REVIEW – I’m positive a whole lot of you want me have all the time wished to attempt your hand at 3D printing. We get affords on a regular basis to evaluate completely different 3D printers and I all the time throw my hat in to attempt one out. I’ve by no means 3D printed something and the one 3D printed objects I ever noticed with my very own eyes have been in a small store within the mall. The printers there have been all filament printers and I wasn’t impressed with the appears of the completed merchandise. So when resin printers got here out, I acquired excited. What I used to be seeing on-line seemed implausible. I knew I wished to attempt a resin printer. I figured there could be a steep studying curve since I had actually no expertise, however when the Elegoo Saturn 4 Extremely got here up for evaluate, I knew I wished to attempt it, lack of expertise be darned. As luck would have it, I acquired my likelihood. That is the newest and best mannequin from Elegoo. May a noob study to make use of it? Was I in over my head? Learn on to search out out.
What’s it?
The Elgoo Saturn 4 Extremely is their prime of the road resin 3D printer providing a 12k mono LCD, quick printing, computerized leveling, wifi connectivity, and a slew of different options to provide you extremely detailed prints.
What’s included?
- Saturn 4 Extremely resin 3D printer
- Energy adapter
- USB drive with software program
- Software equipment
- Wifi antenna
- Construct plate
- Resin tank
- Paper funnels
- Resin tray
- Gloves
- Face masks
- Additional screws
- Plastic scraper
- AI digicam
Tech specs
Click on to broaden
LCD 10-inch 12K Mono LCD
SYSTEM EL3D-4.0
SLICER SOFTWARE ChituBox
TECHNOLOGY MSLA Stereo lithography
LAYER THICKNESS 0.01-0.2mm
PRINTING SPEED MAX 150mm/H
Z AXIS ACCURACY 0.02mm
XY RESOLUTION 19*24um (11520*5120)
BUILD VOLUME 218.88mm(L)*122.88mm(W)*220mm(H)
LIGHT SOURCE COB Mild Supply + Fresnel Collimating Lens (wavelength 405nm)
LANGUAGES Chinese language, English, Japanese, Dutch, Korean, French, German, Russian, Italian, Spanish, Turkish, Portuguese
CONNECTIVITY USB Interface & WiFi
NET WEIGHT 14.5KG
GROSS WEIGHT 19.3 kg
OPERATION 4.0-inch Capacitive Contact Display
POWER REQUIREMENTS 100-240V 50/60 Hz 24V 6A
PRINTER DIMENSIONS 327.4mm(L)*329.2mm(W)*548mm(H)
Design and options
As I’ve stated, that is my first 3D printer of any sort, however I’m going to do my greatest to record the vital options most individuals are in search of when purchasing for one. So let’s get began!
LCD
The Elegoo Saturn 4 Extremely makes use of a ten″ 12K Mono LCD for publicity. It has a decision of 11520 x 5120 and an xy decision of 19 x 24 micrometers. A better decision is all the time higher, proper? It permits for extremely detailed, exact prints that look implausible.
COB and Fresnel Collimating Lens
Not going to lie. I had no concept what this meant earlier than trying it up. The COB is a Chip On Board lens that could be a “highlight with COB LED mild supply as the sunshine supply. Its extremely environment friendly built-in floor mild supply know-how permits the LED chip to be straight connected to a high-reflectivity mirror steel.” Whereas the Fresnel Collimating Lens (FCLS) are curved optical lenses that make parallel mild rays. When used collectively, the COB mild supply and Fresnel collimating lens can obtain an ultra-low astigmatism coefficient of 0.5%, an distinctive area uniformity of 92%, and a exact angle deviation management under 5° on the forming floor. What I take this to imply is utilizing the 2 collectively produces straighter beams of sunshine to treatment the layers of resin constantly all through the construct. Please be happy to appropriate me within the feedback under. I’m all the time open to studying new issues.
Construct Quantity
I do know I’ve seen bigger resin printers whereas watching YouTube movies however these have been hundreds of {dollars}. Right here we’re speaking lots of and for that you just get a construct space of 218.88 x 122.88 x 220 mm. Many of the prints I made have been fairly small so I by no means did max that out, however I did print out an Oni half masks that maxed out the depth.It turned out nice by the best way.
