3D Printing InfoPrinter comparison
ELEGOO Neptune 4 Plus vs Rat Rig V-Core 4
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 Plus comparisonsMore Rat Rig V-Core 4 comparisons
| Property | ELEGOO Neptune 4 PlusBEDSLINGER | Rat Rig V-Core 4COREXY |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | ||
| Brand | ELEGOO | Rat Rig |
| Class | BEDSLINGER | COREXY |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Manufacturer & exact marketed model name (verify the exact product identity first) | ELEGOO Neptune 4 Plus[1] | Rat Rig V-Core 4, sold in the US as "RatRig V-Core 4 3D Printer Kit"[2] |
| Release date (announcement and actual shipping) | Listed on the ELEGOO US store from 20 September 2023 (Shopify publish date), the same date as the Neptune 4 Max[3][4] | Not documented |
| Street price (USD; dated snapshot per entry) | $309.00 on us.elegoo.com, Aug 2026, against a compare-at price of $425.00. Only a Ribbon-Cable printhead variant is listed for the Plus, unlike the Neptune 4 and 4 Max which also offer a Type-C version[3][5][4] | $2,319.99 at Fabreeko for the fully-specified US kit (price includes shipping and duty in the continental USA), Batch 4, checked Aug 2026. 300 mm ABS-parts variant in stock, 400 mm down to one unit. Rat Rig's own base kit is priced separately in EUR[2][6] |
| Variants & sibling models — and how to tell them apart (spec-contamination risk) | Middle model of the Neptune 4 family. Against the base Neptune 4: bigger (320 x 320 x 385 mm), but a lower bed ceiling (100 C rather than 110 C) and much lower acceleration (12000 rather than 20000 mm/s2). Against the Max: smaller and lighter (14.4 kg against 18.1 kg) but with a higher bed ceiling (100 C against 85 C) and higher acceleration (12000 against 8000). Its Z drive is 2 lead screws with 2 tie rods, where the Centauri machines use 3 lead screws[1][7][8][9] | Three sizes (300, 400, 500 mm cubes) and three motion configurations: Standard CoreXY, Hybrid CoreXY (+$149.99, adds two motors to Y), and IDEX with two independent toolheads (+$450.00). Superseded by the V-Core 4.1. Raspberry Pi and enclosure panels are not included[2][6] |
| Market position: superseded? successor announced? | Not documented | Superseded by the V-Core 4.1, which adds a steel X gantry, a full-metal toolhead, improved part cooling, 8 mm beds on the 400 and 500 sizes and pre-made cables. Rat Rig sells a 4.1 upgrade kit for existing V-Core 4 owners[6] |
| Physical & Frame | ||
| Build volume X×Y×Z (mm) — advertised vs actually usable | 320 x 320 x 385 mm; printing platform 330 x 330 mm[1] | 300 x 300 x 300, 400 x 400 x 400 or 500 x 500 x 500 mm. Sortable value is the 300 mm kit[2][6] |
| Machine footprint (mm) & clearance needed (cable/spool overhang) | 533 x 517 x 638 mm; ELEGOO also publishes a maximum size for machine activity of 578 x 750 x 860 mm including rack and tray, so allow 750 mm of depth[1] | Not documented |
| Net weight (kg) | 14.4 kg net, 16.65 kg gross[1] | Not documented |
| Frame construction & material | CNC-machined aluminium extrusion frame (Neptune 4 family)[7] | 30-series aluminium extrusion with printed ABS structural parts[2][6] |
| Enclosure: open / enclosed; panel material; door/lid | Open frame, no enclosure[1] | Open by default; enclosure panels sold separately[2] |
| Kinematics & Motion Hardware | ||
| Kinematics (bedslinger i3 / CoreXY / other) | Cartesian i3 bed-slinger[1] | CoreXY, or Hybrid CoreXY, or Hybrid CoreXY IDEX depending on the configuration ordered[2] |
| Z-axis: leadscrew count & type, sync mechanism, anti-backlash | Two lead screws with two tie rods[1] | Not documented |
| Stepper drivers (exact model e.g. TMC2209; UART/SPI; sensorless homing?) | "Silent Drive (All Axes)" is all ELEGOO publishes; the driver part number is not given on the product page[1] | TMC2209[2] |
| Speed & Acceleration | ||
| Max print speed (claimed, mm/s) | 30-500 mm/s printing speed, with 250 mm/s given by ELEGOO as the recommended figure - the 500 mm/s number is a ceiling, not a working speed[1] | Not documented |
| Recommended/typical print speed | 250 mm/s recommended printing speed (manufacturer figure)[1] | Not documented |
