Elegoo ships the Saturn 4 Ultra 16K with the kind of protective overkill you appreciate in a resin machine. The printer arrives double-boxed in sturdy cardboard, with thick air-bladder cushions absorbing any impact from the outside world. Inside the chamber, dense custom-cut foam locks the vat and the build-plate lever firmly in place, preventing the slightest shift during transit.
(Credit: Michael Lydick)
It’s a reassuring presentation, suggesting that Elegoo has learned how to get a mid-size resin printer to your door without surprises. (My delivery guy is a nice enough but generally angry middle-aged man who considers it a personal challenge when a box says “FRAGILE.” The Saturn survived his mobile crucible.)
Elegoo didn’t skimp on the included toolkit, either. You get gloves, plastic and metal scrapers, and a full spare set of screws for future FEP replacements (that is, the film on the underside of the vat). Not to mention Allen keys for every serviceable part of the machine, a user guide, funnel filters for returning resin to the bottle, and a USB flash drive preloaded with the Elegoo SatelLite slicer and sample models. Elegoo even adds a few disposable face masks. They won’t meaningfully block fumes, but they’re a considerate inclusion for newcomers setting up their first resin printer.
And let me just say it: When you take the machine out and set it up, it just looks cool. Elegoo is clearly leaning into a science-fiction aesthetic, with a stylized, futuristic feel. It’s an elevated design that proves a tool doesn’t have to look like a tool.
(Credit: Michael Lydick)
Powering on the Saturn 4 Ultra 16K triggers a brief but confidence-boosting diagnostic routine. The printer runs through each major subsystem in sequence, checking the LCD panel, the LED array, the presence of the resin tank, the Z- and X-axis motors, the fans, the AI camera, and the mechanical sensor that monitors the vat’s tilt angle. As each component passes, a green checkmark appears on the screen. It’s a small touch, but seeing that row of green lights makes the startup feel deliberate and reassuring, especially before long or high-detail jobs.
(Credit: Michael Lydick)
Elegoo supplied its 8K Photopolymer Resin for testing, a general-purpose material tuned for high-resolution detail on modern monochrome resin printers. It’s marketed as delivering crisp edges and curing predictably; I found that it has a moderate odor typical of standard resins. It’s not an engineering-grade formula, but it’s well-suited for showcasing the Saturn Ultra 16K’s imaging performance and behaves reliably in both standard and fast-print modes. Elegoo also sent its Tough Resin, but I wanted to use the 8K resin for the parts I’d be printing, since that’s likely what most users will use.
(Credit: Michael Lydick)
I set about installing the included slicing software, SatelLite, from Elegoo’s USB stick, as well as installing the 16K into my Chitubox slicing software. SatelLite, which Elegoo recently introduced, doesn’t yet have all the advanced features you’ll find in third-party slicers. But its simplicity and direct integration with Elegoo machines make it a practical choice for newcomers and experienced users alike. You’re given a choice between Light and Dark mode, so I kept it Light for comparison with Chitubox.
(Credit: Elegoo/PCMag)
Chitubox, meanwhile, immediately recognized the Saturn 4 Ultra 16K and even rendered the build plate’s auto-leveling posts accurately in its interface. I was able to send files wirelessly via both SatelLite and Chitu Manager to the unit’s built-in wireless receiver, making it easy to prep models in one room and print in another. Users who prefer not to network their machines, though, can still rely on the included USB key for fully offline transfers and greater control over IP security.
(Credit: Chitubox/PCMag)
When I loaded up the resin tray, I appreciated that it has both a MAX and a MIN line for filling; that’s helpful for new users and veterans alike, since overfilling has particularly serious consequences here. The tilt tray is nice and works well, but it leaves a gap where dripping resin can fall into the machine’s internals. Loading and unloading resin from the unit feels like taking your car keys out of your pocket while standing over a storm grate—anxiety-inducing, with you being extra careful not to drop them.
The included drip tray feels out of place. Thin and flimsy, it feels inexpensive next to the machine’s overall build quality, and I wish I had something more reassuring in my hands when working with liquid resin. Still, two corner pour spouts in the resin tray make it easier and safer to pour out unused resin.
And the resin tray has a built-in heater this time—a game-changer if you’re putting the printer in a cold garage or shed far from your family and their lungs. You can easily activate pre-heating in the menu, which brings your resin to 30 degrees C, and watch as it moves the build plate up and down, mixing the resin as it warms. This ensures your resin is at the optimal temperature and consistent print to print. I used to mix my resin with a plastic spatula to reconstitute it, or pour it back into a bottle, mix it again, and shake it up. No more.
I love the integrated design and the lack of awkward external pumps and contraptions to heat the material. It’s a clean design that’s seamlessly buried in the workflow.
(Credit: Michael Lydick)
To test the exposure settings for the 8K resin, I ran a few test prints and settled on near-perfect exposure times of 1.8 to 2.2 seconds. The Saturn 4 Ultra 16 features AI detection via the camera, which, in theory, lets you monitor the build plate as it works. In practice, though, the camera didn’t detect anything on the plate until it was above the resin’s surface, so there was nothing to see. Contrast that with the AnyCubic Photon M7 Max, whose integrated sensor can detect the amount of force applied to each layer. This unit has something of a detection blind spot.
Fortunately, during my testing, I didn’t have any issues with parts not sticking to the build plate, but I wonder if there’s room for sub-surface failed-print detection. I could hear the distinctive “tick-pop” every time the build plate separated from the FEP film. Maybe an integrated microphone to “listen” for resin peeling away, versus silence in the depths of the goo?
(Credit: Michael Lydick)
The prints stick so well in large part due to the surface of the build plate. It’s pretty impressive. In between each of the etched black lines are dozens of smaller micro-etched lines that give the plate a greater surface area to help your first layers adhere. No more scuffing build plates with sandpaper.
