ELEGOO Mars 4 MSLA 3D Printer with 7" 9K Monochrome LCD, UV Resin Photocuring Printer, Multiple Print Modes, Printing Size of 6.04 x 3.06 x 6.89 inches

To start off, I’m a complete beginner to 3D printing.Back in high school, we did some basic 3D design and printing, but it wasn’t to the level that 3D printing is at now. The printers we had were older models that could only use certain filaments, and the technology wasn’t as advanced. I didn’t get into 3D printing seriously until recently, and I’m still learning along the way. So, you might be wondering: why am I talking about the Mars 5 Ultra when I’m a newbie? Well, I’ve been exploring 3D printing because I have a small business on eBay, and I wanted to add more product options to my listings.I started researching 3D printers online and quickly realized that there are so many options out there. I was particularly drawn to resin printing because it offers a level of detail that filament printers simply can’t match. If you’ve ever seen a resin print up close, you’ll know what I mean. The fine details are incredible. I also found that resin printers tend to have more predictable print times, which was a huge factor for me since I’m running a business and need consistency in my workflow. Of course, I’m not saying that resin printing is better than filament printing—it just has more of the features I was looking for.Another thing that’s worth mentioning is that I bought this printer with my own hard-earned money. I didn’t get it for free, and no one’s paying me to say nice things about it. So, everything I’m about to share in this video is my honest opinion, based on my own experience with this printer.So, why the Mars 5 Ultra?Let’s talk about the Mars 5 Ultra for a moment. I’m going to keep calling it the M5 Ultra because saying "Mars 5 Ultra" every time is just too much! M5 Ultra—much easier, right?Now, why did I pick the M5 Ultra?Well, to be completely transparent, marketing played a big role in my decision. I didn’t know much about 3D printers at the time, but I saw an ad that talked about all the amazing features, like the 8K screen, the tilting vat, and the laser-etched build plate. I thought, Wow, this looks like a high-tech printer that could handle everything I need and more. I also noticed it had a lot of positive reviews from other users, which definitely influenced my decision.One feature that really stood out to me was the self-zeroing build plate. If you’re new to 3D printing, one of the most annoying things can be manually leveling the print bed. It’s just a hassle, and if you don’t get it right, your prints can fail. The M5 Ultra takes care of that automatically, which is such a relief.Now let’s talk about the pros of the M5 UltraFirst of all, this printer is FAST. The tilting vat really helps with that. Instead of having to pull the print off the FEP after each layer is cured, the vat tilts and essentially peels the print off by itself. This minimizes the time spent on each layer and speeds up the whole printing process without compromising quality. I was honestly amazed by how fast the prints came out while still maintaining excellent detail.Another great thing about this printer is the camera feature.It has a built-in camera that lets you monitor the print remotely. This is fantastic, especially if you have a busy schedule or need to leave your printer unattended. Imagine being away from your printer and being able to check on your print from your Laptop—that level of convenience is something I really appreciate. It even supports time-lapse recording, which is perfect if you want to show off your print process to others or simply keep a record of your prints. Just be understand that if you want to get the most out of the camera arrange prints so short this are in so it does block the view.The M5 Ultra also comes with a 3-month subscription to Chitubox Pro, which is a huge bonus. If you’re not familiar with Chitubox, it’s a slicer software that makes it easy to prepare your 3D models for printing. The Pro version gives you access to more advanced features, like better support generation, advanced model manipulation, and more control over the print orientation. It’s definitely a tool I’m still learning to use, but I can already tell that it’s making my printing process a lot smoother.Let’s talk about the sensors and diagnosticsOne thing that stood out to me is the printer’s ability to run self-diagnostics. If something’s wrong, the M5 Ultra will let you know. It also has resin sensors that detect when you have too much resin or too little resin in the Another thing I like is how easy it is to adjust exposure times.The resin I’m using right now is Elegoo’s 8K resin. It’s a little picky when it comes to UV exposure, which means it sometimes requires longer curing times to properly stick to the build plate. the M5 Ultra made it really easy to tweak the exposure settings. I think it’s great when companies make things like this simple and accessible, especially for beginners like me.Now, let’s talk about the cons.No printer is perfect, and the M5 Ultra has a few things that could be improved.First, I’m not a fan of the lid.While it does a great job keeping fumes inside the print chamber and blocking UV light, it doesn’t have any hinges. So, whenever I need to open it, I have to take the whole lid off, which can be a bit annoying. And if you’re working in a small space like I am, it just takes up more room than I’d like.Another small issue I have is with the resin spout.The spout for pouring the resin is rounded instead of having a sharp edge. This might seem like a minor thing, but when you’re working with resin, you want to avoid spills and messes. A sharper spout would make it easier to pour the resin neatly and avoid making a mess.Last issues it the camera don’t get me wrong it is a great feature to have, but easy to block it with a large print, or the low res screen makes it hard something get whats going on. Expectionlly when most of us us heavy curtain to block out any sun light that can potentially ruin prints.Final ThoughtsSo, those are the main pros and cons of the M5 Ultra, at least from my experience so far. Overall, I’m really impressed with the printer. The print quality is fantastic, and the features, like the tilting vat, self-leveling build plate, and remote monitoring, make it incredibly user-friendly. I’m excited to keep printing with it and will definitely update this review after a few months to see how it holds up over time. Right now, I’m still in that “honeymoon phase,” but I’m looking forward to seeing how it performs once I get into the regular, day-to-day printing routine. I am very excited to try Elegoo other products.

