The Maker's Toolbox: Elegoo Saturn 4 Ultra 16K Resin 3D Printer Review

MSLA (masked stereolithography) resin 3D printing technology matured rapidly in recent years and the Elegoo’s newest entry into the market, the Saturn 4 Ultra 16K, is proof of that. But is this printer a good entry into resin printing or worth the upgrade from an earlier model? To find out, I tested the new Elegoo Saturn 4 Ultra 16K resin 3D printer.

Saturn 4 Ultra 16K overview

As the name suggests, this is the fourth generation of the “Saturn” MSLA resin printer from Elegoo. It sits between the Mars and Jupiter lines in both size and cost. The “4” in the name might be a little misleading, as there have been a lot more than four models in the Saturn family. For example, there are currently three Saturn 4 models: the Saturn 4, the Saturn 4 Ultra, and the Saturn 4 Ultra 16K.

The Saturn 4 Ultra 16K is the best Saturn model available right now, with a higher resolution screen than the others and several other upgrades.

The 10” 16K monochrome LCD has a resolution of 15120×6230, which is pretty incredible and works out to a pixel size of just 14×19μm — absolutely tiny.

The build volume is 211.68×118.37×220mm. That is pretty generous and more than enough for the needs of most users, but it is smaller than the Jupiter SE. That’s something to consider if you plan to print really big models or want to print a whole bunch of parts at once.

Unique features

I’m not going to go over ever single feature of the Saturn 4 Ultra 16K because, frankly, most of them are boring. Do you really care about the UV light engine? Probably not.

Instead, I’m going to spend my time talking about the unique features that make this printer stand out.

The most important, by far, is the “Tilt Release Technology.” Elegoo isn’t the first manufacturer to include this feature, but I’m really glad they’ve jumped on the bandwagon. Instead of lifting the build plate directly up out of the vat after each layer, the Saturn 4 Ultra 16K first tilts the vat at an angle.

This dramatically reduces the peeling forces as the cured resin pulls away from the vat film, eliminating stress that could otherwise lead to model deformation and even print failure. The tilting vat is the single biggest reliability advancement that I’ve seen in seven years of resin printing and Elegoo was really smart to copy it.

Another really exciting feature is the “Smart Tank Heating.” I’m not sure how smart it is, but this warms up the resin in the vat to 30°C in order to improve reliability. Cold resin doesn’t flow well and makes proper exposure unpredictable, so raising the resin to a consistent temperature is a good thing. In my experience, it only took a few minutes to heat before printing.

Next, the auto-leveling and integrated force sensor are nice. MSLA resin printers don’t require frequent leveling like the FFF/FDM counterparts, but I still like that the Saturn 4 Ultra 16K handles everything. And the force sensor is great for preventing damage to the exposure LCD if cured resin gets stuck to the vat.

In fact, the printer does an entire self-check routine on startup to ensure that everything is good to go. That checks for issues, but also for mistakes. If, for example, you forget to put the vat back on the machine, it will tell you.

Finally — and this may seem minor — I like the build plate’s quick release mechanism. I’ve used all kinds of printer models with different mechanisms and this is probably my favorite. It is quick, doesn’t require much force, and locks securely into the proper position every time.

Oh, and the cover hinges open, which I love. No more trying to find a place to place the cover!

More stuff

Before I get to my tests, the results, and my overall experience, there are a few other things you should know about the Elegoo Saturn 4 Ultra 16K.

First, it is compatible with both the Mars Mate Air Purifier and the Mercury Plus V3.0 wash and cure machine. Elegoo sent me both of those with the 3D printer, so I’ll take a moment to talk about them.

The Mars Mate Air Purifier is a nice addition. It pulls air from the Saturn 4 through a hose and then pushes it out through a filter. The filters are big and replaceable. You can set the fan speed to high or low, or auto to switch back and forth between the two. The Mars Mate isn’t small, but it does a pretty good job of cutting down on resin fumes and is quiet, so I recommend getting it if you’re going to print inside.

