Real World 3D Printing with the Elegoo Mars 4 Ultra 9k

The Mars 4 Ultra 9k Resin Printer from Elegoo is great. But lets have a realistic looking at what it takes to get there. From setting up the printer to the environment you actually have available to print. 3D printing is not as simple as pouring in resin and hitting print. Sadly.

Lets get you set up and printing in your cold garage so you don't have to print in your house.

Thanks to Elegoo who very kindly supplied the Mars 4 Ultra and the Mercury Plus 2 Wash an Cure machine.

ELEGOO Mars 4 Ultra 9k

Elegoo Mercury Plus 2 Wash and Cure

Elegoo Mercury XS Bundle

Printer Enclosures (pick the one that works for your space and budget)

Black Nitrile Gloves [100 Count]

Electric Heater, 1500W Energy Efficient, visible temp thermostat

Creality extraction fan

Silicon slap mat and funnels

Funnel for IPA

Pickle Jars for rinsing prints

Pickle Jar for hot water support removal

Isopropyl Alcohol (5L)
(although any 99% IPA will do)

UV clip on curing lamp (USB)

*************************************************

⭐️ Want to support the channel? Now you can with all the affiliate links below. ⭐️

GRAB SOME GREAT DISCOUNTS ON HOBBY PRODUCTS

Element Games

Wayland Games

*************************************************

THE STATE OF PLAY ON THE WEB

*************************************************

⭐️ Great deals on MY LASER AND ITS FRIENDS

⭐️ THE XTOOL S1 20W

⭐️ THE XTOOL D1 PRO 20W

⭐️ THE XTOOL M1 10W

⭐️ THE XTOOL SMART AIR ASSIST

⭐️ THE XTOOL HONEYCOMB PANEL

For any other XTOOL products, you can go to their website here:

⭐️ XTOOL WEBSITE

#3dprinting #elegoo #resinprinting #TabletopGaming

*Many of these are Amazon Affiliate links or Element Games where I may earn a commission on any qualifying purchase. They are provided by Amazon Onelink so may provide a close match in your country. Please make sure the product is correct before purchasing.

[Chak]

For a video I thought was going to be a not so subtle advertisement for a 3d printer, this turned out to be refreshingly informative as someone seriously considering about getting into 3d printing, thank you

[fomasfaith]

A most honest and balanced take on 3D printing. I too long for the day where you just pick what you want and press print. I do understand that for some it is a hobby in and of itself but I just want nice models.

I have gone down that very same rabbit hole only to discover I had to go just that 'little' bit further, first a flexible plate to make removal easier, then an enclosure and a heater. Ireland also not known for its high temperatures.

[Glennsights]

My friend just up and gave me his Mars 2 and his Ender v2 a week ago. He never printed a thing with them. So this video is almost perfectly timed. I learned a few things. Thank you.

[rugwalle]

About VOC... I repainted part of my car in the garage and used all proper PPE and also did some creative work with good ventilation. When I got back into the house the whole house was filled with the smell of thinner, more so than the garage.

Silly me had my super ventilation exhaust for the garage blowing straight where my houses ventilation sucked in fresh air.

There is a leason here somewhere but I have ingested too much thinner to understand what it would be...

[hedgesfamily]

No, you didn't jump down a rabbit hole. It's more like you blindfolded yourself, tied your hands behind your back, and then hurled yourself bodily over the edge with a jetpack on full thrust.

I've only dealt with an FDM printer. I'd like to get a resin printer, but I have an uninsulated and not real weatherproof shop, so until I spend a small fortune finishing it, I make good friends with people who have resin printers. (I blacksmith as another hobby, so I trade knives for models)

I really appreciate your no-nonsense approach, and the way you point out that 3D printing isn't the beat-all end all solution.

Sometimes it is nice just to cut the parts off the sprue, gleu them together, get rid of mold lines, fill in the gaps, and someday, maybe someday, actually get to painting.

[demonpokemon]

THANK YOU! I purchased a mars 4 ultra about a couple months ago and only now got around to setting it up. I spent like 3 hours trying to get it to work and start printing with no luck. After following your advice with leveling it against 2 pieces of paper, it now is printing my rook piece. Thank you, you've got my sub.

