Elegoo can no longer guarantee a release date on a promised multicolor upgrade to the Centauri Carbon, a $300 Core XY 3D printer we reviewed favorably in February 2025. The announcement sparked controversy online, with most readers viewing it as a product cancellation rather than a delay. Redditors called it a “rug pull,” while hot takes on X are largely spicy and caustic.
Many are complaining that they had only purchased the Centauri Carbon because of the promise of a future AMS-style color upgrade.
The company said it has been working on a multicolor add-on with disappointing results. A statement on Elegoo’s blog said: “Due to some limitation of the hardware, so far the developing multicolor system has not yet delivered a performance that meets our expectation. And we cannot guarantee a release date for the multicolor system so far.”
As an apology for the delay, Elegoo is offering an exclusive benefit for Centauri Carbon owners, expressing “sincere appreciation for your trust and understanding.” If you have already purchased a Centauri Carbon, you can fill out this form, include your order number, and select either a $50 coupon for filament with a $100 purchase, an extension on your printer’s warranty, or an $80 off coupon towards the purchase of a Centauri Carbon 2 Combo.
I gave the budget Centauri Carbon four stars when it was reviewed in February, and praised its affordability and speed. This was based entirely on its merits as a single-color machine, based on base reviews of what is sent to us for testing, not on what might be included at a future date. The promised multicolor unit was little more than a tease on the Centauri Carbon’s launch page, showing part of a four-color model with the line “available in Q3 2025.”
Ironically, that “multicolor” print remains on the current Centauri Carbon landing page, with a credit to the designer Toymakr3d. I looked up the file, and it is a premium model containing 269 parts designed to be printed on a single color machine and assembled with glue. Toymakr3D posted a video showing the model printed on a pair of single color machines, the Flashforge Adventurer 5M and the Adventurer 5M Pro.
The timing of this announcement is interesting, as it comes days before Germany’s Formnext, the world’s largest additive manufacturing expo. This is where 3D printing manufacturers unveil new printers to the international press and potential costumers. This year we are anticipating a new tool changer mod from Prusa Research and Bondtech, plus the revolutionary nozzle swapping H2C from Bambu Lab.
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