Automated Leveling
That is apparently an enormous function. From what I’ve gathered, a degree print mattress is all the pieces and having to do this manually generally is a ache. With the Elegoo Saturn 4 Extremely, it comes degree from the manufacturing facility and it runs a test earlier than a print to confirm it nonetheless is. I’m grateful for it. One much less factor I needed to study to compensate for made getting began on this passion a lot simpler.
Self-test
Talking of checking for degree, each time you fireplace up the Saturn 4 Extremely it runs a self-check that checks issues just like the LCD standing, LED standing, motor standing, and temperature to verify it’s able to go. Do different printers do that as nicely? I don’t know however they need to. I haven’t had any issues to date however I’m assuming I’d get an alarm and message telling me what to search for to be able to treatment it. Thanks, Elegoo.
AI Digital camera
Yep, I stated AI, however let me qualify this by saying I acquired my Saturn 4 Extremely earlier than they have been obtainable for buy.
The Elegoo Saturn 4 Extremely’s AI digicam is meant to look at your construct and warn you to issues like an empty plate or warping of your prints. I had each early on and acquired no alerts. There have been, nevertheless, quite a few updates since that time, in order that function could also be working higher now. I haven’t had these points because the newest digicam replace so I can’t confirm that it really works as marketed. What I used to be capable of take a look at was the power to watch my print jobs stay from a PC in addition to get timelapse movies. That could be a very cool function.
Wifi Connectivity
Right here’s one other large deal primarily based on what I’ve seen on-line. The Elegoo Saturn 4 Extremely has Wifi connectivity, that means when you join it to your community, you possibly can ship print jobs to it out of your PC as an alternative of saving the file to a USB drive, connecting that to the printer, after which looking for the file. This labored fantastically for me. I by no means had any points with communication as soon as I added it to my dwelling wi-fi community. One other profit you get is OTA updates. I feel I’ve gotten 4 updates since receiving the printer and by no means as soon as did I’ve to search around Elegoo’s web site for them. I’d simply get a immediate on the constructed display and kick it off. I’m simply a type of nerds who all the time set up updates as quickly as they arrive out, typically to my detriment. I’m you Home windows! Fortunately I’ve had no points with any of the Elegoo updates. It’s additionally nice to see that Elegoo isn’t simply pushing out a tool after which on to the following one. They’re devoted to enchancment. I hope this lasts.
Flip Up Cowl
This can be a bizarre one for some of us, however the Saturn 4 Extremely has a flip-up cowl. You don’t need to raise the quilt off after which attempt to discover a place to set it out of the best way. That helps a bit if house is restricted.
Fast Launch Mattress
Once more since I’m new to this, I don’t understand how different resin printers’ beds connect however the Elegoo Saturn 4 Extremely’s mattress simply slides on then a clamp locks it into place. I’m assuming this prevents a whole lot of leveling points. I do know it makes it simpler to get your builds out of the machine. It’s a easy function however one I’m glad to have.
The mattress can also be laser etched to provide it some tooth. I perceive that some beds are clean, making it tougher to take away your prints. I’ve learn on-line the place some say it’s best to tough up the floor with sandpaper however you shouldn’t have to do this right here. That’s to not say all prints come proper off. I nonetheless had slightly hassle at instances, however I’m guessing it might’ve been so much worse.
Twin Pour Spouts
The resin tanks is solidly constructed with a heavy obligation steel body. On two of its opposing corners, there are spouts making it simpler so as to add and take away the resin.
Contact display
Elegoo has put in a 4″ capacitive shade touchscreen to interface straight with the Saturn 4 Extremely. Many of the “buttons” are massive so that they’re simply activated. I used to be slightly involved after I noticed the keyboard pop up when including the printer to my community, however I actually didn’t have any points typing in my password, even with my massive fingers.
I hope I touched on many of the options everybody appears for in a resin 3D printer. If I missed something you’re in search of, hit me up within the feedback.
