primary factor right here is that the Elegoo Centauri Carbon is way cheaper than lots of its rivals.
When reviewing this machine, you’ll be able to’t assist however make comparisons with the Bambu Lab X1 Carbon, which sits aspect by aspect with it on the workbench. The Elegoo Carbon really takes the lead, primarily as a result of time it takes to do its security checks and the velocity at which the nozzle will get as much as temperature. In any other case, in the case of precise print high quality, each are literally very comparable. I’d say that whereas they compete, the X1 Carbon remains to be a extra premium machine and, in the long term, is the higher machine, however contemplating the value of the Centauri Carbon, it provides the X1 Carbon a run for it is cash.
Elegoo Centauri Carbon: Remaining verdict
It is unimaginable how far issues can are available a 12 months, with the Elegoo Centauri Carbon actually being a competitor in opposition to the far dearer Bambu Lab X1 Carbon. The print dimension is strictly the identical, however with the Elegoo Centauri Carbon, you’ve these sooner speeds because of the truth that the nozzle will get as much as temperature actually rapidly, spends much less time doing security checks, and, in the end—little doubt as a result of inflexible, high-quality construct—it appears to be extremely dependable.
The extra I used the Centauri Carbon, the extra I may see how this design has developed. What Elegoo has accomplished is deal with the standard of the print and the {hardware} of the machine to make sure that it is in a position to compete in an more and more aggressive and superior market.
I lately regarded on the Anycubic S1, and that machine was able to producing among the most correct prints that I’ve ever seen from a 3D printer of its sort and value vary. Whereas printing some specialist supplies, the S1 does require a nozzle improve. The Elegoo Centauri Carbon, nevertheless, comes prepared and geared up to print with carbon fibre supplies straight out of the field, and there’s no different machine at current on this value vary that may try this.
Its most important competitor is admittedly the Bambu Lab X1 Carbon, however with that mannequin costing over £1,000, there’s an enormous distinction in value. So in case you are seeking to print with carbon fibre supplies, whereas a couple of weeks in the past I’d have really helpful the Bambu Lab X1 Carbon for sure, now you are spoilt for selection with the X1 Carbon, Unique PRUSA Core One or now this ultra-cheap entry-level Elegoo Centauri Carbon.
Do you have to purchase the Elegoo Centauri Carbon?
| Row 0 – Cell 0 | Row 0 – Cell 1 | Row 0 – Cell 2 |
|
Worth: |
At current that is the most affordable of the CoreXY machines |
5 |
|
Design: |
Whereas one of many smaller of the brand new wave of machines, it nonetheless adheres to excellent construct high quality. |
4.5 |
|
Options: |
At current it is a single core machine, however everthing is in place to for the long run addition of a multifilament module when made accessible. |
4.5 |
|
Efficiency: |
Even contemplating the value the velocity and high quality of the prints is excellent. |
4.5 |
|
Complete: |
As one of many smallest of the brand new CoreXY machines, in the case of value, options and efficiency its additionally top-of-the-line. |
4.5 |
Purchase it if…
Do not buy it if…
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