Elegoo is taking another bite out of the budget CoreXY market with the Centauri Carbon 2 Combo, a four-color evolution of the wildly popular Centauri Carbon. This is not the color update module that fans were hoping for, instead we’ve been presented with an entirely new machine.
The Centauri Carbon 2 resembles a more polished Flashforge AD5X, with four spool holders bolted to the side that feed into a multi-material system perched on top of the printer. A “top hat” style enclosure covers the four Bowden tubes that guide filament from the “CANVAS” unit to the four color hub mounted on the tool head. This system is easier to maintain than a Bambu-style AMS, since everything is out in the open.
The CANVAS has an RFID reader on the side that will work with Elegoo brand filament, though it's a bit of a manual process. To use it, spools are taped against the CANVAS, which reads the information on the spool's tag, then the user taps the touch screen to assign the information to the corresponding spool holder.
The build volume remains the same 256 x 256 x 256 mm as its predecessor, with a new hardened steel nozzle that can hit 350 °C. Print speeds and acceleration are identical, with a max acceleration of 20,000mm/s² and 500mm/s top print speed. Like other “high-speed” 3D printers, it performs best under 300mm/s and with more conservative acceleration.
Elegoo added a smart temperature control system, which allows you to keep the front door closed during printing. There is no active heating for the chamber, and oddly, Elegoo recommends sticking to PLA, PETG, and TPU for its machine. We’ll follow up after a full review to let you know how it handles ASA and nylon. A draft-free chamber and a 350°C nozzle suggest it will do quite well.
The Centauri Carbon 2 is positioned as a family-friendly machine for beginners and hobbyists. It’s easy to use, with reliable calibration and auto bed leveling backed by 31 smart sensors. The large touch screen has a user interface that is simple to understand. At 45 dB, it’s also a quiet machine that can unobtrusively sit in a family room or study area.
The printer uses ElegooSlicer, which is based on the Open Source OrcaSlicer, which is itself a fork of Bambu Studio. This is probably the least beginner-friendly part of the system, but so far, the presets work well, which is more than half the battle.
A multicolor system that shares one nozzle will always create filament waste, but I’m pleased with the results so far. ElegooSlicer allows the user to tune the filament purge amounts and use purge objects, which will let you keep waste to a minimum.
With a retail price tag of $449, the Centauri Carbon 2 Combo dramatically undercuts similarly sized multicolor CoreXY printers, including Bambu Lab’s P2S, while promising excellent print quality. If the hardware lives up to its specs, Elegoo isn’t just offering a cheaper alternative. It’s positioning itself as a direct threat. With DJI reportedly backing the company, the multicolor 3D printer race just got a lot more interesting.
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