3D Printing InfoPrinter comparison
ELEGOO Neptune 4 Max vs FlashForge AD5X
Compare hardware, build volume, printing specifications, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
Open these two in the interactive comparisonMore ELEGOO Neptune 4 Max comparisonsMore FlashForge AD5X comparisons
| Property | ELEGOO Neptune 4 MaxBEDSLINGER | FlashForge AD5XCOREXY |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | ||
| Brand | ELEGOO | FlashForge |
| Class | BEDSLINGER | COREXY |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Manufacturer & exact marketed model name (verify the exact product identity first) | ELEGOO Neptune 4 Max[1] | Flashforge AD5X, sold as "AD5X - Multicolor 3D Printer for High-Speed, Full-Color Printing"[2][3] |
| Release date (announcement and actual shipping) | Listed on the ELEGOO US store from 20 September 2023 (Shopify publish date)[4] | Not documented |
| Street price (USD; dated snapshot per entry) | $389.00 on us.elegoo.com, Aug 2026, against a compare-at price of $559.99; Ribbon-Cable and Type-C printhead variants are the same price[4] | $399.00 sale against a $549.00 compare-at price on flashforge.com, in stock, with a further $50 off at checkout, checked Aug 2026. A refurbished AD5X is listed at $315.00[2][3] |
| Variants & sibling models — and how to tell them apart (spec-contamination risk) | Largest Neptune 4. The trade-off against the smaller models is easy to miss: the bed only reaches 85 C (against 100 C on the Plus and 110 C on the base Neptune 4) and acceleration is capped at 8000 mm/s2 (against 12000 and 20000), because of the mass of a 430 x 430 mm moving bed. Two printhead variants, Ribbon-Cable and Type-C, are sold under one SKU[1][5][6][4] | Shares the 220 mm Adventurer chassis with the 5M and 5M Pro but differs on the points that matter: 300 °C nozzle (vs 280 °C), 4-colour IFS unit, NO air filtration, NO auto shutdown, and a 300 mm/s print speed against a 600 mm/s travel speed. 3DJake and eolasprints both describe it as open-frame[2][7][8][9] |
| Physical & Frame | ||
| Build volume X×Y×Z (mm) — advertised vs actually usable | 420 x 420 x 480 mm; printing platform 430 x 430 mm[1] | 220 x 220 x 220 mm advertised[2][7] |
| Machine footprint (mm) & clearance needed (cable/spool overhang) | 658 x 632 x 740 mm; ELEGOO's maximum size for machine activity is 658 x 950 x 960 mm including rack and tray - allow nearly a metre of depth and height[1] | Not documented |
| Net weight (kg) | 18.1 kg net, 21.8 kg gross[1] | Not documented |
| Frame construction & material | CNC-machined aluminium extrusion frame[1] | Not documented |
| Enclosure: open / enclosed; panel material; door/lid | Open frame, no enclosure[1] | Open frame, no enclosure and no air filtration — FlashForge's own table records "Air Filtration: No". Chamber lighting and remote monitoring are listed as expandable options rather than fitted[2][8] |
| Kinematics & Motion Hardware | ||
| Kinematics (bedslinger i3 / CoreXY / other) | Cartesian i3 bed-slinger[1] | CoreXY[8] |
| Z-axis: leadscrew count & type, sync mechanism, anti-backlash | Two lead screws with two tie rods[10] | Not documented |
| Stepper drivers (exact model e.g. TMC2209; UART/SPI; sensorless homing?) | "Silent Drive (All Axes)"; no driver part number published[10] | Not documented |
| Speed & Acceleration | ||
| Max print speed (claimed, mm/s) | 500 mm/s max toolhead speed (manufacturer claim)[1] | FlashForge publishes two separate figures: max travel speed 600 mm/s and max print speed 300 mm/s. The 300 mm/s print figure is the one that describes printing[2][7] |
| Recommended/typical print speed | 250 mm/s recommended printing speed against the 500 mm/s ceiling (ELEGOO's own figure); default acceleration is 4000 mm/s2[10] | Not documented |
| Max acceleration (claimed, mm/s²) | 8000 mm/s2 max toolhead acceleration (manufacturer claim) - the lowest in the Neptune 4 family[1] | 20,000 mm/s2 maximum (manufacturer claim)[2][7] |
| Extruder | ||
| Type (direct drive / bowden) & design name | Dual-gear direct extruder with 2 fans[10] | Direct drive, one extruder, fed by the 4-colour Intelligent Filament System (IFS)[2] |
| Hotend & Nozzle | ||
| Hotend design (proprietary/standard; quick-swap mechanism?) | Brass nozzle, 0.4 mm, with a titanium-alloy heat break[10] | Not documented |
| Max nozzle temp claimed AND firmware max temp limit (both values) | 300 C claimed max nozzle temperature[1] | 300 °C claimed[2][7] |
