Elegoo has officially mentioned the new Centauri Carbon 2 3D printer, suggesting a release soon.
Elegoo has been quite subtle about announcing their latest 3D printer, the elusive Centauri Carbon 2. It was rumoured for a while, then appeared on Chinese online sales sites, with no mention of it being sold to the West.
This was quite a curious situation because Centauri Carbon buyers — and there are a lot of them — had been eagerly anticipating the later addition of an accessory to enable multicolor 3D printing, much like Bambu Lab’s AMS, Anycubic’s ACE PRO, Prusa’s MMU and Creality’s CFS.
Without that accessory, their Centauri Carbon machines would be less functional than competing machines. Owners have waited many months for word from Elegoo about the filament swapping accessory.
And then we saw leaks of the Centauri Carbon 2, a device that was similar to the original Centauri Carbon, but with four spools strapped to its side and the ability to print in up to four colors.
The fact that the Centauri Carbon 2 had integrated the multicolor function directly into the machine itself meant that hopes for an accessory upgrade diminished significantly.
But perhaps the Centauri Carbon 2 was a separate project? Maybe Elegoo was / is working on a proper filament swapping accessory in their secret labs?
Now we hear from Elegoo about their upcoming products to be shown at the Formnext exhibition next month. They write:
“This year, we’re bringing a lineup of exciting products:
- Centauri Carbon 2 — features a multi-color system CANVAS with RFID recognition for instant filament identification and automatic filament backup.
- Jupiter 2 — equipped with a 14-inch 16K LCD for higher precision, a larger build volume, and automatic leveling for effortless printing.”
This marks the first time they’ve mentioned the Centauri Carbon 2 to Western markets, and the announcement makes it clear that this is the upcoming product. There is no mention of a filament swapping accessory.
Centauri Carbon owners are still waiting. Some may become concerned because the multicolor strategy used in the Centauri Carbon 2 may imply their original Centauri Carbon will never be multicolor capable.
I suspect Elegoo is indeed working on a filament swapping accessory. However, they may have decided not to release it yet due to changes happening in the industry.
Several of their key competitors, Prusa Research, Bambu Lab and Snapmaker, have all announced (or released) multicolor FFF 3D printers that are waste free. That is, they don’t generate 3D printer “poop” while printing. This saves a staggering amount of money on materials, and dramatically speeds up print jobs.
It’s clear that the industry is now moving towards a waste free 3D printer world, and Elegoo may have been caught in the midst of developing a system that will be rapidly obsolete. They may have gone back to the drawing board to develop a new type of multicolor technology to compete in the new waste free market.
I expect them to announce a new waste free system at some point in the future — they have no choice, as they have to compete. However, it is quite likely it might be incompatible with the existing Centauri Carbon design.
Via Elegoo
