A Venture Into The Unknown - Elegoo Mars 3D Resin Printer

[monkeysarefun]

5 hours ago, 55020 said:

Mine took almost 2 months to arrive, and that was pre-COVID.  So patience is the order of the day.

 I rquested my free FEP  via their facebook page and got a reply saying that their office was closed and they are all at home hiding from the virus.

That was back in early March I think. Heard nothing since, hope they are all ok!

[njee20]

Sure I’ve had mine since then, and it was quite quick. 
 

Interesting tip I picked up from FB this week - Amazon.de have stock of the standard machine, but it’s cheaper than Amazon UK (€239), and still includes free shipping. Ok you’ll need a kettle lead with a UK plug, but meh. 
 

I’m watching all the frothing over the Saturn with interest!

[monkeysarefun]

On 12/05/2020 at 06:08, monkeysarefun said:

 I rquested my free FEP  via their facebook page and got a reply saying that their office was closed and they are all at home hiding from the virus.

That was back in early March I think. Heard nothing since, hope they are all ok!

...and it was in my letterbox when I came home yesterday..

[Ark Royal]

On 16/05/2020 at 08:33, njee20 said:

I’m watching all the frothing over the Saturn with interest!

 

Yes Indeed, 

[paul9415]

On 03/04/2020 at 20:26, Ark Royal said:

WHAT'S THE POINT

 

How small will the Elegoo print ? Well these are incredibly tiny and yet they still ressemble their prototype parts, sorry about the quality of the images i have found it hard to capture them in focus.

One things for certain , It sure as hell beats making them up from brass frets.

Eridge needs plenty of these along with Facing Point Locks, Stretcher Bars, Tie Bars and all manner of semaphore signalling parts. Not sure whether the "KAG Group members" will like the thought of these but lets kick it off

 

Double Signal Pulley

 

Still attached to the carrier, the small support rods between the pulleys have been clipped off to show that there are indeed 2 pulleys

 

 

 

Just to prove i'm totally insane , there are 7 versions of the above , each with the pulley wheels at a different point of rotation ... MADNESS

 

Single Pulley Wheel

 

 

Point Rodding Compensator

 

 

 

 

And 1 for a Friend

 

Locomotive Oil Lamps (BR/SR)

 

 

I'm not going to individually price these items as per previous posts because quite frankly most are less than 2p for 10 items.

 

Not sure how the design for turnout tie rods, strectcher bars, FPL's  will fair as the difficulty is not impeding the movement of the turnouts. We will see

 

 

Mark 

Superb work, really inspiring- I have ordered  a  Elgoo  Mars resin printer -I need some Southern loco lamps,so could you  advise where to get  a drawing of them, or could you supply me a copy of the stl , thanks 

[paul9415]

On 11/05/2020 at 21:03, Ark Royal said:

A Bridge Too Far.

 

I have had to change priorities again as i need to finish the Station Bridge and Footbridge Structure for Eridge.

 

A long long time ago ( in a far off galaxy) when i was just starting out with Fusion 360 i produced a design for the station footbridge. I then plumped to have the front and rear plynths and baggage shute printed by Shapeways in Fine Ultra Detail. Amazed at how they came out and struggling to seperate the staircases from the gallery i then decide to have the entire footbridge printed at considerable expense (about the same cost as my Elegoo Printer)  in the same material. To cut a long story short due to some blip the footbridge and gallery end up being 10mm short on the width.

 

Up to now that is where it has stayed. I have since remodelled the Station Bridge structure to accomodate a better system for the removal and transportation of the Station and its footbridge. As the Station Bridge is nearing completion (at long last!) i thought with the 1st litre of resin nearly gone i'd best print some of the items needed to re-map the footbridge for a mix of 3d printing and metal etching.

 

Here is the Station Footbridge CAD 

 

 

The items i decide to print are the front and rear supporting trestles and the baggage shute.

