The Broken Cable
As I prepared to complete the installation of the Canvas, I discovered that the cable that transmits power and data was damaged. This was a common complaint online, that the cable would wear under the strain of use. I was not willing to continue using a damaged cable providing power to a motor and preheating a nozzle to 250 degrees celsius, this seemed a potential problem. I stopped working on the printer upgrade and contacted Elegoo for the upgraded cable the company had publicly promised to customers with this problem, that was less likely to experience this problem..
Many users expressed concern about this wear as a safety issue. On Reddit Elegoo acknowledged concerns about wear on this part and would start providing an upgraded and revised part, and they noted that they would provide a free cable to customers in need. Elegoo denied that their testing had revealed any fire risk, regardless. Online comments report the cable sparking when shorting out, data and power issues after repeated strain, etc.
Out of Warranty?
Elegoo’s initial response was to agree with me the cable should be replaced immediately. but that my printer was out of warranty. Support asked whether I wanted a quote for the replacement cable. I pointed to their own post in support of their commitment.
But the statement I was out of warranty on the printer was surprising for another reason. When they released the Carbon, they promised an upgrade for multi-color…then they released a sequel, the Carbon 2. After receiving public criticism from early adopters for not releasing the upgrade(which they finally did more recently), they offered an apology gift to purchasers of either a coupon for their store, a discount on the CC2, or an extended warranty. I took the one year extended warranty.
I shouldn’t have even had to discuss the warranty because of their commitment on the cable. In both cases, I needed to remind them of their own promises.
So, they:
- gave me an extended one-year warranty as an apology for not delivering an upgrade they said was coming soon
- they publicly offered a replacement for the cable for people who needed it
- they tried to ignore my warranty extension
- they tried to charge me for the cable.
Rather disappointing from Elegoo. When I pushed…they agreed I in fact had been given an extra year and they had offered replacement cables to people, and promised to send me one….then they told me they appreciate my patience as there might be a delay in shipping. It didn’t seem to be that long though, so not sure why I had to be patient.
Replacing the Cable
I am not claiming to be the best or most experienced at repairing 3d printers. But I had just dismantled large pieces of the Centauri Carbon without issue to install the Canvas upgrade. I had no issue following the instructions after watching the instructional video. I removed the old cable, and then discovered how incredibly hard it is to fit the cable through a very narrow opening…a fact they cut past in the instructional video. After I got the cable installed, the functionality returned..but without the Canvas plugged in. So still more to do there. Hopefully, whatever isn’t working is still under warranty.
Despite the Issues Elegoo Still Makes a Compelling Product
No one expects a company to provide replacement parts forever. But it is expected they honor their warranty agreement and any offers they make. When Elegoo released the Carbon, there were significant differences between all the production models. Early models had flaws that were fixed in later production. So, when they quickly released the Carbon 2…it was seen by many as if they’d beta tested a product for Elegoo and Elegoo had turned around and quickly moved on.
A customer should not have to find a company’s public statements or remind it of offers it made in the past. It should have given me the right answer the first time.
I will ultimately continue using the Elegoo Centauri Carbon, as it has been a generally good workhorse for me. Elegoo makes a good product, and they keep coming close to making good decisions around it…and falling short. I hope they address these issues in the long term.