A long, long time ago, we found ourselves talking about how models like the Ender 5 Pro were an amazing solution to have at home for hobbyists and professionals alike.
These printers were amazing, versatile, and downright addicting. But as technology evolves, cob webs begin to form as people forget about the models of the past and begin to focus on what’s new and shiny. And to make things even harder for those models, there are now solutions like the ELEGOO Centauri Carbon. Solutions that make you say “Ender what?…”
Now that Halloween is around the corner, there is no better time to imagine cobwebs all over what once was, as we shift our focus to what “now” reigns as king of the hill. ELEGOO seems to have secured a nice place for the Centauri Carbon in what we have been calling the top five consumer printers of 2025. Delivering a powerful solution to the world that is both fast and friendly.
We have been using the ELEGOO Centauri Carbon for around a week now, which normally wouldn’t be enough time to really sink our fingers into everything. We have been so beaten down by models of the past that required so much care and maintenance to carefully calibrate them and make sure they always stay in working order. Some models have resulted in hours of trial and error before getting things just right, while others required much less.
This one, however, doesn’t take much at all. A neat feature that many of today’s modern printers are capable of, thanks to auto-calibration features (and many being mostly assembled and ready to go). This leads to ELEGOO being able to claim that this printer works right out of the box.
Not only that, but it also comes with many, if not most, of the features that used to be considered optional upgrades, or enhancements that you had to manually install later on using hacks to firmware and hardware, third-party solutions like Octoprint, and more. Times have definitely changed, and this is another example of that.
One of these features is a filament run-out sensor. It kind of feels like a modern-day printer wouldn’t be worth batting an eye at if it didn’t come with one of these. Here, it used to be an afterthought not that many years ago.
It features a filament waste bin, where it wipes its nozzle and deposits filament waste caused by any drippage before or after a print, swapping filament, or using multiple filaments/colors during print (which, technically, could also be included under swapping, but is worth pointing out separately). Filament drops into the bin and falls out of a hole in the back.
ELEGOO does provide a test print for a bin to place behind your printer to catch everything with so that it doesn’t go all over your table/surface. It is shaped to look exactly like the printer itself for some fun theming. There are also plenty of other designs online that you can use as well.
It has sufficient air flow thanks to two fans on the back working to either pull air in or out as needed to help maintain the temperature inside the unit while printing. This is a vital feature, as having an enclosure for your printer helps in so many ways to make sure your print is successful, but can also hurt your print if it gets too hot (or doesn’t remain as hot as it needs to). So proper regulation is needed to guarantee a solid experience.
It also features a nano mineral crystal filter to help capture harmful particles that come from certain filaments like ABS. Although some users feel the need to 3D print an external filter holder/enclosure as well, just to make sure (you can never be too careful).
Then there is that user-friendly touchscreen that makes it so easy to navigate and control everything right from the printer without the need for things like Octoprint (not that you can’t still make sure of certain other options, which we will discuss a little later).
Unlike the screens of the past, modern printers typically feature friendly interfaces that are easy to navigate and accomplish the tasks you need. This is no different with the Centauri Carbon, as ELEGOO’s OS and menu system is more than intuitive.
Then you have so many other features, like the easy-to-swap hot-ends that include the nozzle and only require a few screws to remove (all hidden behind a magnetic enclosure that pops right off). As well as a brass-hardened steel nozzle that is capable of up to 320 degrees Celsius temperatures, that supports just about every filament out there. This includes PLA, PETG, ABS, ASA, TPU, PET, PC, PA, and PVA. As well as carbon and glass fiber reinforced filaments (and likely others). It also features a 256mm x 256mm x 256mm build plate (allowing for larger designs/jobs), and has the ability to print at up to 500mm/s.
And of course, a built-in camera (a simple 360p resolution solution that supports timelapse for all prints), dual-LEDs to keep things lit when needed for keeping an eye on your print or for when you want your timelapse to look clear, a dual-sided flexible plate (one side textured PEI and the other a smooth surface for PLA specifically), and the ability to auto-unload and load your filament to make things easier.