 

Front Support Trestles

 

These were printed with upside down direct to the build plate with no supports, as the upper beams will be hidden by the footbridge.

 

 

Print Time: 2hr 14min 

Cost: £0.15

Electric Cost:  £0.15

Printed 1st time.

 

Rear Support Trestles

 

These again were printed upside down but i had to add supports. I still haven't got to grips with any package that adds supports. Both Chitubox and Prusa added way to many supports and i find it difficult to accurately add them manually. To that end i added them direct in the 3D package before exporting the STL file.

 

 

The weird flat stips on the RH trestle are actually some of my supports to overcome an angled piece of "wood" that supports the baggage shoot. This was floating in mid air prior to adding these for the print.

 

Sprues Removed

 

Print Time: 5hr 30min 

Cost: £0.43

Electric Cost:  £0.39

Printed 1st time.

 

Baggage Shute

 

Again printed with my own supports as the front leg hangs down. 

 

 

Sprue Removed

 

 

Print Time: 1hr 25min 

Cost: £0.12

Electric Cost:  £0.11

Printed 2nd time - failed layer adhesion on bottom surface when printed at design angle.

 

RH Rear Support Trestle and Baggage Shute

 

Items temporarily combined

 

 

 

If only i had the Elegoo way back when i first started this project....

 

Unfortunately the footbridge and gallery way exceed the build plate max volume even when spit to seperate staircsases and gallery. I think at the time i went to shapeways the unit filled their entire machine

 

I'm pleased with all the results i have had with the 1st bottle of resin, i have had a few failures, learnt a lot along the way , Thanks for everyones help.

The bit i love most about owning a 3D printer is the concept that if you want it you can print it and have it ready to use within a matter of hours, makes life so much easier when building structures etc.

 

Mark 

 

Hi Mark, & Others  regarding the question of supports for your prints , if you use chutibox for your slicing there is a free programme  called   anycubic photon file validator  which automatically  search through all the layers looking for & identifying  unsupported parts of your prints  ( see on Youtube - 3D Print Farm -How to Get Near Perfect Prints on your Resin Printer Using This Tool!  which gives a full explanation ) . Hope this helps 

[njee20]

There's a lot of talk that the Photon file validator doesn't work with newer versions of Chitubox. I forget when it broke, but it was a while ago. Certainly I've just tried running a couple of files through it and it hangs at "loading". I didn't find it all that good, I found I got failures for other reasons more often. Ie it would say prints would be fine, and they wouldn't.

My Mars is churning out great prints at the moment, whilst my Photon keeps failing on the same prints, generally they just fall apart part way through the print, very annoying!

 

Thinking I'll sell the Photon and replace with a Saturn shortly.

[Tricky-CRS]

Saturn sounds good, doesn't seem to be available yet, look forward to seeing if you get one and howyou get on with it.

 

[njee20]

It's not - pricing and pre-orders from Thursday, their teaser video last week suggested a price of <$770, but we shall see...

[55020]

Some news on the Saturn.  The price and spec look impressive!

 

https://www.windowscentral.com/elegoo-saturn-3d-printer-gets-price-and-release-date?fbclid=IwAR0hCPtOnfOKYT-GxnVsIRwtpxwXfazPzd5FfDCLWNivyAp0kTmuWrMnLDc

 

I think getting one will be a challenge though.

 

 

Steve

[monkeysarefun]

3 hours ago, 55020 said:

Some news on the Saturn.  The price and spec look impressive!

 

https://www.windowscentral.com/elegoo-saturn-3d-printer-gets-price-and-release-date?fbclid=IwAR0hCPtOnfOKYT-GxnVsIRwtpxwXfazPzd5FfDCLWNivyAp0kTmuWrMnLDc

 

I think getting one will be a challenge though.

 

 

Steve

 

The pre-orders will fill up pretty quick at that price..

 

(Thinks to self - hmmm, thanks to time zones  6th of June gets here sooner than most of the world - I've only got New Zealand and Kiribati users to contend with!) 