| Max acceleration (claimed, mm/s²) | 12000 mm/s2 maximum acceleration; default acceleration 5000 mm/s2[1] | Not documented |
| Extruder | ||
| Type (direct drive / bowden) & design name | Dual-gear direct extruder with 2 fans (the Centauri machines use a 1-fan version)[1][9] | LDO Orbiter 2.0 direct-drive extruder[2] |
| Hotend & Nozzle | ||
| Hotend design (proprietary/standard; quick-swap mechanism?) | Brass nozzle, 0.4 mm, with a titanium-alloy heat break[1] | Phaetus Rapido 2.0 UHF[2] |
| Max nozzle temp claimed AND firmware max temp limit (both values) | 300 C claimed max nozzle temperature[1] | Not documented |
| Heated Bed & Surface | ||
| Max bed temp claimed AND firmware limit | 100 C max heated bed temperature at 25 C ambient[1] | Not documented |
| Bed surface (material, texture, coating), single/double-sided | PEI spring steel sheet; ELEGOO notes it is now upgraded to a dual-sided textured PEI + PLA-specific surface[1] | Keenovo silicone bed heater[2] |
| Leveling & Z-Offset | ||
| Auto bed leveling: probe technology (inductive / strain gauge / load cell / touch probe) | Manual levelling combined with 121-point auto-levelling[1] | Beacon eddy-current probe[2] |
| Filament Handling & Detection | ||
| Filament runout sensor (type, location) | Filament run-out sensor and power-loss recovery; no camera, no clog detection, no auto filament unloading[1] | Not documented |
| Cooling & Air Handling | ||
| Part-cooling fan(s): count, size, ducting design | Not documented | Nidec 4028 part-cooling fan[2] |
| Electronics & Power | ||
| Mainboard model & MCU (exact chip markings if teardowns exist) | ELEGOO describes it only as a "Klipper High-Speed Quiet Motherboard" - no board model or MCU is published[1] | BigTreeTech Octopus[2] |
| Total rated power draw | 320 W rated power; 24 V output; 110-120 V / 220-240 V input[1] | Not documented |
| Firmware & Openness | ||
| Firmware base & current version (Klipper fork / Marlin fork / proprietary) | Klipper (ELEGOO names the system "Klipper" outright for the Neptune 4 Plus, rather than the ELEGOO OS branding used on the Centauri machines)[1][9] | RatOS, Rat Rig's Klipper distribution[6] |
| Connectivity, UI & Camera | ||
| Display: size, type, touch? | 4.3-inch colour capacitive touch screen[1] | Not documented |
| On-device UI capabilities (model preview, per-object controls, etc.) | Colour capacitive touch UI; ElegooSlicer is recommended, with Orca and Cura also supported[1] | Not documented |
| WiFi (band/standard), Ethernet, USB ports, SD/flash-drive | USB, LAN and Wi-Fi[1] | Not documented |
| Calibration Routines & QoL | ||
| Assembly level & time from unbox to first print | Not documented | Self-assembly kit; Raspberry Pi and enclosure panels sourced separately[2] |
| Materials Support | ||
| Officially supported filament list | PLA, TPU, PETG, ABS, ASA, Nylon[1] | Not documented |
| Noise & Power Consumption | ||
| Noise: claimed dB and independently measured dB (distance/method) | Operating sound is published as 65 dB or less - a manufacturer figure with no measuring distance or method given, so it is not comparable with a reviewer's 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[10] | 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 Plus product page (full specification table) us.elegoo.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- RatRig V-Core 4 kit (US distributor listing) fabreeko.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- ELEGOO Neptune 4 Plus Shopify product JSON (variant prices and store publish date) us.elegoo.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 Shopify product JSON (variant prices and store publish date) us.elegoo.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Rat Rig V-Core 4.1 product page ratrig.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- ELEGOO Neptune 4 product page (Specification table) us.elegoo.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- ELEGOO Neptune 4 Max product page (Specification table) us.elegoo.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- ELEGOO Centauri Carbon product page (full specification table) us.elegoo.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- ELEGOO Refund & Warranty policy (warranty period table) us.elegoo.com · 2026-08 · vendor