Elegoo Saturn S 4K Review

In this Elegoo Saturn S review, we go through the features, specs, performance and quality of print to expect from the unit.

ELEGOO has a number of resin 3D printers that we have tested in the past. In this guide, we look at the ELEGOO Saturn S 4K. What makes the printer different from the original Saturn? What’s new? Is it worth buying?

Read on.

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The Saturn S is a direct competitor of the original Saturn, which we have previously reviewed.

Elegoo Saturn S 4K Review

Packaging

Like the original Saturn, the Saturn S comes well packaged. The box has edge protectors and bumpers, and solid foam to keep the unit safe during transportation.

Accessories

As with the other 3D printers, ELEGOO ships the Saturn S with a box of accessories. If you are already familiar with 3D printers, especially the Saturn,  you will notice that something is different here.

There is a white tower in the box (see the picture on the left), which we have not seen shipped with other  printers from ELEGOO so far.

The white tower aside, everything else is standard. The accessories’ box contains a resin filter, gloves, side cutters, quick guide, leveling card, metal spatula, yellow plastic spatula, 4GB USB stick, a couple of Allen keys, a breathing masks and a power supply.

 

 

Technical Specifications

General Specs

3D Printing Specifications

Software Requirements

Dimensions & Weight

Comparing the technical specs of the Saturn S with those of Saturn, one thing stands out immediately:
the resolution is different!

The Saturn comes with an 8.9-inch display while the Saturn S has a 9.1-inch display. Therefore, the Saturn S has an advantage here; it can print a little larger and 10mm higher!

Here are the display resolutions of the two Saturn 3D printers:

• Saturn S: 4098 × 2560 pixels with 196 x 122 x 210mm (WTH)
• Saturn: 3840× 2400 pixels with 190 x 120 x 200mm (WTH)

If you are already hitting Saturn’s print size with your project, the Saturn S would be a nice upgrade.

The print resolution is also finer with the Saturn S. The S 3D printer attains a print resolution of 0.048mm while the Saturn manages 0.050mm.

Moving on, the print speed is also different. The Saturn prints at 30-40mm/hour while the Saturn S prints at 30-70mm/hour. Unfortunately, it is difficult to determine which of the two printers is faster. During our test, we found that both printers were somehow equally fast. If there are any differences in speed, then it would be quite small, especially when you tweak the Saturn S print settings.

Since both printers are related, let’s put them side by side and see if there are any major differences in their design

As you can see, both printers look the same on the outside when viewed from the front. The only difference we can see is their respective labeling.

So, you may be wondering what the ‘S’ in the Elegoo Saturn S means.

I checked Elegoo website for the answer but there is no mention of its meaning. I assume that the S stands for Speed.  However, only ELEGOO knows why this printer is called the Saturn S .

If you already have the original Elegoo Saturn, you will be happy to know that its hood and that of the S are identical and can be exchanged. This also applies to the resin tank, despite the printers having different sized UV displays!

If you’ve been watching my 3D printer reviews on YouTube, you know that I like when components (resin tanks, hoods, etc.) can be exchanged, because it’s super practical.

Pressure Plate

If you don’t use either of the two printers, you won’t notice that their pressure plates are significantly different in weight!

The pressure plate of the Saturn S is approx. 230g lighter! However, both plates have an identical rough and matte surface.

As already mentioned, the pressure plate of the Saturn S is slightly larger, as you can see in the picture below.

In case the picture is not self explanatory, I’ll explain; both printing plates are placed on top of each other. The larger bottom plate belongs to the Saturn S while the smaller on on top is for the original Saturn 3D printer.

Operation

The menu of the Saturn S is similar to that of the Elegoo Saturn.

There is no difference in the display menu, resolution, touch technology, functions, and other items, except for one point.

Let’s talk about the one point that makes the Saturn S menu different from its predecessor. The difference is that the Saturn has a network connection and a Network menu item in the operating display.

On the other hand, the Saturn S has network connectivity option. There is neither ethernet socket nor WLAN.

While this can be seen as a major drawback, I don’t really think it’s that bad because the network function of being able to send programs directly to the printer through a slicer is so lame on the Saturn with the network connection. It’s no fun at all anyway. Simply put, it doesn’t work.

ELEGOO probably  thought the same thing with the Saturn S and this may be the reason why they did not include a network connectivity option.

But to compensate for the lack of network connection, the Saturn S comes with an air filter. We’ve also seen other competing printers, such as the Mars 2 Pro, Pro 3 etc., that have built-in air filters. For 3D printers without air filters, you can buy standalone options, such as the ELEGOO Mini Air Purifier.

