3D Printing InfoPrinter comparison
ELEGOO Centauri 2 Combo vs Formlabs Form 4
Compare hardware, build volume, printing specifications, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
Open these two in the interactive comparisonMore ELEGOO Centauri 2 Combo comparisonsMore Formlabs Form 4 comparisons
| Property | ELEGOO Centauri 2 ComboCOREXY | Formlabs Form 4RESIN |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | ||
| Brand | ELEGOO | Formlabs |
| Class | COREXY | RESIN |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Manufacturer & exact marketed model name (verify the exact product identity first) | ELEGOO Centauri 2 Combo - the Centauri 2 sold with the CANVAS multicolour unit[1] | Formlabs Form 4 3D Printer[2][3] |
| Street price (USD; dated snapshot per entry) | Not documented | Starting at $2,625.00 at GoEngineer, in stock, checked Aug 2026. Formlabs sells the printer as part of packages (Form 4 Complete Package etc.), so package prices are much higher than the printer-only figure[3] |
| Variants & sibling models — and how to tell them apart (spec-contamination risk) | Same printer as the bare Centauri 2 for every motion, hotend, bed and electronics figure; what the Combo adds is 4-colour CANVAS printing, RFID filament detection, auto refill and auto tangle detection, and what it costs is bench space - 500 x 480 x 586 mm and 15.5 kg against 398 x 404 x 490 mm and 13.7 kg. Camera, LED lighting and air filter remain optional expansions on both[1] | Three machines share this platform and are constantly conflated. Form 4: 200 x 125 x 210 mm, 50 um pixels, 18.3 kg, 480 W, one resin cartridge, NOT biocompatible. Form 4B: identical hardware but validated for 38 Formlabs materials including 15 biocompatible. Form 4L: 353 x 196 x 350 mm, 46 um pixels, 58.5 kg, 900 W, two cartridges[2] |
| Physical & Frame | ||
| Build volume X×Y×Z (mm) — advertised vs actually usable | 256 x 256 x 256 mm; printing platform 260 x 260 mm[1] | 200 x 125 x 210 mm (Formlabs quotes 5.25 litres)[2][3] |
| Machine footprint (mm) & clearance needed (cable/spool overhang) | 500 x 480 x 586 mm with the CANVAS unit fitted[1] | 398 x 367 x 554 mm[2][3] |
| Net weight (kg) | 15.5 kg net, 19 kg gross[1] | 18.3 kg[2][3] |
| Frame construction & material | Rigid aluminium frame (Centauri 2 platform)[1] | Not documented |
| Enclosure: open / enclosed; panel material; door/lid | Not documented | Enclosed cabinet with a hinged UV-blocking cover. Operating temperature 18-28 C[2] |
| Kinematics & Motion Hardware | ||
| Kinematics (bedslinger i3 / CoreXY / other) | CoreXY with dual 4260 stepper motors[1] | Masked stereolithography (MSLA). Formlabs brands the engine Low Force Display; straight-lift peel[2][3] |
| Z-axis: leadscrew count & type, sync mechanism, anti-backlash | Three lead screws with three linear guide rods[1] | Not documented |
| Speed & Acceleration | ||
| Max print speed (claimed, mm/s) | 500 mm/s or less, recommended 250 mm/s[1] | Not documented |
| Recommended/typical print speed | 250 mm/s recommended printing speed[1] | Not documented |
| Max acceleration (claimed, mm/s²) | 20000 mm/s2 maximum acceleration; default 10000 mm/s2[1] | Not documented |
| Extruder | ||
| Type (direct drive / bowden) & design name | Dual-gear direct extruder with one fan[1] | Not documented |
| Hotend & Nozzle | ||
| Hotend design (proprietary/standard; quick-swap mechanism?) | Brass-hardened steel nozzle, 0.4 mm, titanium-alloy heat break[1] | Not documented |
| Max nozzle temp claimed AND firmware max temp limit (both values) | 350 C claimed max nozzle temperature[1] | Not documented |
| Heated Bed & Surface | ||
| Max bed temp claimed AND firmware limit | 110 C max heated bed temperature at 25 C ambient[1] | Not documented |
| Leveling & Z-Offset | ||
| Auto bed leveling: probe technology (inductive / strain gauge / load cell / touch probe) | 121-point auto-levelling plus partial bed levelling[1] | Not documented |
| Filament Handling & Detection | ||
| Filament runout sensor (type, location) | Filament run-out sensor, clog detection, auto tangle detection, RFID filament detection, auto refill, auto filament unloading and power-loss recovery[1] | Not documented |
