Goonhammer Reviews: The Elegoo Saturn 4 Ultra 16K

It's no secret that we are big fans of Elegoo products here at Goonhammer, and this time we're taking a look at the Saturn 4 Ultra 16K. We would like to once again thank Elegoo for generously providing units for us to review. They did not see this review before we posted it and have no influence on what we write.

Six years ago, $400 was the going rate for the Anycubic Photon. That tiny little printer had a resolution of 47 μm with a build area of 115 mm x 65 mm with a maximum height of 155 mm. Nowadays you can get the Saturn 4 Ultra 16K for roughly the same price (as of this article it's on sale), and you definitely should. There's little more that needs to be said; this is the best hobbyist level printer you can buy.

The Stats and Comparison

The Saturn 4 Ultra 16K comes with a 10" 16K Mono LCD with a build volume of roughly 212mm x 118mm x 220mm. While not as massive as the Jupiter SE, at least in my experience you rarely need such a huge build volume especially for miniature work. You can either separate the model into smaller components, or start to look at filament printers. The 16K projector results in a 14 x 19 μm resolution, or roughly 1/6 to 1/5 the thickness of a human hair. Z-axis resolution is around 20 μm so the resolution is roughly isotropic (the same in all three dimensions). The average human eye can't tell things that are less than 1/60th of a degree apart, so to notice a 20 micron step the model would have to be roughly 69mm (nice) away.

Is that 14 x 19 μm resolution significantly better than the 19 x 24 μm resolution of the 12K screen on the Saturn 4 Ultra? Not really. The average human eye would have to be about 17mm away from the model to notice a 5 μm difference. What makes the Saturn 4 Ultra 16K potentially worth the $100 or so difference from the 12K model is the addition of an integrated heating tank and an improved camera designed to catch mistakes before they potentially damage the printer. The build plate of the 16K is also slightly smaller than that of the 12K, making it less likely that errant drops will fall on the machine without the drip dray. That doesn't stop it from happening, but it's less likely.

Installation

This was, by far, the easiest printer I have ever set up. After sliding the printer out of the box and removing all the protective screens, it instantly found my wifi network and the large touch screen made adding my password easy. The machine downloaded the latest firmware, ran a self-calibration, and within minutes it was ready to go.

SatelLite

In addition to compatibility with Chitubox, Elegoo provides their own software called SatelLite. I found this to be highly intuitive as easy to use, and as expected it works seamlessly with the Saturn 4 Ultra 16K. For a test build I decided to try out an interesting sponson multi-melta model from Mostbergminis on Cults3D. SatelLite downloaded the specs for the printer and the ABS 2.0 resin without a problem, and from there I set orientation and support without a hitch. SatelLite found the printer on the network and sent the part over.

Elegoo's SatelLite slicer software is accessible and easy to work with. I'm still learning the details but overall it's a solid product, and the integration with the Saturn 4 is seamless.

Printing

The printer had no issues with the part. It booted up, self-calibrated, self-aligned, and then happily moved up and down as the process built. The build height was 33 mm and took around 90 minutes, which is fine since I hadn't set the machine for any kind of ultra-fast build rate. With the right settings the Saturn 4 Ultra 16K can go as high as 150 mm each hour, which is both really awesome and not something that a hobbyist will even need unless they're running a Necromunda campaign and need hundreds of zombies for... reasons.

After a happy little chime announced that the print was done, I prepared myself for the worst part of resin printing; removing the damn prints off the plate. I hate this part. I'm seemingly cursed when it comes to removing parts, as the base plates seem to stick to the plate like a raging toddler holding on to their favorite toy. Mentally prepared, I put on the provided gloves (which fit perfectly... normally they're too small), readied the plastic scraper (which never works...), and to my complete surprise the parts popped right off the plate! Whatever wizardry Elegoo has done to make this possible is worth every penny. Maybe it's the printer, maybe it's the slicer, maybe it's the Printing Gods smiling upon me this day, but I am definitely a fan. This process repeated itself with several other builds; every time the part popped off the plate without a problem.

Print quality was very high. The part was crisp and other than the obvious layer lines on the very shallow slope it's very difficult to tell this was a printed part. One thing I would recommend is that you swap out the default "ball" contact point that SatelLite uses with a traditional rounded point; I found the balls snapped off and stayed on the part. A sign of a good tool is how well it integrates into your workflow; I found that the Saturn 4 Ultra 16K worked better than any other printer I had tried.

Multimelta and pintle by Mostbergminis (Cults3D) on a custom mount. Credit: Kevin Genson

Pros and Cons

Pro: It's simply the best hobbyist level printer I have ever used.
Pro: The SatelLite slicing software is easy to work with and integrates seamlessly with the Elegoo system.
Pro: It took 2 minutes to set up, including selecting the processing parameters for the printer and resin.
Pro: Parts come off the build plate without any effort; that alone makes this my favorite resin printer of all time.
Pro: The build quality remains exceptional.
Con: Errant drops still end up on the surface of the machine unless you use the drip tray, which broke the second time I used it. Be careful. I also had drops end up on the inside of the cover and cure.
Con: The self-balancing build plate remains a nightmare to clean. Try to avoid swapping materials.
Con: The lack of an integrated charcoal filter means you definitely want to place this in a ventilated room that's far away from anyone sensitive.
Con: The integrated camera with light sees right through the cover, so if you value your privacy don't have this thing pointed anywhere sensitive.

Resin Safety

Resin printing is easy, but there are hazards that absolutely must be respected. The resins themselves are toxic and must be handled using gloves in a well-ventilated area. Items contaminated with uncured resin poses an environmental hazard and should be cured (leave it out in the sun) before disposing as general trash. Uncured resins are particularly hazardous to marine life and should not be washed down the drain. When washing, high proof isopropyl alcohol is extremely flammable and should be kept away from heat sources and open flames. IPA that is contaminated with resin is a hazardous waste and requires proper treatment. These risks are increased when working with the larger volume systems like the one reviewed here. There’s more resin to handle, and you need more IPA to wash everything. Please be careful.

Best In Class

Having looked at more than a few resin printers, I can honestly say that the Saturn 4 Ultra 16K is absolutely worth the money for a hobbyist printer. The build quality is exceptional, the workflow is seamless, and it simply handles everything you can throw at it. I recommend this without hesitation. You can purchase the Saturn 4 Ultra 16K from Elegoo's website here.

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Tags: 3D printing | resin printing | elegoo | elegoo starun