The Elegoo Neptune 4 Plus ($425) can produce exceptionally large prints for a sub-$500 3D printer, and in our extensive testing managed to produce generally very good quality objects with minimal problems. Assembly is required but straightforward. The strengths of the Neptune 4 Plus make it easy to recommend as an Editors’ Choice-winning budget 3D printer for hobbyists, as well as an excellent option for beginners who are willing to roll up their sleeves. Just be sure to buy a filament spool or two when you purchase the printer, or buy it as part of a bundle, as the base model doesn’t include any filament.Design: A Jumbo Open-Frame PrinterElegoo, founded in 2015 and based in Shenzhen, China, specializes in making inexpensive 3D printers—both filament (FDM) and resin-based (stereolithography, aka SLA) models—and accessories, as well as STEM kits. The name is a mashup of “ele” and “goo,” as the company describes on its website: “ELE comes from the word electronic, which means open-source electronic. GOO comes from the word googol, meaning the 100th power of 10. The written form is 1 followed by 100 zeros, referring to the huge amount of structural models brought by 3D printers.” (No, the “goo” is not molten plastic.)
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)
The Neptune 4 Plus has one of the largest frames of any 3D printer we have reviewed. It measures 25.2 by 21 by 22.8 inches (HWD) and weighs 32 pounds, so you will need to find ample room for it on a table or workbench. Its printing dimensions of 15.2 by 12.6 by 12.6 inches (HWD) are also very large, particularly for a sub-$500 printer.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)
Assembly and Setup: Mostly UneventfulPutting the Neptune 4 Plus together is a fairly simple and straightforward process, which took us approximately half an hour. It consists of screwing together several components, attaching the gantry (which supports the extruder and carriage, which are in motion during printing) to the base, adding the filament spool holder to the top and a holder for the 4.3-inch LED screen to the side of the base, and snapping a few cables into place.
The printer comes with the tools you’ll need for assembly, including Allen wrenches. The included user manual and link to a video tutorial are also helpful. The most difficult part is attaching the unusually tall gantry at a right angle to the base by means of screws; having a second person to help hold the unit steady is helpful. You must secure a long ribbon cable with a clamp, but we couldn’t figure out how to do this initially, so we zip-tied the cable to one of the struts that supports the gantry, which proved problematic later on.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)
Once the physical setup is complete, you configure the printer using the LED screen. The most involved part is the print-bed leveling, which is semiautomatic. The build platform, topped with a polyetherimide (PEI)-coated print bed, comes attached to the base.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)
Underneath the bed are six small horizontal wheels, which you must manually adjust to complete the leveling. Print-bed leveling can be a headache, especially on budget 3D printers, but we completed it with no problem.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)
The Neptune 4 Plus base model doesn’t include filament, but you can get filament spools (generally PLA) as add-ons at purchase, or you can spring for the printer with several spools as part of a bundle. Elegoo sells standard PLA for as low as $13.99 for a 2.2-pound spool. The printer’s extruder nozzle can withstand temperatures up to 300 degrees C, and it supports a wide variety of filament types, including PLA, PETG, ABS, ASA, TPU, and high-temperature nylon. We did all of our testing with PLA that Elegoo supplied for us.Software Support: Familiar Cura The Neptune 4 Plus includes a copy of Elegoo Cura, a version of the open-source UltiMaker Cura—which we have used with many other 3D printers—tweaked for use with Elegoo printers. Alternately, you can download another printing program, Orca Slicer, from the Elegoo website. We already had a copy of Cura on our test PC, so we updated it to add a profile for the Neptune. Cura lets you import and view 3D object files, make modifications such as resizing, adding supports, and changing the resolution; “slice” them into layers in preparation to print; and save them in .gcode format for printing. The Neptune 4 Plus supports printing via Wi-Fi, but we saved the files to a USB thumb drive and transferred them manually to the printer, then accessed them through the printer’s LED screen.Testing the Neptune 4 Plus: Consistent Quality, Minimal ProblemsAltogether, we printed 20 objects with the Neptune 4 Plus, all at the Normal resolution setting (150 microns). We included many of our normal test objects (including usual stress-test items such as the Geometry Detail Test from Thingiverse), plus a Buddha statue, a nifty spiral tower, and a couple of large items to test the Neptune’s ability to print large objects: a plastic bomb replica and a flowerpot.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)
The bomb came in two pieces, the largest measuring 12.5 by 6.5 by 6.5 inches—that piece alone took more than 30 hours to print, but the printer pulled it off nicely.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)
The flowerpot printed until it reached about 10 inches tall, when the aforementioned ribbon cable got tangled in the carriage, so we had to scuttle the print at that point. (The pot is quite usable as-is.) There were no other misprints.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)
Overall, the print quality was good. On the geometry test object, text was readable down to the smallest size. There were minor issues with overhangs and loose filament strands, and roughness at known stress points, but all of the shapes were reasonably well-formed. Issues with other objects tended to be minor, mostly filament stringing, rough overhangs, and occasional loss of fine detail.Verdict: A Budget-Friendly Large-Format PowerhouseLooking to make big 3D prints for a modest price? The Elegoo Neptune 4 Plus, which typically retails in the mid-$300 range, may be just the ticket. (Just be sure to buy filament along with the printer if you don’t order it in a bundle.) The Neptune can handle various filament types, and in our testing, it produced 20 prints—including a couple of large objects—with a minimum of problems. Its overall print quality is very good; it can print larger and a bit better than previous-generation budget printers with large print areas we’ve tested, like the Anycubic Vyper. (Another potential alternative for big prints is the Creality Ender-3 S1 Plus. It has a print area that is larger than the Vyper’s and smaller than the Neptune’s, but its print quality is only so-so, and its bed-leveling proved a bit balky.) All this makes the Neptune 4 Plus an easy pick as our latest Editors’ Choice-winning budget 3D printer.Editors’ Note: Ziff-Davis’ Hector Santiago contributed to this review.
Pros
Prints large objects
Nearly problem-free printing
Good to very good print quality
Supports multiple filament types
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Cons
Takes up a lot of space
No filament included
The Bottom Line
The open-frame Elegoo Neptune 4 Plus 3D printer produces big, high-quality prints for a moderate price, making it a good choice for a hobbyist or daring newbie with enough table or bench space to put it.
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About Tony Hoffman
Senior Analyst, Hardware
Since 2004, I have worked on PCMag’s hardware team, covering at various times printers, scanners, projectors, storage, and monitors. I currently focus my testing efforts on 3D printers, pro and productivity displays, and drives and SSDs of all sorts. Over the years, I have reviewed iPad and iPhone science apps, plus the occasional camera, laptop, keyboard, and mouse. I’ve also written a host of articles about astronomy, space science, travel photography, and astrophotography for PCMag and its past and present sibling publications (among them, Mashable and ExtremeTech), as well as for the PCMag Digital Edition.
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