| Multi-material/multi-color capability or official upgrade path | CANVAS four-colour printing with RFID filament identification and automatic refill - the defining difference from the bare Centauri 2[1] | Not documented |
| Electronics & Power | ||
| Mainboard model & MCU (exact chip markings if teardowns exist) | "Powerful Self-Developed Motherboard"[1] | Not documented |
| Input voltage (110/220 V, switch or auto) | Not documented | 100-240 VAC, 4.8 A, 50/60 Hz, 480 W[2] |
| Total rated power draw | 1100 W at 220 V, 350 W at 110 V rated[1] | 480 W[2] |
| Firmware & Openness | ||
| Firmware base & current version (Klipper fork / Marlin fork / proprietary) | ELEGOO OS; ElegooSlicer recommended[1] | Proprietary. Print preparation is PreForm; fleet management is Formlabs Dashboard[3] |
| Connectivity, UI & Camera | ||
| Display: size, type, touch? | 5-inch colour capacitive touch screen[1] | 7-inch interactive touchscreen, 1280 x 800 (control panel — not the masking LCD, see W1)[2] |
| On-device UI capabilities (model preview, per-object controls, etc.) | Colour touch UI; STL, OBJ, 3MF and STEP input[1] | Not documented |
| WiFi (band/standard), Ethernet, USB ports, SD/flash-drive | USB and Wi-Fi[1] | Dual-band Wi-Fi, Gigabit Ethernet (1000 Mbit), USB-C 2.0[2][3] |
| Materials Support | ||
| Officially supported filament list | Ideal: PLA, PETG, PLA-CF, TPU. Not recommended: ABS/ABS-CF, ASA/ASA-CF, PET/PET-CF, PETG-CF, PA/PA-CF, PC[1] | Formlabs resins across rigid, tough, general purpose, flame retardant, silicone, elastic, ceramic and castable families. Biocompatible resins require the Form 4B, not the Form 4[2] |
| Reliability, Support & Ecosystem | ||
| Warranty length & support reputation (evidence, not vibes) | 12 months on brand-new machines and parts, but ELEGOO's own table excludes a long list of parts from that: PEI plate / build plate / nozzle kit / PTFE tube / heater / thermistor / hot end / packaging / manual / tools carry no warranty at all, and the extruder, extruder kit and printhead kit get 6 months. Certified pre-owned machines carry no warranty[4] | Not documented |
| Independently Measured Performance | ||
| Dimensional accuracy measurements (third-party, with numbers) | Not documented | XY dimensional tolerance +/-0.15% — a manufacturer specification, not an independent measurement[2][3] |
| Resin & MSLA | ||
| Masking LCD | Not documented | Low Force Display masking LCD with a 50 um pixel size and pre-tuned anti-aliasing. Formlabs does not publish the screen diagonal or pixel count[2][3] |
| Light source | Not documented | Backlight unit with 60 uniform-wavelength high-power LEDs behind collimating lenses, with integrated cooling[2][3] |
| Vertical print speedmm/h | Not documented | Maximum 100 mm/h; average 40 mm/h at a 100 um layer height (manufacturer figures — GoEngineer publishes both, which is unusually explicit about the basis). Formlabs separately claims most prints finish in under 2 hours[3][2] |
| Layer height range | Not documented | 25-200 um per Formlabs' own tech-spec page; GoEngineer's listing for the same machine says 25-300 um. Unresolved[2][3] |
| Resin vat & feeding | Not documented | Single next-generation resin cartridge; Formlabs claims 5-10x faster filling and 63% less waste. Resin tank rated for 75,000+ layers with any Formlabs material. No vat capacity published[2][3] |
Manufacturer claims, independent measurements, packages and test conditions retain their source wording. FDM linear speed and resin vertical speed use different units and are not directly comparable. Unknown values are marked “Not documented”. Prices and source dates remain historical snapshots; check the linked guide for product details. Differences highlight text, not a universal winner.
Sources for this comparison
- ELEGOO Centauri 2 product page (Centauri 2 Combo vs Centauri 2 side-by-side specification table) us.elegoo.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Formlabs resin printer technical specifications (Form 4 / 4B / 4L) formlabs.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Formlabs Form 4 3D printer listing store.goengineer.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- ELEGOO Refund & Warranty policy (warranty period table) us.elegoo.com · 2026-08 · vendor