Update - 8/29/23 - I ended up not having a chance to really troubleshoot my issues with the printer after getting it. I got frustrated with the failure of the FEP, then our family moved and it was packed away for nearly a year, and I just didn't have time to mess around with it to get it figured out. I was just about to give up and give it to someone who had more time to getting it working, but decided to try one last time to get it to work. I'm glad I did! It turns out that the resin I had started using initially was a resin that, while it sort of worked in this printer, it was made for a specific brand of printer that operated a little bit differently than the Mars 3. The information on the resin was lacking, and I hadn't realized it, and it caused the resin that was partially cured to overheat while printing, which is what caused the FEP failure. Once I realized it might have been the resin, I switched back to some Sunlu resin I had still, and not only did it succeed with a print, I've had about 15 successful prints since, with the only failure being a pre-supported model that had an issue with the base (so it was the stl file and not the printer that caused the issue). With the speed and quality of the prints I've gotten since I was able to figure out my issue, I've bumped this back up to a 5 star!I am not new to 3D printing. Previous to the Mars 3, I had an Anycubic Photon Mono and an Ender 5 Pro FDM. Love the Ender, and really liked the Photon - EXCEPT the maintenance nightmare that it was. It seemed that after every third print, the FEP would get holes, or the build plate wouldn't be level and cause a failure, or the LCD would go out. The last straw was the current LCD was starting to go (just replaced it 2 months before it developed a bad spot) and the FEP leaked and damaged the rest of the screen. Suffice it to say, I was NOT pleased with how often I was having to replace the FEP film, nor the fact that I was going to be on my third LCD in less than a year of printing.That brings me to the Mars 3! I did a lot of research for printers in the Mars 3 price range, and decided that the Mars 3 sounded attractive enough to fit my needs and sounded like it was a little more friendly in terms of maintenance. One of the first things that made me want to get it is that it comes with a factory installed film on the LCD, and it ended up being something that I would need rather early on.This is where the -1 star comes in, within 7 attempted prints (2 failures due to using new resin I didn't know the settings on), one of the prints had a piece that stuck to the FEP. Usually, that's not a huge issue, but for some reason, the print as it kept going developed a sharp point and ruptured the FEP. Of course, this means that resin leaked onto the screen during printing and cured. The film on the screen worked! I just had to basically peel off the protector and carefully get the resin off the screen. Far easier than what I had to do with the Mono out of the box, and that film saved me from having to get a new screen... AGAIN. But, unfortunately, there are no direct replacements for the screen film that Elegoo produces, which is where that one star comes in. It's FANTASTIC that the screen was protected in this case, but it also sucks that there isn't a way to get a factory authorized screen protector to replace it once the inevitable happens. Good thing is I know about screen protector films now, and that I would eventually need one, so I already have one that I bought just in case this happens (Mach5ive). I haven't had a chance to install it and get back to printing, but once I get the new FEP installed as well as that I should be good to go again.Pros:LCD screen protector out of the box4k resolution - I printed some TINY things with one of the first prints, one being a pirate girl that has a tiny pirate teddy bear on her back, and the details it brought out blow the Mono away.Looks niceFactory screen protector for the push button screen - this is a weird Pro, I will admit, but I didn't take the film off of the touch screen for the buttons. I can still push the buttons through it, and this will keep the screen from getting mucky if there's ever a drip of resin that gets on it!I love that the screws for the vat come out, instead of being embedded in the base of the printer like the Anycubic. Means it will be easier to clean them if/when they get resin on themMetal area around the LCD - will make clean up easy if some spills, even if it cures, can just be scraped off and cleaned.Cons:Plastic base - I don't know how I managed it, but a few drips of resin went down one of the sides of the printer already and cured there before I even noticed it. With having a plastic base, this will never come off.FEP - I know this is one of the things that come with printing with resin, but having an FEP fail after less than 10 prints is disappointing. I know people who say they've been using the same FEP for a year, and I can't for the life of me understand how that's possibleOverall, though, I am extremely please with this purchase. Out of the box, it was FAR easier to get things set up and going than the Mono, with only needing 2 test prints to get the settings for the resin I was using tuned in. The detail on small items is amazing as well. Print times are pretty much the same as the Mono, for the most part, so there's no speed improvement from 2k to 4k (not that I was expecting any).