Oh, wait, there is more. There is also the semi-automatic belt tensioner to help keep the belt nice and tight at all times, power loss recovery that works very well, which we (of course) tested (along with filament run-out, which allowed us to easily swap out the filament without losing the print, while it also made full use of the filament that it had).
The Centauri Carbon is a well-equipped, feature-rich, incredibly fast, and powerful 3D printer. All of this while also being incredibly user-friendly, as you mostly just need to worry about learning how to use slicing software (the only thing 3D printers can’t do for you….yet).
So does it actually print right out of the box? Yes! Of course, there are a few parts to unpack, some packing screws to remove that protect it during shipment (that keep the bed from moving around), an LCD screen to install (takes seconds), and a spool holder that simply slips right into place.
Everything comes together neatly as you’d expect from such a successful model that claims to offer pretty much everything that modern (single-nozzle) printers are capable of today. This includes the user-friendly experience of going from unpacking to calibration in what usually will take someone seconds (or minutes, depending on how fast they move).
Once you power this printer on, it walks you through choosing your language and making sure you have properly unpacked everything (including removing the protective bed screws). Then, it automatically goes through a list of calibrations, including making sure that the print bed is nice and level.
The process takes around 20-30 minutes, which is just a rough estimate as we weren’t counting at that point. When ours was ready to calibrate, we walked away to let it do its thing as we multi-tasked on other projects (around here, there are always other projects to work on). When we came back, it was purring and patiently waiting for us to start out first print.
Performance
Of course, for our first print, we chose the Benchy. The test print that the world seems to have chosen as the official test print, no one can skip when breaking in a new 3D printer. Like many printers, the benchy was included with the USB drive that comes with the printer, so we didn’t have to go far to make it happen. We loaded the G-code file from the drive, and it immediately went to work.
15 minutes later, we had a Benchy. A quickly printed Benchy, at that. Not only that, but we purposely chose to challenge this printer by reaching for one of our trouble spools that can sometimes be hard to work with (for whatever reasons, likely due to filament quality). And yet, it didn’t display any issues printing with it. For as fast as it spat it out, it also looked fantastic for its size.
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From there, we printed the Eiffel Tower, which was also included on the drive. Along with various accessories for the printer (also included). None of which displayed any issues printing at all. So this is where things started spirally, as when you get the bug to print, it’s hard to stop.
We printed, and printed, and printed, and printed, and well, you get it. We worked our way through various prints that are meant to improve upon the printer, such as a fancier poop chute in the back, a tool holder, arms to hold the top glass when not in use, and more.
We printed skull-shaped candy dishes, a very well-designed dice tower that featured a dragon hugging the top of a castle tower, a Batman bust, and more (all from communities like Thingiverse, Printables, and others). Then we moved to Halloween decorations to randomly add to the many we already have lying all over that have been printed from so many other printers over the years.
Some of these prints required a little support here and there (with the exception of the Batman bust, which required a ton, as that was kind of awkward to print, no matter how we swung at it). But most of the prints didn’t require any support at all. This was quite impressive, as this means that this model is capable of taking on the likes of Bambu.
In fact, the Centauri Carbon reminds us a lot of the Bambu P1S printer, as we were able to print a few of these just as we did with the P1S, while other models had to depend on support structures. On one of the prints (the dragon/castle dice tower), we chose a threshold angle of just 5% to both make sure the dragon’s teeth were supported (since they point straight down), while also challenging the Carbon Centauri to see if it would mess anything up. The end result was fantastic as it came out perfectly.
The only print we finally got it to fail a little on (with some warping) was a giant L-shaped wall. And to be fair, we purposely tried to make things rough for it. It featured two wall structures around 6mm thick, one bottom and one side. We printed with PLA+ and made both walls/sides of it around 250mm x 250mm in size. We then placed the top glass on (which you don’t want to do with PLA as it traps too much heat inside). This made it awkward and large, with little support for the vertical wall as it was thin and large, moving straight up, and everything was hot inside.
