Elegoo Centauri Carbon
Hacker ApprovedRanked 12 of 18 3D printers by recommenders
People recommend it as a low-priced, plug-and-play printer that prints well for beginners. The most common caveat is that it suits single-color printing, and some owners report hardware failures.
People recommend it as a low-priced, plug-and-play printer that prints well for beginners. The most common caveat is that it suits single-color printing, and some owners report hardware failures.
17 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 14
- criticize it
- 3
- approval share
- 82%
Recommended in 5 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Owned for 4 months
Median of the 4 owners who said how long they have had it.
Each square is one year.
Why it carries the badge
- 14 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 4.7 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 5 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Easy plug-and-play setup
“they both print without any fuss and can be operated without any deep technical understanding”
Comment from 12 May 2026 in “Bambu Lab is abusing the open source social contract” “pretty much plug in, load filament, calibrate/configure for that filament, print”
Comment from 20 Sep 2026 in “Sherline Tools Is Going Out of Business” “I got the V2 and same - no fuss, especially if I stick to Elegoo filament.”
Comment from 12 May 2026 in “Bambu Lab is abusing the open source social contract” - Comment from 5 Jan 2026 in “The Year of the 3D Printed Miniature (and Other Lies We Tell Ourselves)”
- Comment from 12 May 2026 in “Bambu Lab is abusing the open source social contract”
- Comment from 12 May 2026 in “Bambu Lab is abusing the open source social contract”
Strong value for the price
“the price of the Centauri Carbon is so reasonable that it's hard to argue against it”
Comment from 13 May 2026 in “Restore full BambuNetwork support for Bambu Lab printers” “which is almost impossibly inexpensive”
Comment from 20 Jan 2026 in “3D printing my laptop ergonomic setup” “it's been pretty great for the price”
Comment from 12 May 2026 in “Bambu Lab is abusing the open source social contract” - Comment from 20 Feb 2026 in “California's New Bill Requires DOJ-Approved 3D Printers That Report Themselves”
- Comment from 5 Feb 2026 in “New York Wants to Ctrl+Alt+Delete Your 3D Printer”
Good for beginners
“they both print without any fuss and can be operated without any deep technical understanding”
Comment from 12 May 2026 in “Bambu Lab is abusing the open source social contract” “The Centauri Carbon is another really good entry-level printer as well”
Comment from 15 Dec 2025 in “Roomba maker goes bankrupt, Chinese owner emerges” “as a beginner in 3D printing it has been really nice”
Comment from 12 May 2026 in “Bambu Lab is abusing the open source social contract”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Hardware failures in early use
“The first has been out of commission since the extruder went haywire, and I couldn't get replacement parts”
Comment from 10 May 2026 in “Louis Rossmann tells 3D printer maker Bambu Lab to 'Go (Bleep) yourself'” “in the first 30 days of ownership, I experienced 2 hardware failures”
Comment from 4 Feb 2026 in “New York Wants to Ctrl+Alt+Delete Your 3D Printer” Only suited to single-color printing
“They rubbed people the wrong way launching the CC2 with multi-color support”
Comment from 12 May 2026 in “Bambu Lab is abusing the open source social contract”
Other 3D printers people recommend
The four most recommended other 3D printers, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bambu Lab 3D printer | 124 | 150 | 45% | 12 | — | — |
| Prusa 3D printer | 68 | 25 | 73% | 9 | 5 yrs5 owners | Approved |
| Bambu Lab P1S | 29 | 9 | 76% | 6 | 1.5 yrs10 owners | Approved |
| Prusa MK3 | 28 | 9 | 76% | 7 | 6 yrs3 owners | Approved |
| Elegoo Centauri CarbonThis page | 14 | 3 | 82% | 5 | 4 mo4 owners | Approved |
What people said
20 of the 23 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“pretty much plug in, load filament, calibrate/configure for that filament, print”
“the Chinese brands tend to work right out of the box”
“the price of the Centauri Carbon is so reasonable that it's hard to argue against it”
“they both print without any fuss and can be operated without any deep technical understanding”
“it's been really very solid”
“I got the V2 and same - no fuss, especially if I stick to Elegoo filament.”
“it's been pretty great for the price”
“as a beginner in 3D printing it has been really nice”
“is cheaper and is just plug and play”
“it has been plug and play so far”
“It's a fine budget machine for single color - plenty fast and good quality prints.”
“They rubbed people the wrong way launching the CC2 with multi-color support”
“The first has been out of commission since the extruder went haywire, and I couldn't get replacement parts”
“a really high end consumer printer”
“the best value for single filament”
“better specs for less money”
“in the first 30 days of ownership, I experienced 2 hardware failures”
“which is almost impossibly inexpensive”
“It's pretty plug-and-play, there was very little setup required.”
“The Centauri Carbon is another really good entry-level printer as well”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.