Elegoo Mars 3 Ultra 4k HONEST review + Z Wobble Worries by VOGMAN

An honest look at the Elegoo Mars 3 Ultra 4K resin printer - the good, the bad and the wobbly.
It's a great printer and at around $300 and with a resolution of 35 microns, it sounds amazing. It prints very well and I show a number of great example in this video.
Unfortunately the Z Arm on MY printer has very clear wobble. This is a cause for concern and one that needs investigating more fully. Hopefully it's just MY printer. Hopefully all the others are fine...

*** BUY ON AMAZON ***

0:00 - Introduction
0:23 - Appearance
0:44 - Base
1:02 - Fans
1:08 - Power socket
1:14 - Menu screen
1:19 - USB Port
1:28 - On / Off switch
1:55 - Resin tray
2:30 - Build plate
2:36 - Z Rail
2:47 - 4K Screen
3:38 - Slicer / ChiTuBox Pro
5:12 - Test prints
8:40 - Z Wobble
10:33 - Splashback?
11:20 - Conclusions

*** ARCHVILLAIN GAMES ***
For the amazing miniatures you saw in this video, great giveaways and competitions...

*** DISCLAIMER ***
This product was given to me, free of charge and without obligation. No money has changed hands and the only agreement made was that I video an INDEPENDENT review, expressing my own personal and above all honest thoughts on the product.

*** PLEASE SUPPORT THIS CHANNEL ***

*** LINKS ***

#3dprinting
#3dresinprinting
#vegoilguy
#vog

[vogman]

Just to reiterate, I’m hoping this is just an isolated problem with MY printer. I’ve shot off a few emails to other YouTubers who I think may have a Mars 3 to review and of course I’ve sent a message to Elegoo. So far I haven’t heard from anyone but it’s very early on… if I get any feedback I’ll be sure to let you know.

*** UPDATE 3rd August 2021 ***

*** UPDATE 4th August 2021 ***
This morning I sent Elegoo a video showing the first 8 minutes of printing the Rook test file. All the way to the end, wobble is still evident.
The good news is I'm still getting fantastic prints 😁

[mikelang]

My Mars 2 pro had the same "wobble". It's actually that the z axis limit switch is set too low. Bent the tab up about a millimeter and redo the home procedure with one sheet of paper and 1 sheet of cardstock. Don't bother with the home adjustment as it does nothing.

That fixed it for me.

[bigfilsing]

Hi Although a little involved it may be worth checking the linear rail bearing carrier. I repair FDM printers on a regular basis and I've had 2 instances where the balls jam and do not circulate on 1 side. Further investigation found that this was due to small imperfections in the injection molded end caps that prevent the balls coming "off" the rail and smoothly moving into the return circulation port. 1 of the bad rails I've encountered had a plastic burr in the injection molded end cap that acted like a ratchet and would allow balls to circulate in one direction but not the other! In both cases it was easy to "feel" the bearing having issues as when blocked the balls on the offending side skate along the rail. Extremely careful disassembly, cleaning, rectification solved both cases but can be time consuming . Commercially it would be more attractive to replace the rail !! I hope you find and publish the issue you have encountered. Cheers

[GrahamY]

The "Z wobble" appears to be when the plate retracts and has suction holding it back from the resin. When you compared with your Mars 2 there wasn't any resin in the tray and so may not have been a good comaparison. While a printer should be sturdy enough to take the strain it may not be an actual problem when printing. I think someone else mentioned that it may also just be a loose Z (again, should not be loose on a new printer).

[DResinPrinting]

I would suggest that the splashes you mentioned are due to the z rail wobbling. When the build plate starts lifting, suction would not let go the current layer immediately but the motor continues to rotate and z rail bends forward. So tension increases to a point when the current layer overcomes the suction force. At this moment the build plate jumps up and z rail returns to its vertical position. This jerking move of the plate gives the liquid resin on it an impulse and small drops tear off the plate due to inertia. The drops then land anywhere on the inside of the cover, on the tank or any other places depending on their initial speed and size/weight. It's a kind of catapult:)

[matthewbulmer]

You put me onto lychee and i haven't looked back. I totally agree with you on limiting people to one type of slicer sucks. The free version of lychee has more than enough options for myself

[koolmoedee]

Can't wait to get stuck in to this video! Thanks as always for the content. Because of you I took the plunge and purchased a resin 3d printer this week, learning the basics tonight!

[dovmerrill]

Thanks for your first-up review. Also, your comments about vendor lock-in to a specific slicer (I.e. Chitubox) is timely and needed. Uncle Jessy just dropped a video on this printer, and others to come, using the new Chitu board/ firmware which seems to only allow the new Chitubox 1.9 (basic or Pro) slicer output to be recognized/ used by this printer, and will “lock out” other slicers such as Lychee from being used directly (one can use Lychee’ output as STL, and then input STL into Chitubox 1.9, but that is extra step and a long-term pain).

[hyperionhelios]

Between this and the Chitu lockdown debate I am getting anxious as a first time resin printer buyer. I appreciate you continuing updates on this unit and for providing such a detailed review to kick things off.

[gbalot]

Absolutely with you on the Chitubox issue. All printers using the new Chitu boards lock you in to using Chitubox and not only that, the latest version of it. Personally I can't buy more printers with the Chitu board given this restriction which doesn't leave many options sadly. The Prusa resin printer is suddenly starting to look worth the money.

[Titan-unzu]

Do you know If the z wobble is fixed and would you consider this flaw making it not be worth buying, thanks for the content. Keep it up 🙂

[Aveltro]

Any news on ' fixes' of the Z-wobble from elegoo? I'm planning to buy a M3 printer. Honestly I think all 4k printers in the 300usd range, have positives and negatives I think. Cheers!

[gbspikyfish]

As far as I can see from the Z wobble - it looks as though it's the whole vertical arm moving (rather than movement between the linear rail on the arm and its carriage). Could it be the plastic construction of the Mars 3 body means there isn't as much rigidity as previous (I understand metal body) models and it's allowing the arm to flex the red aluminium top cover?

[hellhole]

Was going to order a Mars 3 as my first 3D printer, but after hearing about the Chitu Box and being stuck with it think ill pass and keep researching another printer. Cheers for the upload.

[michaeltullgren]

What 3d resin printer would you recommend? I cant decide between Elegoo Saturn or Mono X. Maybe there is a better one in a similar price range?

[rolfvanderbijl]

Another delightfull review, please keep us posted on the Z-Wobble and your opinion on whether it's work the spend :)

[bakedbeings]

Is the sonic 4k the right quality per $ comparison for the mars 3? Would the mini 4k be more appropriate? It prints at 0.35 micron xy res via a 4k screen and at a much closer price point.

[odisea]

Most 3D printing enthusiasts: arguing what's better Lychee or Chitubox
Me, a man of culture: Photon workshop <3

[jonasateo]

Darn... and here I am, anxiously waiting for my Mars 3 to arrive. Now I am even more anxious.

[Nazrac]

They improved the Z axis structure on the newer machines, I now have 2 newer machines and 4 older. I print rubber resin only on the newer ones as it's the only material that seems to wobble on the older ones