So, of course, the vertical section warped just a tad. But it was just a tad. We actually had a purpose for it, using it as a divider within a Pelican case for some cables, and were able to make perfect use of it. So still, there was no loss and almost no one noticed it unless we pointed it out. We all agreed that the result was more than acceptable for the conditions we gave the printer and the type of design we made. So once again, color us impressed. You can find the print I am talking about in the above timelapse video (it’s the last print in the video).
Software/API/Cloud Support
It comes with ELEGOO Slicer on the USB drive (which can also be downloaded from the company’s website). This is a custom version of OrcaSlicer that ELEGOO provides and recommends for most users. Of course, it also supports OrcaSlicer, as well as Cura and just about any other slicer that claims to support the Carbon Centauri as an available model profile (although those claims rest on the software alone and not the printer, in that case).
So if you have a slicer of choice that you are comfortable with already, you can always try starting with that. Otherwise, ELEGOO Slicer is the best way to start off (or keep to). Making use of the software, you are not only able to slice your prints and get them ready for the printer, but you can even send them straight to the printer from there, as well as pull up the printer’s web interface.
The web interface can also be accessed via your browser by going to the printer’s IP address (ie, 192.168.10.**), which varies depending on the configuration of your network. The interface acts as a simplified version of something like Octoprint, providing your typical analytics about the various modes/settings the printer is actively using, as well as X, Y, Z, and extruder controls.
It provides access to the internal camera, allows you to control the LEDs, and you can manage print history and even upload new prints from there, or download any timelapses you may have taken (it does have internal storage to store these, which I believe is about 8GB. You can then export those timelapses either (as mentioned) from the browser, from within ELEGOO slicer with the interface tab pulled up, or to an interted thumbdrive using the touchscreen.
There are no plugins or any other advanced control from the interface, like you get with solutions like Octoprint, but it does give you everything you’d need for a beginner or even an intermediate user. If you need more than that, you have to bring in third-party services.
When it comes to additional services/software access, it doesn’t offer native support for Octoprint as its OS is pretty locked down from that. However, it does support “ELEGOO Connect”, which allows you to tie it remotely into external solutions like OctoEverywhere. This can be seen as a little advanced for some, so you’d have to make your way through OctoEverywhere’s walkthroughs to configure everything. This isn’t recommended unless you are a hardened user and really want those features (which can include AI monitoring for any errors in the print).
It does support Home Assistant, for those who host the software on their network for smart home control. There is an integration that is available through the HACS section of Home Assistant and is quite thorough when it comes to pulling all of the analytics and controls to your dashboard, and allowing deep configuration and integration through automations and custom dashboard items.
Any printer we come across, we always try to find ways to automate things, starting with the ability to monitor for when a print finishes so that we can trigger various things (ie, DIY cooling solutions, air purifiers, or even pulling power to the printer for safety purposes if no one is around). We started with OctoEverywhere and were able to monitor everything and trigger automations using various methods like webhooks. However, it does hide a lot of features behind a paywall. So we switched to Home Assistant using the HACS integration, and the experience was one of the best we’ve had with HA.
So you have options when it comes to monitoring, analytics, control, and even automation, depending on how advanced a user you are. All of this, right out of the box. So you don’t have to worry about modifying firmware or anything unless you are really looking to chop things up (which we will not discuss since that would be too complex for beginners).
Our Conclusion
The ELEGOO Centauri Carbon fell into the list as one of our favorite printers yet. Similar to the Bambu P1S, but more affordable, while still maintaining a similar user experience. It is fast, moving up to 500mm/s, although you’d be best sticking to 100-300mm/s to avoid any complications to the finer detail in your prints. However, if you are simply printing basic parts that just need to serve a function and don’t need precise details, then speed away and have fun.
The build plate falls into the new fad of increasing the “normal” expectation of size, moving away from 220mm³ as the general average and toward the better average of 256mm³. This opens the user to so much more with just that little change. Still not enough to print your favorite TPU shoes or a motorcycle helmet in one go, but still enough to print bigger busts/statues, larger portions of cosplay setups at a time, various styles of masks, and more.