[DeVstatrOmga]

I've seen countless "Beginners MUST buy this printer" videos especially with the Mars 5 Ultra and I have to say you nailed every point I had about the toxic chemicals and printers not being quite ready for prime time yet. Thumbs up!

[vizionct]

I’m using Saturn 4 ultra inside a small form factor enclosure w vent fan hose to my office window. Wash n cure station def a plus. This setup has been my easiest and safest method and amazed how fast I’m getting my prints.

[bbening]

This is easily the most helpful video I've seen as a beginner thinking about taking the jump into resin 3d printing. Thank you.

[ChrisKay-hj]

Fantadtic video. I got a 3D printer from a bonus at work after eyeing them for a long time. While i think ive bitten off more than i can chew, im very excited to learn more and am determined to it right. Your video is awesome for showing the pitfalls and offering some good beginner advise

[animateclay]

Those vats of alcohol and resin residue can be nullified by putting them in the sun for a few hours. It cures the resin inside and also helps it to congeal. It will partially settle to the bottom and you can strain it off with a coffee filter for disposal.

[tiffanybaker]

So glad you went into such detail with the printer. I was just about to get one and decided to search videos on how to use the printer and came across yours. Needless to say, I now will not be getting one.
I was hoping more for a straight out of the box set it up in a simple manner and then begin printing but unfortunately that's just not the case at all. So I'm truly grateful for your transparency on this 3d printer

[sf-studio]

3d printing has gotten so much easier compared to previous years. Exposure settings are easy to find online and in my experience they're set and forget across multiple resins. I've switched to water washable to reduce fumes and ease of clean up, but still give the models a final rinse in IPA before curing and I can use the IPA for way longer than I could with standard resin. I started painting minis a few months ago and used 3d printed ones to practice on because I didn't want to muck up the $60 pathfinder team I bought. In fact my Tau are still in the box and I bought an army from OPR for $50 instead. Considering a bottle of resin is $20 and I can get an entire army and then some out of it, I don't see myself buying GW models in the near future.

[daviddrayton]

Probably the most useful video on the subject I have even seen

[spacedock]

Thanks for the excellent video. I have had an FDM printer for a few years which i use occasionally to fabricate various odds and sods. I have been contemplating a resin 3D printer for a while but, like you, have been concerned about the complexity and quality issues. What this video has brought home to me is that actually I don't have the time nor space to be going down this road, especially for the limited use cases I have for it (I'm mainly a modeller rather than a mini painter/wargamer). I already get the "And where's that going to go?" look from my wife if I buy a new model kit! 😳

[Captn_Grumpy]

I literally spat the snack I was eating all over myself at the younglings reference.

And it was worth it.

[aranathalaconte]

Looks like a classic case of drowning in a glass of water on this one! I've been designing and selling 3d prints for three years, only using a 3d printer, a plastic box for alcohol (I only spend a litre every 6 or 7 litres of resin and that's a lot of miniatures), a water sink, and a cheap UV light from amazon. You don't need anything else. Once you calibrate your machine, it will still work perfectly well between 10ºC and 30ºC room temperature... and having it in a room that you use little with a window is enough. It's surprising that using laser cutters that have set houses on fire, the 3d printer gives you so much trouble xD I think those sophisticated curing and washing machines are just to mystify 3d printing, take up more space and spend more money.

BTW: I hope you make some more scenery scratch building tutorials, I loved those!

[Imperialguardftw]

I think we had a similar experience. I got into 3d printing to hopefully print cool variants of leman russes, that was the dream. Instead I kept creating elephant foots on the bottom of the vat, cleaning non-stop being pedantic on the cleanliness, attempting to create supports to hold the side of a tank, watching it fail, cleaning the vat again, trying again but making it too hollow, failing, cleaning, trying again. I eventually gave up and put it aside for a year and learnt how to airbrush. Until one day my older brother expressed some interest in using it to print a resin guard for his lathe on the on/off switch (random I know)

Once it works, its great but getting there and learning can sometimes drive you absolutely nuts that it pushed me back to just buying GW products lol. I guess my top tips for anyone getting into it, is just buy the pre-supported models or whatever it'll save you the headache of cleaning the failed prints.

[carlosmelendez]

Do you have tutorial on how you made the vent hose setup?

[lamicrobio...engros]

thank you for that demonstration ! Can't have a printer, but maybe one day for the Mars 40 Ultra 90k :p