[Adam FW]

Hi everyone, just to say I'm a new convert to Elegoo having just got a Mars Pro as a replacement for my problematic anycubic photon, I'm very impressed so far though it's only done a few prints but with no failures despite all of them being first time prints.

 

 

Sadly it came with an European plug so my photon had to make a sacrifice but it's not working at the moment anyway. My main thoughts on the improvements over the anycubic are that leveling seems to be quicker, its a lot quieter and it smells less though the smell  became more pronounced after 2 prints

 

Out of the accessories I do like that it came with a nice pair of flush cutters though I doubt Xuron are too pleased that a knockoff brand Xorqn are claiming to be the patented original

 

 

I also quite like that it came with an angled mount for draining resin off a print and you can still have the lid fitted whilst it drains

 

 

I've still got a lot of experimenting to do to find my preferred layer settings but its all good so far though theres a few things I think anycubic does better.

 

If anyone has any questions about it or how I think it compares to the anycubic let me know as I don't think there are many about in the UK so far.

[JimFin]

1 hour ago, Adam FW said:

theres a few things I think anycubic does better.

 

Thats a tease - go on - what are they?

[Adam FW]

1 hour ago, JimFin said:

 

Thats a tease - go on - what are they?

 

I don’t like how the vat is secured. The anycubic has some backstops so you can’t push it too far back but the Mars just has a slight recess which is easy to get wrong And if it’s wrong the vat won’t sit flat so I would imagine many fep films have been torn because the vat wasn’t sat flat

 

the thumbscrews for securing the vat and the large one on top of the print bed feel cheap and are a loose fit (slop between the screw and the threaded hole) on the Mars And are  plastic Capped whereas on the photon they’re machined aluminium and feel secure. Also it’s easier to fit the bed to the z axis on the photon

 

the plastic cover would be better with handles, mines already covered in resin marks which isn’t an issue with the photons door. I’m going to buy some dent puller suction cups to act as handles to try out as handles
 

the power switch on the back is a bad design to me, it’s inaccessible and you can’t see it, if the usb can be on the front why not the switch?  Both are on the side on the photon. It also snags and cuts rubber gloves if you’ve already put them in to clean a print

 

Basically it’s little niggles that I’ve seen so far that you wouldn’t notice without handling both but the photon generally feels more premium. I’m biased towards machined metal over plastic though.
 

Right now I’d say the Mars is the better machine over the original photon but you’d expect that when my photons 2 years old now and things are moving fast in the industry.

 

that being said they are both very similar I just want to compare identical prints now to see If there’s any difference In quality

[monkeysarefun]

I've also got both and agree with those points. Having a crowded workspace while initially thinking the lift off lid of the Mars made the printer more accessible, I do have problems finding a spot to put the lid down on sometimes and in those times wish it had a lift up one like the Anycubic.

The Mars drain bracket is neat, but you can achieve the same with the Photon by removing the printbed, tilting it 90 degrees and putting it back in place - the bed will be straight up and down and you can leave it like that to drain off. In that regard I think the Photon is cleverer in that it achieves the same result without needing to fit an extra bit.

Overall they are both great printers and if wither of them died I'd replace them with whichever one was cheapest. Actually no, I'd put money down for a Saturn!

[Adam FW]

On 31/05/2020 at 00:43, monkeysarefun said:

I've also got both and agree with those points. Having a crowded workspace while initially thinking the lift off lid of the Mars made the printer more accessible, I do have problems finding a spot to put the lid down on sometimes and in those times wish it had a lift up one like the Anycubic.

The Mars drain bracket is neat, but you can achieve the same with the Photon by removing the printbed, tilting it 90 degrees and putting it back in place - the bed will be straight up and down and you can leave it like that to drain off. In that regard I think the Photon is cleverer in that it achieves the same result without needing to fit an extra bit.