The ability to print with so many filaments is fantastic, as you don’t have to own two different printers for two different tasks. You have one printer to rule them all. You just want to consider certain things depending on what you are printing with. Such as ventilation requirements (ie, for ABS, ASA, PA, PC, carbon/glass, etc) or using the proper gloves when printing with carbon and glass fiber reinforced filaments to prevent any skin irritation. This is common to any printer, and you should always educate yourself on the best practices for each filament type.
Like most of these faster printers, it can get pretty loud, with an average dB rating of up to 55dB. You can dial this down a bit by choosing the Silent mode within the web interface, or simply dialing the speed of things down. But who wants to slow things down when you have a sports car of a printer? So this is just something to consider when buying into a faster printer like this.
We couldn’t think of much to consider as a disadvantage this round. The camera is only 360p, and it would have been nice to see 720p or even 1080p. However, this was likely a move to help keep costs down to achieve the price point. So that feels like a fair compromise. I’m sure there will be those who will come up with mods you can do to add a better camera, just like there are mods out there for installing COB LED strips for brighter lighting.
Finally, the price point is perfect for this printer. Between being robust, flexible to so many filament options, ready to go right out of the box, and that perfect price point, everything came together to settle on a rare final score from us. Not only that, but it resulted in winning Editors’ Choice, which is just as rare, if not more.
To make things even better, ELEGOO just kicked off its Black Friday promotion beginning today (for a limited time). This allows users to find an even better deal on their favorite ELEGOO models, including this Centauri Carbon. It starts today and runs through the end of November, making for one long Black Friday sale, and includes giveaways as well, which is always exciting.
Videos:
Additional Images:
Specifications:
- Build Volume: 256 × 256 × 256 mm
- Printing Speed: =/< 500 mm/s (Recommended 250 mm/s)
- Default Acceleration: 10,000 mm/s²
- Maximum Acceleration: 20,000 mm/s²
- Printing Accuracy: +/- 0.1 mm
- Layer Thickness: 0.1–0.4 mm (Recommended 0.2 mm)
- Supported Filament: Carbon/Glass Fiber Reinforced Filaments/PLA/PETG/ABS/ASA/TPU/PET/PC/PA
- Filament Diameter: 1.75 mm
- Technology: Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM)
- Printing Platform Size: 260 × 260 mm
- Extruder: Dual-Gear Direct Extruder (1 Fan)
- Nozzle: Brass-Hardened Steel
- Nozzle Diameter: 0.4 mm
- Build Plate: Dual-Sided Spring Steel Sheet (Textured PEI + PLA-Specific Surfaces)
- Bed Leveling Method: 121-Point Auto-Leveling
- Heat Break: Titanium Alloy
- Z-Axis Lead Screw: 3 Lead Screws, 3 Linear Guide Rods
- Motor Drive: Silent Drive (All Axes)
- LED Lighting: Yes
- Max. Nozzle Temperature: 320 C
- Max. Heated Bed Temperature: 110 C (Ambient Temperature 25 C)
- Ambient Temperature: 5–40 C
- Camera: Yes (Time-lapse Supported)
- Filament Run Out Sensor: Yes
- Power Loss Recovery: Yes
- Full-Auto Calibration: Yes
- Auto Filament Unloading: Yes
- System: ELEGOO OS
- Touch Screen: 4.3-inch Color Capacitive Touch Screen
- Language: English, French, German, Russian, Italian, Spanish, Japanese, Chinese
- Connectivity: USB, Wi-Fi
- Slicing Software: ELEGOO Slicer (Recommended), Orca, Cura
- Input Format: STL, OBJ, 3MF, STP
- Maximum Size for Machine Activity: 485 × 560 × 510 mm
- Machine Size: 398 × 404 × 490 mm
- Package Size: 475 × 480 × 560 mm
- Net Weight: 17.5 kg
- Gross Weight: 21 kg
- Power Input:
- 100–240 VAC
- 50/60 Hz
- Power Output: 24 V
- Rated Power: 1100 W @ 220 V; 350 W @ 110 V
- Operating Sound: =/< 55 dB
Co-Authors: Kevin R., Zack B., James H.
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