Elegoo Mars 4 Review

We are excited to see the technological advances charging ahead in the world of 3D printers, and resin printers, in particular, are pushing the limits faster than ever. The Mars 4 is at the forefront of this wave, providing affordability, reliability, and larger volume capabilities. We're just happy to be along for the ride.

Performance Comparison

Print Quality

First and foremost, the most notable benefit of using resin printers vs FDM is their ability to produce incredibly precise, intricate prints. The Mars 4 does not disappoint in this regard.

The level of detail found in the majority of our test prints is wildly beneath the capabilities of this machine, however, they still manage to reveal some hidden problem areas. The surface quality of the prints we made using the standard software settings was pristine, even with larger build layers. Admittedly, you can see some ghosting of the build lines, but they feel absolutely smooth. Corners and edges are sharp, overhangs are clean, and tiny lettering is legible.

Because there were no major issues with the Mars 4, we found ourselves having to nitpick small imperfections, so keep that in mind as you read. Some internal details on our prints showed slight mushing of features, but the only real dimensional inaccuracies were at the connection point of the build plate, a problem that is easily fixed by setting your print up with a raft to build on (a common setting in Slicer software, which preps your parts for printing). Other than that, our only other gripe was with the supports in general. It was quite difficult to remove them when using standard settings, but they easily broke free when dialed in through a pre-generated print file we tested.

Ease of Use

Making a hard 180° flip from all the good we found in our print tests, The Mars 4, like all resin printers, is a pain in the rear to work with.

To be fair, that's not true for the entire process. Resin technology lends itself to a simpler build as there are fewer moving parts. The Mars 4 was a breeze to get rolling, taking just 12 minutes(!) to set up and get our first print running. That includes the air purifier attachment, which is a very nice addition since resin printing is inherently noxious. And actually, running the printer is just fine, easy even, thanks in no small part to a large touch screen with intuitive menus.

What's incredibly annoying is the material prep, and especially the post-processing that's required. Resin is messy and stinky and requires several critical washing and UV curing steps. Most users opt to purchase separate wash and cure stations, so factor that into your research and budget.

Print Capabilities

Print quality, or more accurately, the level of precision and fine design elements, is directly due to the resolution of the included LCD screen — not the user interface touch screen, but the advanced screen inside the print chamber that projects an image and selectively hardens the resin layer by layer.

Here, the Mars 4 stands out among modern hobbyist-level printers. It features a 7-inch, 9k monochrome screen with 8520 x 4320 pixels of resolution, while many of the modern competitors in the resin space have half or a quarter of that capability.

Combine this impressive resolution with the fact that it has a whopping 153.36mm x 77.76mm x 175mm (6.04" x 3.06" x 6.89") build volume, and the Mars 4 proves itself to be a very capable desktop printer.

Support

If you discount the amount of work to prep the materials, which is present in all resin printers, the Mars 4 is a simple machine to run, requiring little direction to set up. The simple, short manual reflects this.

In practice, though, additional resources will need to be sought out to finish training for the setup and processing of prints for anyone not already intimately familiar with the full process. A few videos are available directly through Elegoo, but we recommend hopping on YouTube to supplement your learning.

We should also mention that we have not had the best experiences contacting Elegoo customer support for this or other products from the line that we have tested. Email support is the only option for anyone outside of China, and correspondence is both a little slow and generally lacking in explicit detail for any sort of troubleshooting.

Should You Buy the Elegoo Mars 4?

This is a very capable resin printer and it may well represent the next step up for the user familiar with resin printing and looking to make the technological jump from a machine 3-5 years old. One look at the specs will tell you that. However, we may not feel comfortable recommending this to a print-curious novice.

What Other 3D Printer Should You Consider?