Elegoo’s Centauri 2 Drops the Enclosure to Make Fast Four-Color Printing More Affordable
Launching as the standalone Centauri 2 3D printer, and the Centauri 2 Combo bundle with Elegoo's Canvas filament switcher, the new printers are available at discounted launch pricing for a limited time.
Elegoo has launched the open-frame Centauri 2. The follow up to early 2026’s Centauri Carbon 2, the printer is available standalone as the single-colour/material Centauri 2 and the four-colour Centauri 2 Combo, the latter bundling Elegoo’s Canvas multicolor device in the box.
An early-bird discount runs through July 1 – this sees the printer’s price drop to $279 and $329, respectively. The Centauri follows a familiar formula, with the base printing specs inherited from the Centauri Carbon 2 and select non-essential components dropped to lower the price. It’s cheaper, but less capable in the filaments it can print.
You still get the baseline printing capability of the Centauri Carbon 2 at 350°C hot end and 110°C bed, with published speeds at 500 mm/s (usual caveats that this is a top possible speed, not the typical operating speed) and a build volume of 256 x 256 x 256 mm.
The Centauri 2 Combo uses Elegoo’s Canvas filament feeder system for up to four filament printing. Spools sit on the outside of the print volume on the printer’s frame, with self-rewinding spool holders helping to keep things tidy on the outside at filament change. The Canvas device itself has an RFID reader, letting you tap Elegoo’s RFID-equipped spools to load filament data quickly.
But enough about what it has. Compared to the (at the time of writing) $339 Centauri Carbon 2, the $279 Centauri 2 loses the enclosure walls, print monitoring camera, chamber LEDs, air filter and auxiliary cooling system. There’s a logic to the air filter going, and arguably the LED, since the chamber is no longer a closed box and light can flood in. It’s a shame to see the camera go, though.
A consequence of losing the enclosure is the shift in filaments you’ll be able to adequately print. Warp-prone plastics like ABS and ASA are out of contention, leaving the Centauri 2 more suited to lower temp everyday prints like PLA and PETG. It ships with a hardened steel nozzle, though, so fiber-filled filaments are an out-of-the-box option for you without having to spend extra on replacement nozzles right away. Flexibles like TPU can be printed on the base printer, but are not suitable for printing through the Canvas on the Combo. (You’d have to refit the machine to bypass the Canvas – possible, but requires you to print the provided adapter first.)
This makes for an odd overhead in the Centauri 2 in that the stock hardware is capable of tackling tougher materials – you just have no prospect of them working. There’s room to experiment with self-built enclosures, perhaps. It’s not clear to us whether any other changes to the electronics or build affect the printers ability to print with a chamber at higher temps – something to mind if that’s a route you’re planning. Elegoo’s own comparison table for the Centauri 2 and Centauri 2 Combo lists all of the camera, LED, aux fan, and filter as “optional expansion,” suggesting you’ll be able to upgrade part way to the Centauri Carbon 2.
The Centauri 2 ($279) and Centauri 2 Combo ($329) are on sale and available now from Elegoo’s webstore. From July 1, the prices will revert to their MSRPs of $299 and $379.
For context, the Centauri Carbon 2 is currently $339, and includes the enclosure, camera, air filter, lighting and auxiliary cooling for just $60 more. Food for thought.
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