| Stock nozzle size & sizes included in box | Not documented | 0.4 mm default; 0.25, 0.6 and 0.8 mm optional[2][7] |
| Heated Bed & Surface | ||
| Max bed temp claimed AND firmware limit | 85 C max heated bed temperature at 25 C ambient - well below the 100-110 C of the smaller Neptunes, which limits ABS/ASA work despite them being on the compatibility list[1] | 110 °C claimed[2][7] |
| Bed surface (material, texture, coating), single/double-sided | PEI spring steel sheet, now upgraded to a dual-sided textured PEI + PLA-specific surface; platform 430 x 430 mm[10] | PEI flexible spring-steel sheet[2][7] |
| Leveling & Z-Offset | ||
| Auto bed leveling: probe technology (inductive / strain gauge / load cell / touch probe) | Manual levelling combined with 121-point auto-levelling[10] | Automatic levelling; probe technology not named[2][7] |
| Filament Handling & Detection | ||
| Filament runout sensor (type, location) | Filament detection and power-loss resume printing[1] | Filament detection fitted; type and location not published[2][7] |
| Multi-material/multi-color capability or official upgrade path | Not documented | Four-colour printing via the integrated Intelligent Filament System (IFS), which handles filament switching[2] |
| Electronics & Power | ||
| Mainboard model & MCU (exact chip markings if teardowns exist) | "Klipper High-Speed Quiet Motherboard" is all ELEGOO publishes[10] | Not documented |
| Input voltage (110/220 V, switch or auto) | 100-120 V / 220-240 V, 50/60 Hz[1][10] | Not documented |
| Total rated power draw | 320 W rated power, 24 V output[10] | Not documented |
| Firmware & Openness | ||
| Firmware base & current version (Klipper fork / Marlin fork / proprietary) | Klipper[10] | Not named by FlashForge; the supported slicers are Orca-Flashforge and OrcaSlicer[2] |
| Connectivity, UI & Camera | ||
| Display: size, type, touch? | 4.3-inch colour capacitive touch screen[10] | Not documented |
| On-device UI capabilities (model preview, per-object controls, etc.) | Colour capacitive touch UI; ElegooSlicer recommended, Orca and Cura supported[10] | Not documented |
| WiFi (band/standard), Ethernet, USB ports, SD/flash-drive | Wi-Fi, USB and WLAN file transfer[1] | USB, Ethernet, Wi-Fi[2][7] |
| Power-Loss & Interruption Recovery | ||
| Power-loss recovery: mechanism (how is state saved? capacitor / eeprom / file on shutdown?) | Not documented | Power-outage recovery supported; mechanism not published[2][7] |
| Materials Support | ||
| Officially supported filament list | PLA, TPU, PETG, ABS, ASA, Nylon - but note the 85 C bed ceiling against ABS and ASA[1] | PETG, PLA, TPU95A, TPU64D-75D, PLA-CF, PETG-CF[2][7] |
| Noise & Power Consumption | ||
| Noise: claimed dB and independently measured dB (distance/method) | Operating sound published as 65 dB or less - a manufacturer figure with no distance or method stated[10] | 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[11] | Not documented |
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 Neptune 4 Max product page (Specification table) us.elegoo.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Flashforge AD5X multicolour 3D printer product page flashforge.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Flashforge store product feed (live prices and stock) flashforge.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- ELEGOO Neptune 4 Max Shopify product JSON (variant prices and store publish date) us.elegoo.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- ELEGOO Neptune 4 product page (Specification table) us.elegoo.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- ELEGOO Neptune 4 Plus product page (full specification table) us.elegoo.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- FlashForge AD5X technical data table 3djake.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Flashforge printer buyer's guide, 5M to Creator 5 eolasprints.com · 2026-08 · review
- Flashforge Adventurer 5M Pro product page flashforge.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- ELEGOO compare-products page, which embeds the full per-model specification JSON for every Neptune, Centauri and OrangeStorm machine us.elegoo.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- ELEGOO Refund & Warranty policy (warranty period table) us.elegoo.com · 2026-08 · vendor