3D Printing InfoPrinter comparison
ELEGOO Neptune 4 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 comparisonsMore Rat Rig V-Core 4 comparisons
| Property | ELEGOO Neptune 4BEDSLINGER | 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 (spec table "Product Model: Neptune 4")[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 27 May 2023 (Shopify publish date)[3] | Not documented |
| Street price (USD; dated snapshot per entry) | $219.00 on us.elegoo.com, Aug 2026, against a compare-at price of $249.00; both the Ribbon-Cable and Type-C printhead variants are the same price[3] | $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][4] |
| Variants & sibling models — and how to tell them apart (spec-contamination risk) | Two printhead variants of the same machine are sold under one SKU - "Ribbon-Cable Version" and "Type-C Version" - which use different printhead parts. Within the Neptune 4 family the numbers diverge sharply and get mixed up constantly: Neptune 4 is 225 x 225 x 265 mm with a 110 C bed and 20000 mm/s2; the Plus is 320 x 320 x 385 mm with a 100 C bed and 12000 mm/s2; the Max is 420 x 420 x 480 mm with an 85 C bed and only 8000 mm/s2. The Neptune 4 Pro is a separate model again[3][1][5][6] | 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 Superseded by the V-Core 4.1.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][4] |
| Market position: superseded? successor announced? | Still listed in ELEGOO's US store Neptune section in Aug 2026 alongside the 4 Pro, 4 Plus and 4 Max, but ELEGOO's current development is on the Centauri line[7] | Superseded by the V-Core 4.1, which adds a steel X gantry, a full-metal toolhead, improved part cooling, 8 mm beds on the 400 and 500 sizes and pre-made cables.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[4] |
| Physical & Frame | ||
| Build volume X×Y×Z (mm) — advertised vs actually usable | 225 x 225 x 265 mm; the PEI platform itself is 235 x 235 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][4] |
| Machine footprint (mm) & clearance needed (cable/spool overhang) | 475 x 445 x 515 mm. ELEGOO separately publishes a "maximum size for machine activity" of 475 x 550 x 735 mm including rack and tray - the depth to allow for is 550 mm, not 445 mm[1] | Not documented |
| Net weight (kg) | 8.3 kg net, 10.6 kg gross[1] | Not documented |
| Frame construction & material | CNC-machined aluminium extrusion frame[1] | 30-series aluminium extrusion with printed ABS structural parts[2][4] |
| 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 (the Neptune 4 Plus and Max add two tie rods to the same arrangement)[8] | Not documented |
| Stepper drivers (exact model e.g. TMC2209; UART/SPI; sensorless homing?) | "Silent Drive (All Axes)" is all ELEGOO publishes; no driver part number is given[8] | TMC2209[2] |
| Speed & Acceleration | ||
| Max print speed (claimed, mm/s) | 500 mm/s max toolhead speed (manufacturer claim); the Neptune 4 Plus page for the same family states a recommended 250 mm/s[1][5] | Not documented |
| Recommended/typical print speed | 250 mm/s recommended printing speed against the 500 mm/s ceiling (ELEGOO's own figure)[8] | Not documented |
| Max acceleration (claimed, mm/s²) | 20000 mm/s2 max toolhead acceleration (manufacturer claim) - notably higher than the Plus at 12000 and the Max at 8000, because the moving mass is smaller[1][5][6] | Not documented |
| Extruder | ||
| Type (direct drive / bowden) & design name | Dual-gear direct extruder with 2 fans[8] | LDO Orbiter 2.0 direct-drive extruder[2] |
| Hotend & Nozzle | ||
| Hotend design (proprietary/standard; quick-swap mechanism?) | Brass nozzle, 0.4 mm, with a copper and titanium-alloy heat break - the Plus and Max use a titanium-alloy heat break only[8] | 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 | 110 C max heated bed temperature[1] | Not documented |
| Bed surface (material, texture, coating), single/double-sided | PEI spring steel sheet, now upgraded by ELEGOO to a dual-sided textured PEI + PLA-specific surface[8] | 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; no full-auto calibration on this model[8] | Beacon eddy-current probe[2] |
| Filament Handling & Detection | ||
| Filament runout sensor (type, location) | Filament detection fitted; power-loss resume printing supported[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 published[8] | BigTreeTech Octopus[2] |
| Input voltage (110/220 V, switch or auto) | 115/230 V, 50/60 Hz on the product page; ELEGOO's compare page gives 110-120 / 220-240 VAC 50/60 Hz[1][8] | Not documented |
| Total rated power draw | 310 W rated power, 24 V output[8] | Not documented |
| Firmware & Openness | ||
| Firmware base & current version (Klipper fork / Marlin fork / proprietary) | Klipper (ELEGOO names the system "Klipper" outright for the Neptune 4 series, rather than the ELEGOO OS branding used on the Centauri machines)[8][9] | RatOS, Rat Rig's Klipper distribution[4] |
| Connectivity, UI & Camera | ||
| Display: size, type, touch? | 4.3-inch colour capacitive touch screen[8] | Not documented |
| On-device UI capabilities (model preview, per-object controls, etc.) | Colour capacitive touch UI; ElegooSlicer recommended, with Orca and Cura also supported[8] | Not documented |
| WiFi (band/standard), Ethernet, USB ports, SD/flash-drive | LAN and USB file transfer; no Wi-Fi is listed for the base Neptune 4, unlike the Plus (USB/LAN/Wi-Fi) and Max (Wi-Fi/USB/WLAN)[1][5][6] | 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 published as 60 dB or less - a manufacturer figure with no distance or method stated, so it is not comparable with an independently measured reading[8] | 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 product page (Specification table) us.elegoo.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- RatRig V-Core 4 kit (US distributor listing) fabreeko.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 Plus product page (full specification table) us.elegoo.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- ELEGOO Neptune 4 Max product page (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 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 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