Next, with my newly confirmed 1.8-second exposure time, I printed out the Siraya Tech Test Model, which came out brilliantly. The two arrow tips met very crisply. Measuring from 0.15mm up through the 10mm gauge plots, I was within 1% to 2% of the desired measurements (1.98mm and 9.98mm, respectively). The lattice block was square on all edges, with crisp internal details, and the back bridge was printed with an arch height of 5.05mm.
(Credit: Michael Lydick)
Next: No surprises once the AmeraLabs Town Test Print was washed and cured with the same 1.8-second exposure and a 32-second first-layer exposure.
(Credit: Michael Lydick)
The detail was fine and crisp. All of the towers printed well on the rear, with matching slots on the opposite side that allowed the towers to slide in easily. The fine detail on the top was also reassuring, with all but the finest hairs on the inside row of the tiny towers printing, and all but the very last row of the topmost micro-towers showing up.
(Credit: Michael Lydick)
This photo, for reference, is a 300% zoom of the piece. On the test prints I use for all resin printers, the Ultra 5 held its own against outputs from other machines, up to and including the Formlabs Form 4.
Then I tackled a job most new users will be dying to try: miniature figurines. I went to MakerWorld.com, downloaded a handful of “Elemental” figures, and let the Mars 5 Ultra do its job.
(Credit: Michael Lydick)
(Credit: Michael Lydick)
(Credit: Michael Lydick)
Next up, I printed a Dungeons & Dragons-style miniature, the kind of piece many people buy a resin printer specifically to make. At a 0.025mm layer height and a 1.8-second exposure time, the Mars 5 Ultra delivered results that were sharp enough to warrant a magnifying glass. Under close inspection, small features like etched lines, fabric folds, and edge definition remained crisp, with no visible layer banding or loss of detail, highlighting just how well the printer handles the kind of high-resolution work tabletop gamers prize.
(Credit: Michael Lydick)
I then set out to make something slightly larger, with an even finer layer height of 0.018 to really see what the 9K resolution could squeak out. The result: I could see the fine hairs in the feathers of the figure, and every detail of the angel’s face was free of visible layer lines or aliasing.
(Credit: Michael Lydick)
(Credit: Michael Lydick)
Next up, I wanted to make a larger figure and settled on Marvel’s Wolverine file, which I downloaded into the Chitubox slicer. It’s worth noting that the USB key included in the toolkit also comes with a copy of the Elegoo SatelLite slicing software, which is even easier to use than Chitubox, has a very intuitive workflow, and lets me load files wirelessly to the printer in the next room. You can automatically add supports to the files you upload with ease, and get stunning results like this. (This one was done at 0.050mm resolution with a 1.8-second exposure time.)
(Credit: Michael Lydick)
(Credit: Michael Lydick)
I mentioned the Mercury curer earlier in passing. I was also sent the Elegoo Mercury Plus V3.0 wash-and-cure station, which made quick work out of all of the files I printed on the Mars 5 Ultra. The Mercury is compact and easy to use, with a solid build feel. What’s more, I could use the same base for both washing and curing.
(Credit: Michael Lydick)
Next up, I wanted to see if I could replicate the dragon files I had seen others print on their more expensive resin printers. I found a free file to work with and loaded it into Chitubox, which instantly recognized the Mars 5 Ultra on my Wi-Fi network. It automatically added the supports (I chose the “light” ones) and output the file to the Mars 5 Ultra.
Also, I used the SatelLite slicer from Elegoo to output the dragon’s base, and appreciated the cleaner workflow, which hides the more advanced settings (unless I want to see them) and speeds up the process. The more I printed with both Chitubox and SatelLite, the more I found myself using the SatelLite slicer, and I’m eager to see how this early version evolves in the coming months and years.
(Credit: Elegoo)
(Credit: Chitubox)
The result was fantastic. I’m an FDM printer guy who spends most of his time working with machines like my Bambu Lab H2S and Qidi Plus 4. Here I was printing resin files like this dragon and gluing the pieces together one after the other, just amazed at the detail and the ease of getting outputs that looked like I’d bought the models at a store. Here I used Elegoo 8K Space Grey resin, with 0.025mm layers and a 1.8-second exposure time…
(Credit: Michael Lydick)
(Credit: Michael Lydick)
(Credit: Michael Lydick)
I do wish the Mars 5 Ultra came with a handful of add-ons to make things more convenient, like the resin-bottle funnel I mentioned earlier, since they made a big difference when I was using the printer. Elegoo should either put the print files on the unit’s USB flash drive or include them outright with the machine.
Another example: After you output a project, there’s no place to lift the cover of the unit without getting your fingers on the plastic, which will inevitably get covered in resin. I found a file that uses a piece of 3M VHB tape to adhere a handle to the cover, so you can lift it on and off without getting goop on it. You can see in the photos where the resin had cured on the plastic, despite my best efforts.
(Credit: Michael Lydick)
(Credit: Michael Lydick)
Finally, I wish the machine came with two other parts, designs I found online and printed myself, to address some issues with resin. When using resin, the worst part of the process is, well, the mess it creates. Unfortunately, the tilt tray on the Mars 5 Ultra has a gap around its edge where resin can drop into the unit’s internal mechanism. And the drip bib that comes with the Mars 5 Ultra is flimsy and cheap; it doesn’t match the rest of the machine’s quality.
I ended up installing an angle drip hanger for the Ultra 5’s build plate, which allows you to unlock and reposition the build plate with one hand so that the excess resin drips down back into the tray quickly, aided by gravity. I liked this design because you could reposition the build plate within the confines of the resin tray below without the drips spilling outside the tray’s rectangular edges.
(Credit: Michael Lydick)
I also found a new drip-tray design (a two-part print with magnets at the connecting edges), which inspired more confidence than the included drip bib from Elegoo. That, and a resin vat cover, made the Mars 5 Ultra feel complete to me.
(Credit: Michael Lydick)
Finally, even though the auto-levelling build plate is a triumph, it’s challenging to clean; the stainless-steel posts create extra spaces and cavities. I found this last file, which allowed me to insert the cleaning tool and wipe the resin puddles I couldn’t reach down in between the rods, getting about 85% of the resin off the back of the build plate and down into the resin tray.
(Credit: Michael Lydick)
I hope Elegoo considers including the print files or the actual prints with machines like the Mars 5 Ultra in the future, so others can replicate my experience with the machine. With all of these components in place, I had absolute resin control, from the initial pour-out through the making of the prints, to returning the resin to its bottle.
