Elegoo Launches the Stripped-Down Centauri 2
Elegoo just launched the Centauri 2 (sans ‘Carbon’) to reach an even lower price point.
When Elegoo released the original Centauri Carbon, it was a pleasant surprise and instantly went to the top of my list of the best budget 3D printers. The Centauri Carbon 2 offered similar value, plus a decent filament swapping system. And now Elegoo has launched the Centauri 2 (sans ‘Carbon’) to reach an even lower price point.
You can think of the Elegoo Centauri 2 as a stripped-down version of the Elegoo Centauri Carbon 2. Or, conversely, think of the Centauri Carbon 2 as a premium, upgraded version of the Centauri 2. Whichever way you think about it, the basic gist is that they’re the same core machine, just outfitted differently.
The most obvious difference between the two is the enclosure—the Centauri Carbon 2 has one and the Centauri 2 does not. The lack of enclosure (and associated cooling system) on the Centauri 2 will reduce the variety of filament materials you can print and that will be the deciding factor for most people. But if you only intend to print materials like PLA, then you don’t need the enclosure and can save some money by purchasing the Centauri 2.
The Centauri 2 also omits the light and camera that the Centauri Carbon 2 has inside the enclosure. That means you won’t be able to give prints a visual check through your smartphone or record timelapse videos.
Finally, the Centauri 2 will also have fewer integrated sensors than the Centauri Carbon 2. I haven’t seen a complete comparison list of sensors, but it appears that the “missing” sensors are those related to the enclosure and thermal management.
By removing those features, Elegoo was able to get the price for the Centauri 2 down to just $299 ($379 for the combo kit with CANVAS multi-material system).
That is a very low price for a solid coreXY 3D printer. But the Centauri Carbon 2 was already very affordable and it costs $349 ($449 for the combo kit). So, you’re only saving $50-70 by getting the Centauri 2 over the Centauri Carbon 2.
For people who know they’ll never need an enclosure, that savings might be worthwhile. But I think most users will want to stick with the Centauri Carbon 2.