Elgoo Centauri Carbon - good first machine?

nikvanorton

nikvanorton

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I'm thinking of getting a 3d printer to have a dabble with and these seem to have pretty good reviews and are cheap enough to buy without too much potential remorse. Anyone have any experience with them or suggest a better option for £300?

uk.elegoo.com

Elegoo Centauri Carbon | Best High-Speed CoreXY 3D Printer

Enjoy CoreXY high speed and advanced materials with Elegoo Centauri Carbon. Get ultra-detailed prints with easy Plug-N-Play, built for both beginners & pros.
uk.elegoo.com uk.elegoo.com
 
I’ve never had that model as it is quite new out,I prefer Bambu printers,You can get a Bambu P1P for similar money as the prices have just been slashed or slightly cheaper a Bambu A1,I have both among others
 
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If you've never had a 3D printer before - I would go with Bambu. They just work.

I love my A1 Mini because it takes up very little room and can handle 95% of my printing needs despite the small print volume.

At £170 (without AMS) it's an absolute bargain.
 
Ive had my eye on one of these since they first got announced.
I will be honest for what they are selling them for its a wonder they are making a penny on them.

its a LOT of machine for money. When you consider its in the same ball park as the average bed slinger.

For a first machine I would say that its a great option if you know what your getting yourself into and happy to possibly tweak a few things where needed. IF you want an appliance then go for a Bambu. Saying that I would never buy a bambu given their recent firmware shenanigans. The A1/A1 mini is no where near the same league however given what you are getting from the carbon.
To even consider the same kind of thing you need to be looking more along the lines of the P1P series with a full enclosure.

A lot will come down to what you want to print as well.
If you happy printing trinkets and multicolour prints in say PLA and PETG then the A1/A1 mini is fine.
The minute you want to start printing with any kind of engineering materials etc.. you gonna want something with an enclosure (ABS,ASA,Nylon).
 
Thanks for all the replies. I've decided to go with a Bambu A1 for 2 reasons. Firstly it's 'plug and play' with an app, and being the Apple/DJI of the 3d print world I can get good results instantly. Second, this could be a fad, so spending £130 (ex vat) is a better proposition if it ends up sitting in the corner covered in dust.

If it works out to be a useful thing that I quickly outgrow (possible) I'll probably skip the Carbon and the P1P/P1S and go the next step up.
 
nikvanorton said:
Sorry, A1 mini, £140
Click to expand...
I would have opted for something bigger,It can become quite addictive and you won’t get much on a 180mm build plate (unless you like slicing into multi parts) I started with a 256mm (I now have 4 that size) and also have a 350mm which gets used most
 
The small size is a bonus (to begin with). Means I can put it on my desk and mess about with it whilst I'm working 😊
 
I 'downsized' to an A1 Mini from an Ender last year. The small size means that I can store and move it easily, and I have rarely found myself wishing that I went bigger. Once a couple of kids have moved out and I'll have a spare bedroom for my mancave, perhaps I'll think about a larger machine. Still the best £170 I've ever spent.

In the mean time, it's purring away producing parts for my latest project.....

1756803254076.webp
 
Martin Lucas said:
I 'downsized' to an A1 Mini from an Ender last year. The small size means that I can store and move it easily, and I have rarely found myself wishing that I went bigger. Once a couple of kids have moved out and I'll have a spare bedroom for my mancave, perhaps I'll think about a larger machine. Still the best £170 I've ever spent.

In the mean time, it's purring away producing parts for my latest project.....

View attachment 797599
Click to expand...
What brand of filament do you use? Those parts look amazing.
 
Martin Lucas said:
I 'downsized' to an A1 Mini from an Ender last year. The small size means that I can store and move it easily, and I have rarely found myself wishing that I went bigger. Once a couple of kids have moved out and I'll have a spare bedroom for my mancave, perhaps I'll think about a larger machine. Still the best £170 I've ever spent.

In the mean time, it's purring away producing parts for my latest project.....

View attachment 797599
Click to expand...
That benchrest stock looks good. I was following the prototyping they had been doing with this and the different iterations of it.

The only thing I will say and just as a bit of advise given the amount of time you have spent on it. Dont leave it in a hot car on a summers day in the boot etc...
PLA has a nasty habbit of warping due to the GTP. Until a few years ago it would not have so much of an issue over here but given the summers we have been having in the 30c+ outdoor temperatures, a car could easily reach 40-50 on a hot day.
 
Well I went for the Bambu A1 Mini and I'm very pleased with the outcome. Wonderful machine and such a simple and comprehensive 'ecosystem'. The print quality has genuinely amazed me - thinks have moved on such a lot since I last looked. Even fine metric threads are super clean.

Pretty productive for a couple of days! Thanks to everyone for their advice.

Screenshot 2025-09-07 at 18.43.19.png
View attachment 801275
 
nikvanorton said:
Well I went for the Bambu A1 Mini and I'm very pleased with the outcome. Wonderful machine and such a simple and comprehensive 'ecosystem'. The print quality has genuinely amazed me - thinks have moved on such a lot since I last looked. Even fine metric threads are super clean.

Pretty productive for a couple of days! Thanks to everyone for their advice.

View attachment 801274View attachment 801275
Click to expand...
very nice, Im glad your happy with your purchase.
Indeed threads look great and prints look clean.

There is no doubt that the Bambu printers do perform really well, I just wished some of their practices was different
 
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