After spending time printing with the ELEGOO Mars 3, we wanted to try a resin printer with more room for larger models. That brought us to the original ELEGOO Saturn.
In this MakerBuildIt unboxing, we open the Saturn, compare its build plate and resin vat with the Mars 3, and look through the included toolkit. The familiar design makes it easy to see what has changed: the Saturn gives us a noticeably larger printing area.
Watch the ELEGOO Saturn unboxing
Why move up from the Mars 3?
We had been using the Mars 3 for a variety of prints and were happy with it. The reason for adding the Saturn was size: we wanted to explore larger resin prints.
If you have seen our ELEGOO Mars 3 unboxing and setup, the overall layout will look familiar. The Saturn has a similar arrangement of removable cover, build plate, and resin vat, but the difference in size is clear once the two machines are next to each other.
The build plate and vat comparison
The build plate is one of the first parts we examine after removing the packaging. Held beside the Mars 3 plate, the Saturn plate makes the increase in printing area easy to see.
We also remove the Mars 3 vat to compare it with the Saturn’s larger vat. Seeing both parts side by side is more useful than looking at either printer on its own: it gives a practical sense of how much bigger the Saturn hardware is.
During the unboxing, we take care when moving the vat so we do not accidentally damage its film. We also show the build plate mounting joint and how the plate locks into place.
What is in the toolkit?
Along with the printer, our package includes:
- A power supply and USB thumb drive.
- Resin filters and tools for the printer.
- Small clippers.
- A plastic scraper and a metal scraper for removing prints from the build plate.
- Gloves and masks.
- Instructions and setup guides.
First impressions and the Jupiter question
The original video asks whether to get the Saturn before the ELEGOO Jupiter comes out. That question reflects the January 2022 context of this unboxing.
What we show here is the Saturn’s packaging, hardware, accessories, and physical size compared with the Mars 3. At the end, we plan to assemble the printer and begin printing so we can compare results. Those print-quality comparisons are still ahead of us in this video.
For a closer look at the original Saturn and the step up in size from the Mars 3, watch the full unboxing above.