3D Printing InfoPrinter comparison
ELEGOO Centauri Carbon 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 Carbon comparisonsMore Formlabs Form 4 comparisons
| Property | ELEGOO Centauri CarbonCOREXY | 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 Carbon[1] | Formlabs Form 4 3D Printer[2][3] |
| Release date (announcement and actual shipping) | Listed on the ELEGOO US store from 17 February 2025 (Shopify publish date)[4] | Not documented |
| Street price (USD; dated snapshot per entry) | $419.99 on us.elegoo.com, Aug 2026, with the compare-at price also $419.99 (no discount running)[4] | 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| Variants & sibling models — and how to tell them apart (spec-contamination risk) | Superseded by the Centauri Carbon 2, which raises the nozzle ceiling to 350 C and swaps the nano mineral crystal filter for a HEPA plus coconut-shell carbon stack, adds clog detection, a smart exhaust grille and part-cooling-fan drop detection. The non-carbon Centauri and Centauri 2 are open-frame-oriented machines with a different filament list. Machine size 398 x 404 x 490 mm is shared with the Centauri 2, so body dimensions alone will not identify the model[5][6][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] |
| Market position: superseded? successor announced? | Superseded within ELEGOO's own line-up: the US store's Centauri section in Aug 2026 lists the Centauri Carbon 2 Combo, Centauri 2 Combo, Centauri Carbon 2 and an emoji collaboration edition[7] | Not documented |
| 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) | 398 x 404 x 490 mm[1] | 398 x 367 x 554 mm[2][3] |
| Net weight (kg) | 17.5 kg net, 21 kg gross[1] | 18.3 kg[2][3] |
| Frame construction & material | Integrated die-cast aluminium construction, which ELEGOO credits for reduced vibration at speed[1] | Not documented |
| Enclosure: open / enclosed; panel material; door/lid | Fully enclosed with a tempered glass door and top cover; a nano mineral crystal air filter, an auxiliary part-cooling fan and a chamber temperature regulator fan are fitted[1] | Enclosed cabinet with a hinged UV-blocking cover. Operating temperature 18-28 C[2] |
| Kinematics & Motion Hardware | ||
| Kinematics (bedslinger i3 / CoreXY / other) | CoreXY[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 |
| Belts (type, width, e.g. Gates?) | Semi-automatic belt tensioner[1] | Not documented |
| Stepper drivers (exact model e.g. TMC2209; UART/SPI; sensorless homing?) | "Silent Drive (All Axes)" is all that is published; no driver part number is given[1] | Not documented |
| Speed & Acceleration | ||
| Max print speed (claimed, mm/s) | 500 mm/s or less, with 250 mm/s given by ELEGOO as the recommended speed[1] | Not documented |
| Recommended/typical print speed | 250 mm/s recommended printing speed (manufacturer figure)[1] | Not documented |
| Max acceleration (claimed, mm/s²) | 20000 mm/s2 maximum acceleration; default acceleration 10000 mm/s2[1] | Not documented |
| Max volumetric flow claimed (mm³/s) | 32 mm3/s claimed flow rate (manufacturer figure; no test conditions published)[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, with a titanium-alloy heat break; a heatbed nozzle wiper cleans it before each print[1] | Not documented |
| Max nozzle temp claimed AND firmware max temp limit (both values) | 320 C claimed max nozzle temperature (the Centauri Carbon 2 raises this to 350 C)[1][5] | 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 |
| Bed surface (material, texture, coating), single/double-sided | Dual-sided spring steel sheet - textured PEI on one face, a PLA-specific surface on the other[1] | Not documented |
| Leveling & Z-Offset | ||
| Auto bed leveling: probe technology (inductive / strain gauge / load cell / touch probe) | 121-point auto-levelling with full-auto calibration[1] | Not documented |
| Filament Handling & Detection | ||
| Filament runout sensor (type, location) | Filament run-out sensor, auto filament unloading, power-loss recovery and fan self-check; no clog detection on this model (the Centauri Carbon 2 adds it)[1][5] | Not documented |
| Cooling & Air Handling | ||
| Part-cooling fan(s): count, size, ducting design | Part cooling plus an auxiliary part-cooling fan and a chamber temperature regulator fan, with real-time fan self-checks[1] | Not documented |
| Electronics & Power | ||
| Mainboard model & MCU (exact chip markings if teardowns exist) | ELEGOO describes it only as a "Powerful Self-Developed Motherboard"; no board model or MCU is published[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; 24 V output; 100-240 VAC input[1] | 480 W[2] |
| Firmware & Openness | ||
| Firmware base & current version (Klipper fork / Marlin fork / proprietary) | ELEGOO OS with OTA updates; 8 GB of on-board storage. ElegooSlicer recommended, with Orca and Cura supported[1] | Proprietary. Print preparation is PreForm; fleet management is Formlabs Dashboard[3] |
| Connectivity, UI & Camera | ||
| Display: size, type, touch? | 4.3-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; LED chamber lighting fitted; OTA firmware updates[1] | Not documented |
| WiFi (band/standard), Ethernet, USB ports, SD/flash-drive | USB and dual-band Wi-Fi for LAN transfers[1] | Dual-band Wi-Fi, Gigabit Ethernet (1000 Mbit), USB-C 2.0[2][3] |
| Camera: built-in / optional? Resolution & framerate (verify — marketing often omits real fps) | Chamber camera fitted, with real-time monitoring and time-lapse; dual built-in LED strips[1] | Not documented |
| Materials Support | ||
| Officially supported filament list | Carbon/glass fibre reinforced filaments, PLA, PETG, ABS, ASA, TPU, PET, PC, PA[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] |
| Noise & Power Consumption | ||
| Noise: claimed dB and independently measured dB (distance/method) | Operating sound published as 55 dB or less - a manufacturer figure with no distance or method stated, so not comparable with an independently measured dB reading[1] | Not documented |
| 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[8] | 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 Carbon product page (full 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 Centauri Carbon Shopify product JSON (price and store publish date) us.elegoo.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- ELEGOO Centauri Carbon 2 product page (Centauri Carbon 2 vs Centauri Carbon side-by-side table) us.elegoo.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- ELEGOO Centauri 2 product page (Centauri 2 Combo vs Centauri 2 side-by-side specification table) us.elegoo.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- ELEGOO US store 3D printers collection (current line-up, Aug 2026) us.elegoo.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- ELEGOO Refund & Warranty policy (warranty period table) us.elegoo.com · 2026-08 · vendor