The Elegoo Saturn is an affordable, mid-size MSLA 3D printer that sports some nice features. In this Elegoo Saturn review, we go through the specs, features, and quality of print you should expect from the machine.
Elegoo is known for the Elegoo Mars, a budget resin LCD printer that has a decent build volume. And with the introduction of the Elegoo Saturn, the company has dived deeper in to the budget LCD 3D printers market.
Elegoo Saturn comes with a monochrome LCD that cures prints fast and has a larger build volume than the Mars. The printer’s build volume is neither small nor large but is in-between.
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Elegoo Saturn Specs
General Specifications
| Technology | MSLA |
| Year | 2020 |
| Assembly | Fully-assembled |
| Manufacturer | Elegoo |
Printing Specifications
| Build volume | 192 x 120 x 200 mm (7.55 x 4.72 x 7.87 in) |
| Layer height | 10 microns |
| Resolution | 3840 x 2400 pixels |
| XY-axis resolution | 0.05 mm |
| Z-axis positioning accuracy | 0.00125 mm |
| Printing speed | 30 mm/h |
| Bed leveling | Semi-automatic |
| Display | 3.5-inch touchscreen |
| Third-party materials | Yes |
| Materials | 405 nm UV resin |
Software Requirements
| Recommended slicer | ChiTuBox |
| Operating system | Windows / Mac OS X |
| File types | STL, SLC, OBJ |
| Connectivity | USB, Ethernet |
Dimensions & Weight
| Frame dimensions | 280 x 240 x 446 mm (11.02 x 9.44 x 17.55 in) |
| Weight | 12.5 kg (27.56 lbs) |
Elegoo Saturn Review
The Saturn produces premium prints without a premium price tag. While affordable, the print quality is reminiscent of a high-end SLA 3D printer like the Anycubic Photon.
The printer has a monochrome display with 3840 x 2400 pixels resolution, prints fast and is a joy to work with.
Design
The Saturn has many features you’ll find in the Mars and the Mars Pro. However, there are also some notable improvements.
To begin, the printer has a solid base unit that measures 280 x 240 mm. The printer’s chassis is made of metal, there’s a USB port on the right-hand side, two fans in the back and a 3.5-inche color touchscreen at the front.
On top, the printer features a large vat that makes use of the 192 x 120 mm in the X and Y. The vat does not slide out sideways but instead, can be removed from the top.
Other features of the Elegoo Saturn 3D printer include four protruding bumps on the corners beneath the vat. These bumps prevent the printer’s FEP film from getting damages by debris or dust.
However, in one corner of the vat, there is a pouring aid, which makes changing the resin a little messy. Moreover, the vat lacks a resin level fill indicator, which the Mars Pro has. While there is a measuring cup inside, we would have preferred a resin fill level indicator, especially with the larger build volume and the need for using more resin.
Coming to the Z-axis, the Elegoo Saturn 3D printer features dual-linear rails that guide the build plate up and down the print volume.
The Saturn’s monochrome LCD is an 8.9-inch 4K screen with a 3840 x 2400 pixels resolution.
The printer has a build area of 192 x 120 mm and achieves a maximum print resolution of 0.05 mm (50 microns). While this resolution is lower than that of the 47 microns of the Mars and Mars Pros, the print details of the three printers are nearly indistinguishable.
The Elegoo Saturn also shines in terms of speed. The monochrome display allows high-intensity light to pass through, curing prints in just 1-2 seconds. The curing time is significantly shorter given than a typical non-monochrome display takes 6-8 seconds to cure.
The Saturn’s curing speed makes the printer faster without compromising on print quality. As a result, this printer would be excellent for application in part batch production.
Printing and Usability
The Elegoo Saturn looks slick and straight-out delivers. The printer setup comprises of common steps such as leveling the platform and changing the screen resolution in the Chitubox profile to the newly upgraded 3840 x 2400 pixels.
The printer uses ChiTu Box slicer to prepare models. The slicer has all the tools you need, including support structure generation, hollowing and more and can be tweaked to your preferences. When preparing your models, we recommend setting the support structures to ‘strong’ to avoid any parts from peeling when the layer changes.
The Saturn 3D printer can work with various 405nm UV sensitive resins. In our tests, we have printed both Elegoo resins and third-party resins, and the machine handled them without any issues. Even models from Elegoo’s ABS-like resin cure fast.
Elegoo Saturn Build Volume
The build area of 192 x 120 x 200 mm means you can print large objects than the Mars can. And with the improved printing speeds, you will enjoy working with this printer. The only issue we encountered during our test is the usually messy post-processing, which is expected of most MSLA 3D printers.
Elegoo Saturn Features
While Elegoo Saturn looks like and has some of the features found in the Mars, there are some notable changes.
To begin, this printer has an 8.9-inch (23 cm) 4K monochrome LCD screen, which is not something you will typically find on budget resin 3D printers. This screen allows light of greater intensity to pass through, enabling the resin to cure fast. The Saturn cures resin layers in less tan 2 seconds, which is 6 seconds faster than the Mars achieves.
The monochrome screen also has a longer lifespan than a standard LCD screen. Therefore, you can expect it to be usable for more than 500 hours.
Printer Resolution
The Saturn prints large models than the Mars but at nearly the same high-level detail thanks to its 4K monochrome screen. The screen has 3840 x 2400-pixel resolution that manages 0.050 mm (50 microns) on the XY.
While the Elegoo Mars 2K panel produces a resolution of 0.047 mm (47 microns), the resolution is not significantly different from that of the Saturn, which is 50 microns. Therefore, do not expect to see any huge difference in the level of details printed by these two machines.
Cooling Fans
The Saturn has two cooling fans that help to keep the monochrome panel cool during operations to prolong its life.
However, the printer lacks an air filtration system. The system is expected to be released as an optional upgrade.
Dual Linear Rails
Saturn has dual linear rails that increase its stability. The linear rails, which are on the X axis, ensure the build platform does not shake a lot when printing.
Display
The resin 3D printer has a 3.5-inch touchscreen with an intuitive layout. The touchscreen is powered by ChiTu board and firmware and is easy to use. The menu items are self-explanatory.
Additional Features
Other features of the Elegoo Saturn 3D printer include:
- Has a sandblasted print surface that make models adhere better, which results to fewer printing errors
- Has ethernet connectivity
- Has a side-facing USB port
Elegoo Saturn Review: Verdict
From our tests, the Elegoo Saturn is an improved version of the Mars. The printer comes with a large 4K monochrome display, has a larger build volume, is fast, and prints highly-detailed models.
You can pre-order the Elegoo Saturn on Elegoo Website or snatch one from Amazon.
