ELEGOO Saturn Preview – 4K, Mono LCD, Big Volume

Elegoo Saturn is the newest resin printer from the company with the same name.
They just announced it and by the looks of it, the Elegoo Saturn will be a really popular printer. In this article we will go over the specs, and I will share some of my thoughts about Elegoo’s new resin printer.

ELEGOO Saturn Specs

The Elegoo Saturn resin printer boasts some serious specs and interesting features:

• 4K monochrome LCD
• 0.05 mm XY accuracy
• 0.00125mm Z accuracy
• 192 x 120 x 200 mm build volume
• Improved UV light source
• USB and Ethernet connectivity
• Dual Z linear rails
• Improved resin VAT
• Sandblasted build plate
• Silent operation

Let’s go in detail for each feature to see if the Elegoo Saturn is worthy of our attention.

Elegoo Saturn has a 4K Monochrome LCD

This is probably the best new feature for the Elegoo Saturn. To my knowledge, monochrome LCD’s are present on less than a dozen resin printers, so it’s nice to see this on the Saturn.

In case you didn’t know this already, monochrome screens allow the UV light to pass more easily to the resin. More UV light translates to faster prints.

The introduction video boasts 1.5 to 2 second layer times for curing, and I’m sure it’s true. I previously reviewed the Phrozen Sonic Mini which has the same type of screen and it’s the fastest printer I used.
Compared to regular resin printers which take from 8 to 10 seconds / layer, the Elegoo Saturn will be a beast when it comes to print speed.

Besides the added speed, you will also have excellent accuracy on the XY axis. The 4K screen equipped on the Elegoo Saturn will allow for 0.05 mm accuracy of your printed models ensuring that prints will be done faster, with great quality.

An extra benefit that comes with the addition of the monochrome LCD is the improved lifetime. Because the LCD crystals in the monochrome screen are more resistant to UV light the lifespan of the screen can reach around 2000 hours of print time. This is about 4 times as much compared to a regular LCD, and will lower the running cost of the machine.

Generous build volume

The build volume present on the Elegoo Saturn is 192 x 120 x 200 mm. Compared to its little brother, the Elegoo Mars which has a respectable 120 x 68 x 155 mm build volume, the Saturn is much bigger.

With the added build volume, you will be able to print much bigger models, like shown in the image. You can also increase the number of smaller models printed at the same time, in order to save on print time.

My current resin printers are tiny, compared to what I regularly use for FDM. So, having a generous build volume on the Elegoo Saturn is really appealing and one of the reasons why I think it will be a hit.

Better UV distribution

From the same introductory video, we learn that the new Elegoo Saturn will have improved UV light distribution.

It seems that Elegoo will use a somewhat similar LED array, similar to the ParaLED used by Phrozen in the Sonic Mini. This uses an array of lenses which focus the light better behind the screen and have better uniformity.

Ethernet connectivity but no WiFi

Another cool feature present on the Elegoo Saturn is the addition of an ethernet port. This will allow you to easily connect your resin printer to the network and print remotely. No more fussing around with a USB drive.

Because the Elegoo Saturn also has a 4GB flash storage memory, Chitubox will be able to connect to the printer from the network and store the print files.

Unfortunately, there’s no word of WiFi functionality which is a bummer. For most users it will be harder to wire the printer to the network. A cable will need to be pulled from the network switch or router and this will surely bring the WAF (wife acceptance factor) down.

If you already have an ethernet cable available in the place you want to sit your printer, then this doesn’t matter for you. You can also somehow go around this limitation by purchasing a cheap Powerline adapter . This will give you the ability to add ethernet capabilities to any of the power sockets present around the house.

Elegoo Saturn comes with dual linear rails

While I think this is a bit overkill for this size, having dual linear rails on the Elegoo Saturn makes me happy. They look like MGN12H rails with the Z screw between them

With 3D printing you can never have too much rigidity and accuracy. And the addition of the dual linear rails will do exactly that. The build plate should be really stable and the XY accuracy could actually get close to the advertised 0.005 mm.

Improved resin tank

The improved resin tank which comes on the Elegoo Saturn has small handles on the sides and 4 legs on the bottom.

To be honest, this is not the most amazing feature. While you can remote the vat and put it on a table without scratching the FEP film, part of the improvement is canceled by the screws. Hopefully, those screws are not locked to the vat, and you will be able to easily remove them. That way, one could buy a few resin tanks and stack them one over the other.

The good news is they don’t seem to be using a proprietary vat, so in the future we might find cheaper replacements or spares.
Also, it’s nice to see that the tank is nice and big, because the Elegoo Saturn will go through resin like hot cakes.

I am already thinking about ways of maintaining the level of the resin over night because in the case of big resin prints this might be an issue.

Sandblasted build plate

A nice addition is the sandblasted build plate. The small ruggedness will help with adhesion and those pesky first layers. This could even improve the elephant foot that commonly shows up on prints.

I really like that they didn’t cheap out like other manufacturers and the build plate on the Elegoo Saturn is tilted on the sides. It prevents resin from pooling up on top, so you won’t have to wait a long time for the resin to drip and make a mess.

All the features mentioned about the Elegoo Saturn are showcased. in their introductory video, available below.

Final thoughts

After going over the specs and features of the new Elegoo Saturn resin printer, I’m convinced this will be a smashing hit.
While it won’t be as cheap as a Sonic Mini, or an Anycubic Photon Zero I reviewed in the past, the Saturn will be priced lower than other 8.9 inch 2K screen printers currently available.

The Elegoo Saturn will be priced around the 400$, which is an amazing price for this machine. I can’t wait to get my hands on one.

Considering that the LCD will last 4 times longer, the speed is at least twice as fast and the build volume is generous, the price is a steal.

Link for preorder is available here
Early bird price:✅ $300 + shipping fee (first 200 units)
Official pre-order price:✅ $400 + shipping fee (800 units)

That is an amazing value. Hopefully, they will be able to keep up with the demand.

What do you think about the Elegoo Saturn? Is it a worthy upgrade? Do you think it the next hit for Elegoo? Leave me a commend below. I’d love to know your opinion about it.