Overall they are both great printers and if wither of them died I'd replace them with whichever one was cheapest. Actually no, I'd put money down for a Saturn!

 

the 90 degree tilt on the anycubic doesn't always work for me, I typically print oo industrial loco bodies which aren't huge but are big enough to be a very tight fit between the bed and the sides of the printer and often leads to drips outside the tank. You can print your own 45 degree adaptor for the photon but I never did

 

I agree with you on the difficulties of finding somewhere to put the lid as being an issue with the Mars, as you end up needing twice the desk space for the printer and lid or end up putting the lid on the floor, though the benefit is much easier access to the vat and z axis without the photons side panels to get in the way and the photon needs space behind it for the flip over lid to not hit something anyway.

 

Ultimately I chose the the pro over the standard mars as for the extra £30  it seemed worth it to have the linear bearings and other minor upgrades but vs the current anycubic the only reason I would have gotten that was to have spares between the 2 machines but apparently the current photons have different electronics vs my original one, I've seen forums claiming them to be Fauxtons as the change was kept secret and done at the same time as the photon S was released so the benefit of having 2 identical machines was lost and since my photon broke I thought I'd try something else.

[Edwardian]

Very impressed with what I have seen here, and grateful for the detailed explanations and tips.

 

I have a question, if I may.

 

I notice that Adam FW has a ELEGOO Mars Pro MSLA, which seems to be currently unavailable. This machine has caught my attention because Adam has printed loco bodies with some impressively fine detail and a convincing finish, so I am able directly to relate his prints to my needs.

 

The OP appears to have a ELEGOO MARS UV Photocuring LCD 3D Printer. This is available, and seems to sell for GBP 220-230.

 

I wonder, then, what is the difference?  

 

I cannot fathom the various technical specifications, so the only difference I can see is that the Pro model has the USB port at the front.

 

 

 

 

[njee20]

I agree with all of the points on the Mars vs Photon. I find the Photon more stable than the Mars too, which feels lighter and more wobbly. However, my Photon keeps failing prints the moment, which is absolutely doing my head in, so the Mars wins hands down!

 

On 28/05/2020 at 23:02, monkeysarefun said:

 

The pre-orders will fill up pretty quick at that price..

 

(Thinks to self - hmmm, thanks to time zones  6th of June gets here sooner than most of the world - I've only got New Zealand and Kiribati users to contend with!) 

 

Don’t get your hopes up. Its 10am EST, regardless of where you are in the world, so that’s probably about 3am on the 7th for you!

[monkeysarefun]

13 minutes ago, njee20 said:

I agree with all of the points on the Mars vs Photon. I find the Photon more stable than the Mars too, which feels lighter and more wobbly. However, my Photon keeps failing prints the moment, which is absolutely doing my head in, so the Mars wins hands down!

 

 

Don’t get your hopes up. Its 10am EST, regardless of where you are in the world, so that’s probably about 3am on the 7th for you!

Haha close, midnight Sunday morning...

 

[JSModels]

2 hours ago, Edwardian said:

Very impressed with what I have seen here, and grateful for the detailed explanations and tips.

 

I have a question, if I may.

 

I notice that Adam FW has a ELEGOO Mars Pro MSLA, which seems to be currently unavailable. This machine has caught my attention because Adam has printed loco bodies with some impressively fine detail and a convincing finish, so I am able directly to relate his prints to my needs.

 

The OP appears to have a ELEGOO MARS UV Photocuring LCD 3D Printer. This is available, and seems to sell for GBP 220-230.

 

I wonder, then, what is the difference?  

 

I cannot fathom the various technical specifications, so the only difference I can see is that the Pro model has the USB port at the front.