Meeting, Set up, Setup
The Elegoo Saturn 4 Extremely doesn’t want a whole lot of meeting to be performed. Unpack the printer, take away all the froth, connect the Wifi antenna, join it to energy, and switch it on. Congratulations! You’ve assembled your printer. Set up is a bit more concerned. You’ll want to put in some software program. On this case, it’s referred to as Chitubox, which is a slicing program. The way in which I perceive it’s this. The slicer takes your print file, “slices” it into layers, after which converts that into code the printer can then convert to a print job. I do know that’s simplistic nevertheless it’s one of the simplest ways I do know to explain it. It wasn’t till I put in the slicer that I came upon I additionally needed to set up ChituManager. This little bit of software program permits you to interface with the printer. That approach, you possibly can seek for it in your community, add it as a printer, entry the digicam feed, and extra. Now, studying by means of the guide, it stated I might both set up the software program through the included USB drive or obtain it from the Elegoo web site. I opted to obtain it, pondering I’d get the newest model, however there was a hitch. I didn’t take into consideration that this was a brand new, unreleased printer so the newest model of the software program didn’t have the Saturn 4 Extremely listed in its picks. So I needed to uninstall it and set up the older model on the thumb drive which did record the Saturn 4 Extremely. So, Elegoo had included a customized model. I ought to’ve identified. Now although, that shouldn’t be an issue. Because the official launch, the newest model of Chitubox lists the Saturn 4 Extremely as nicely. I’m not going to get into the software program itself any greater than this. The evaluate is for the printer and in some unspecified time in the future, there could also be different slicers that work simply as nicely or higher.
Efficiency
The efficiency of teh Elegoo Saturn 4 Extremely 3D printer is wonderful. I used to be capable of get extremely detailed prints proper out of the gate. The very first thing I printed was Benchy. I feel it’s required by regulation someplace that you must do it. It wasn’t very large however I used to be impressed with the standard of the outcomes. Not figuring out what I used to be doing, I simply went with the default settings and acquired a hit my first time! I’d like to say that occurred each time, however I quickly came upon there was much more to 3D resin printing.
I’m positive I bumped into all the same old issues. Prints acquired caught to the underside of the resin tray. A few of my helps pulled free from the mattress and induced warping. Some prints simply didn’t work in any respect. That meant I needed to do some homework. I had chosen to make use of a water-washable resin certainly one of my fellow gadgeteers had instructed and realized I wanted to alter some settings to verify the layers cured and launched correctly. These settings are normally offered on the OEM’s web site, so that you’ll have to look there. I additionally realized the significance of cleansing the mattress every time after a print. There are a whole lot of little gotchas relating to 3D printing and if you’re new, it’s simply a part of the educational curve. Once more, I by no means acquired any alerts in regards to the empty mattress or warped print, however once more that was earlier than the newest AI digicam replace. I did get one alert that there was one thing on the mattress as soon as. I had missed a few the assist rafts one time and by some means the Saturn 4 Extremely seen it. That was cool. Simply to be clear, I feel all of my issues have been primarily not figuring out any higher and never any fault of the printer.
There are a few nitpicks I’ve with this printer although. One is the included drip tray. It is extremely flimsy plastic and could be simply broken for those who aren’t cautious with it. To make use of it, it simply kind of wraps across the aspect of the resin tray and doesn’t really feel all that safe.
Additionally, with it in place, you possibly can’t shut the lid. And talking of the lid, it’s nice that it flips up, however there’s no deal with, so you must use two palms. This looks like a no brainer and may’ve been constructed into it.
What I like about Elegoo Saturn 4 Extremely 3D printer
- Effectively constructed machine
- Ease of use even for first-timers
- Unbelievable prints as soon as dialed into your chosen resin
- Wifi
- OTA updates
What must be improved?
- A greater drip tray
- A deal with for the lid
Last ideas
I’ve completely loved the Elegoo Saturn 4 Extremely 3D resin printer. I really like the outcomes I’m getting, and although I acquired pissed off, I used to be blissful to study that I created most of my issues and will repair them. I really like the truth that Elegoo has been pushing out updates pretty commonly so I can get essentially the most out of the printer. One of many largest classes I’ve realized is figuring out what you need to print earlier than deciding on what sort of printer you need to get. If you wish to print miniatures or one thing that has no transferring components, then you ought to be pleased with a resin printer and I extremely advocate the Saturn 4 Extremely. The quantity of element you may get is actually wonderful.
Worth: $399
The place to purchase: Elegoo
Supply: The pattern of this product was offered at no cost by Elegoo. Elegoo didn’t have a closing say on the evaluate and didn’t preview the evaluate earlier than it was revealed.