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Carbon Activated Air Filter

Back to the review, the Saturn S has an air filter instead of a network connectivity option.

The air filter is the white tower that is included in the accessories’ box. It is big, and has an activated carbon filter in the upper part. The carbon filter fills the entire room almost up to the LED.

A fan is installed below the LED in the housing. When the filter is pressed, the fan pulls the air under the hood to reduce the odor produced during printing.

However, the filter does not completely eliminate the odor produced during printing. The good news is that resin manufacturers have been making materials with bearable smells over the last couple of years.

The filter’s activated carbon can be changed without disassembling the printer. With normal use, the activated carbon should last for about 6 months. This is also the case with third party filters .

Connecting the Filter

The filter does not have a built-in battery like third party filters with a charging socket. Instead, it there is a normal USB socket on the bottom of the filter.

However, I think this decision was ill-informed. Why?

On the picture above, you can see where the filter is inserted. The filter socket is open and without protection. Therefore, you should be careful during printing not to get resin flowing in it.

But the reason why I said installing the filter socket was a stupid idea is because it is designed to look like a regular USB port. If you don’t read the installation instructions, you may end up inserting your USB stick there.

There are warning stickers around the port warning you not to use a USB stick or other devices with a USB-A connection. The port has 24V and you will be electrocuted if you insert a metal USB stick inside.

While it looks like a USB port, the socket is a pure power supply for the air filter.

The manufacturer should have incorporated a normal socket or changed the design of the power supply socket so that it doesn’t look like a USB port.

Inner Workings

Inside, the Saturn S has a maintenance hatch similar to that of the Saturn, except for some small details. For example, we’ve already mentioned that the main circuit board does not have a network connection. Instead, there is a  filter on the back.

The UV matrix of the Saturn S is ​​also similar to that of the S. However, I wasn’t able to find out whether other UV LEDs or even a more adapted lens optics exist here.

Inside, everything looks tidy and neatly laid. The power connections are glued with silicone to prevent anything from breaking loose during transport.

USB Stick

The USB stick has no big surprises. As usual, it has no name and only a handful of data sets. The files are neatly sorted and placed in appropriate folders.

Inside the USB stick, we have files containing installation instructions, the well-known towers for a test print, Chitubox 1.9.0 slicer and the parameter file. In the parameter file, I changed the M8030 I-1 to M8030 I-2 so that the fans only run when printing is in progress. Otherwise, they run from the time the printer is switched on as long as it is powered.

Note: Change the file at your own risk! Neither I nor 3DTechValley.com assumes liability if something goes wrong.

Many parameters can be set in the file. Please do not change anything in the file if you do not know what you are doing.

Print Test

Let’s get to printing.

To begin, I printed The towers.

The tower Gcode files are already available in the USB. The towers printed nicely as you can see in the images below:

The printouts are sharp and even the writing on top of the tower has been printed with sharp edges. There is nothing to complain about.

The Saturn S produces high quality prints, just like we’ve experienced with the Saturn for over a year.

Here are some more test prints that we did:

What more could you want from a resin 3D printer?

Conclusion

So, should you buy the Saturn S 3D printer?

Well, if you are looking for a printer in the 190×120 (BT) class, you can choose between the Saturn and the Saturn S.

Both printers are reliable machines that do what they are meant to do every day. From our experience so far, we haven’t encountered any major problems apart from the usual issues common with most budget resin 3D printers e.g.,  sometimes the pressure doesn’t hold, prints sticks to the foil, half prints, etc.

In these cases, the problem is usually with us but not the printer itself.

ELEGOO delivers a working 3D printer with both the Saturn and the Saturn S. Unfortunately, the Saturn S lacks network connectivity, which it compensates with an air filter. On the other hand, the Saturn compensate for the lack of an air filter with its existing but hardly usable network connectivity.

If I was to compare the Saturn and Saturn S to a resin printer from a different manufacturer, it would be the  Creality Halot One, which has a usable WLAN for data transmission.

So, should you upgrade to to the Saturn S or simply go for the Saturn?

Well, if you need the slightly larger pressure chamber and the good 10mm more at maximum height, or absolutely need this air filter, choose the Saturn S.

Apart from that, the only other difference between the two would be the price. Choose one that you are comfortable going with as there is not a  lot of difference with them. Either way, you can hardly anyone can go wrong with the two Saturn 3D printers.

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