The Mercury Plus V3.0 is pretty standard for a wash and cure machine. There isn’t anything noteworthy about it, but it works well and I don’t have any complaints. The size of the wash basin is appropriate for the Saturn 4 Ultra 16K and the build plate sits nicely on top, for people that like to wash prints before removing them from the build plate.

If you don’t already have a wash and cure machine, I recommend grabbing this one. You could use a Tupperware container and the sun, but this is a lot more convenient and pleasant.

Moving on to the camera: Elegoo advertises this as an “AI Camera” and it points inside at the build plate. There is also a light inside, so you can use the camera for remote monitoring and for recording time lapse videos. Speaking of, the time lapse video quality isn’t going to win any awards. It is acceptable, but you really need a proper camera to capture something eye-catching.

But I’m not quite sure what the AI does or how well it works, because I didn’t know how to test it directly. The marketing material says it can detect an empty plate or a warped model, but I think that’s it. And I’m pretty skeptical of the warped model detection — it seems like it would have to be pretty bad for the AI to recognize it.

Still, I suppose it is a testament to the reliability of the printer that I never had any failed prints for it to detect. And it is probably better than not having anything at all.

Software

Officially, the two supported slicers for the Saturn 4 Ultra 16K are Chitubox and SatelLite. But unofficially, you have other options. Lychee currently has support for this printer and there may be others that do, too.

I suspect that most users will go for Chitubox, since that is a familiar face in the resin 3D printing scene. Personally, I think it is pretty mediocre. It works fine in most cases, but I don’t love it. During my testing of the Saturn 4 Ultra 16K, I found that the Network Sender utility (necessary for transferring sliced files to the printer over WiFi) would crash a lot and require that I visit the task manager to kill the related process. Not a total dealbreaker, but annoying.

SatelLite is something new. In fact, I didn’t even know about it until I was almost done with my testing for this review.

It is Elegoo’s own slicer and it seems pretty usable, in my limited experience. It worked smoothly, generated decent supports, and the network utility didn’t have any issues.

If you’re new to resin printing and don’t yet have an allegiance, I would suggest starting with SatelLite. If you find it too simplistic and limiting, then move to either Lychee or Chitubox.

Models and settings

I performed all of my test prints with the default “Normal” profile. In past resin printer reviews, I would test a bunch of different settings to try to maximize quality.

But that doesn’t feel necessary anymore. The default settings, at a 50μm layer height, are already the perfect balance of quality and speed. You could always lower the layer height to improve print quality, but I honestly struggle to see the difference without magnification on most parts.

I used Elegoo’s ABS-Like 3.0 Pro resin, in Grey, for all of these.

For the models, I selected a wide array and you’ll see photos of many of them here. I wanted a mix of decorative figures and functional parts. These also run the gamut when it comes to size and I’ll try to include scale references in the photos.

Tests

To avoid saying “yep, that one turned out well” over and over, I’m just going to give you the highlights reel.

When it came to surface quality and fine detail reproduction, the Saturn 4 Ultra 16K was pretty much perfect. For example, take a look at this gremlin bust.

The modeler put a lot of effort into the texture of the skin and all of that detail came through really nice. You can even see the faint veins in the ears.

On this mini, like you might print for a steampunk D&D campaign, there is so much fine detail that I struggle to even make most of it out with my naked eye — the camera’s macro lens gives you a better view.

By the way, he’s only missing his arms because those are modeled as separate pieces.

I was especially interested in how the Saturn 4 Ultra 16K would handle parts prone to warping. That is a common problem for functional parts, which tend to have big, flat surfaces that look bad (and perform poorly) if they warp even a little bit.

This Raspberry Pi case, which I would expect to warp significantly on other printers, held its shape almost perfectly. I think that’s because of the heated vat and the Tilt Release Technology. The heated vat helps to reduce temperature fluctuations, while the Tilt Release Technology keeps stress to a minimum.