 

 

 

 

 

Edwardian,

 

There a few differences between the two models:

• The Elegoo's use an array of UV LEDs to cure the resin, which are now 50W as opposed to 40W on the non-pro, so it cures each layer 25% quicker (nominally 6s per layer instead of 8s);
• The Z (vertical) axis mechanism has been improved to be more stable (though I haven't seen any complaints about the non-pro one being unstable at all);
• The pro has a air filtration system built-in, to help with fumes whilst printing;
• The resin vat is larger on the pro, for doing bigger prints without having to stop & refill;
• The print plate & levelling system has been improved;
• The Pro can use a newer file type from the slicing software, which is supposed to be more efficient.

There is no difference in the overall dimensions of what can be printed, nor the final print quality. There's a comparison of the two machines here.

 

I do't own either (yet!) so the above is just a run-down of features/changes I've read about. Hope it helps.

 

Jonathan

[Adam FW]

11 hours ago, Edwardian said:

Very impressed with what I have seen here, and grateful for the detailed explanations and tips.

 

I have a question, if I may.

 

I notice that Adam FW has a ELEGOO Mars Pro MSLA, which seems to be currently unavailable. This machine has caught my attention because Adam has printed loco bodies with some impressively fine detail and a convincing finish, so I am able directly to relate his prints to my needs.

 

The OP appears to have a ELEGOO MARS UV Photocuring LCD 3D Printer. This is available, and seems to sell for GBP 220-230.

 

I wonder, then, what is the difference?  

 

I cannot fathom the various technical specifications, so the only difference I can see is that the Pro model has the USB port at the front.

 

 

 

 

 Hi Edwardian

 

I don't know how I got my pro model early, the seller originally had it up as pre-order for release on 08/06/2020 so I got it 2-3 weeks early for some reason, not that I'm complaining

 

The Pro is an upgraded model to the standard Mars, JRB is spot on with the differences but to give some more info:

 

the UV LEDs are now in a matrix which is supposed to give more even lighting and they are brighter

 

the Z axis change is that on the standard model (and the anycubic photon) the print bed runs in a machined slot, on the pro it runs on a linear bearing which is more precise and smoother. 

 

the pro has a carbon filter, which does seem to work to reduce the smell

 

the vat has been reshaped to increase volume but this also makes it harder to clean, the old was flat sided the pro's is curved and has a step in it 

 

the print bed now has a machined surface rather than an anodised one, this is apparently better. The bed leveling screws have been enlarged so they can more easily be tightened down without the risk of stripping threads. You can buy/will be able to buy the new bed separately, I believe they are interchangeable with the old one.

 

the pro uses the CTB file type from Chitubox

 

theres a rubber seal under the cover

 

 

I believe the rest of the machine is the same, I can't compare with the original but I could get similar results on my old anycubic but the Mars Pro is more consistent particularly on flat faces. Some of this may be due to the linear bearing, some of it due to the anti aliasing that I never had/never used on the anycubic.

 

From the various reviews I've read it seems if you're buying a printer now, get the Mars pro over the original, but if you've already got the original one it's not worth the cost of upgrading

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[njee20]

The Pro comes and goes from stock and has done for months, it’s not brand new. Much like the standard one did before it frankly. 
 

The Saturn is the new model which goes on very limited per-order on Saturday for the first 1,000 units. That has a much bigger print volume than the Mars and a monochrome screen, giving far quicker curing times. 
 

The print quality difference between the Mars and the Mars Pro are negligible. Most of the differences are focused on usability improvements. 
 

 

[FoxUnpopuli]

Well, that sucked.  All 1000 Saturns sold out in less than 3 minutes.

[monkeysarefun]

I got as far as putting in my delivery details before it went to out of stock, that was jumping in right on the dot, I'd been refreshing the page continuously from about 5 minutes prior. Was there an order limit per person? Itd suck double if there were people ordering dozens each just to profit.

[neilkirby]

I was also on there, I accidently got two into my basket, by the time I tried to reduce that to one, both had disappeared out of my basket! Not the best system, where they take stuff back out of your basket before you have chance to pay. Suppose I will just have to wait until generally available now.

Regards,

Neil

Edited June 7, 2020 by neilkirby
typo