Sadly, supports remain the biggest detriment to resin printing. It is hard to create supports that break away without scarring the model.

But the Elegoo Saturn 4 Ultra 16K does improve in that regard. Because the Tilt Release Technology reduces peeling forces, you can get away with fewer and lighter supports that have smaller contact points. Those break off easier and leave behind less visible scars.

That doesn’t eliminate the problem entirely, but it does help. That’s especially true for modelers who take the time to really optimize supports. That D&D mini, for instance, had almost no perceptible support scarring.

Overall experience and thoughts

I really like the Elegoo Saturn 4 Ultra 16K. I tend to avoid resin printing days, because I don’t like the hassle or the mess or the finicky supports. But the Saturn 4 Ultra 16K makes the experience much more pleasant.

And it’s currently priced at $499.99, which is an absolute steal. Compare this to the Prusa SL1S SPEED, which costs $1,999, and the value proposition is obvious. It is bigger and is capable of much better detail, plus it has many more features.

Don’t get me wrong: I really like Prusa and the importance of their open-source work can’t be overstated. The SL1S SPEED is also, well, speedy. I’m just making this point to highlight how much value consumers are getting from the Elegoo Saturn 4 Ultra 16K for just 500 bucks.

However, I did run into one issue: the touchscreen LCD (for the control interface — I’m not talking about the exposure LCD) started acting weird during my testing. The colors would go all blue and wonky, as if the green or red channels were turning off or something.

Elegoo sent me a replacement touchscreen, but I didn’t end up needing it. I just disconnected and reconnected the ribbon cable, and it seems to be working fine now. I’m guessing it was just a little loose. I don’t think this is a big deal, but it is worth pointing out and I am just the tiniest bit nervous that it will come loose again.

Other than that, I don’t have any complaints. The touchscreen looks nice and works well. Model previews look great thanks to the high resolution.

It would be nice if there was a built-in filtration system, so the external Mars Mate wouldn’t be necessary. But that would have to be small, which would probably make it less effective.

An automatic resin dispensing system, like we see on some high-end printers, would be really cool. However, that isn’t something I think is reasonable to expect at this price point. And, frankly, a resin emptying system would be more useful. Someone needs to get on that…

Conclusion

As I finished up my testing and started writing this review, I kept thinking “wow, this is a great printer.” The Tile Release Technology, in particular, really seals the deal for me. I think every resin printer needs that feature and I’m amazed that you can get it in a $500 printer now.

The Elegoo Saturn 4 Ultra 16K would be a good deal even without that, but the Tilt Release pushes it into “amazing value” territory, in my opinion.

Anycubic is Elegoo’s biggest competitor and the Anycubic Photon Mono M7 Pro is probably the closest equivalent to the Elegoo Saturn 4 Ultra 16K. But the Anycubic is more expensive, has a lower resolution, and doesn’t have that all-important Tilt Release Technology. The Anycubic does have other nice features, like recirculated resin heating and an automatic resin refill system, but I’d much rather have a tilting vat.

So, I’m happy to recommend the Elegoo Saturn 4 Ultra 16K. I believe Elegoo really nailed this one. As with the Elegoo Centauri Carbon that I recently reviewed, Elegoo seems to be offering the best value on the market.

And if you want to save some money and don’t need as much build volume, the Mars 5 Ultra also has Tilt Release Technology. Its pixel size is similar to the Saturn 4 Ultra 16K, but it only costs $269.99. I haven’t tried the Mars 5 Ultra myself, but that sounds pretty great.

TL;DR: Get the Elegoo Saturn 4 Ultra 16K if you want a lot of build volume, but consider the Elegoo Mars 5 Ultra if you want to save some money. Both have Tilt Release Technology and I think that is now a “must have” feature for MSLA resin printers.