Elegoo Mars 2 Pro HONEST review + Mars original comparison - by VOG (VegOilGuy)

the any goo mars 2 pro let's give it a review hey guys it's been just over 12 months since i was lucky enough to be given the opportunity to review the original elegu mars regular viewers will know that this has been up until recently my go-to printer of choice so i was excited to see the next generation of mars and it's a pro to boot just like the original it arrived well packaged and immediately i was struck by the similarity other than the colour change it looks pretty much the same machine and let's not beat about the bush here it is pretty much the same machine same dimensions same styling same adjustable feet same display screen same build plate same everything well actually that's not true there are differences here on the two pro but they're subtle little things the build plate is slightly larger to accommodate the slightly larger build volume they've also replaced the tiny grub screws with these much larger and more convenient hex bolts the z-rail is no longer a wheel and groove design but instead a more conventional linear guide the resin tray is a much sleeker design and this change of looks also gives us increased resin capacity and a bigger fuel tank means less stopping to fill up but for me the thing i love most about this tray is the max limit indicator i guarantee this simple little extra will save many an unwanted spill eliku also tell me the fep itself is new to the mars it's designed to help prevent resin sticking to it i guess only time will tell on that one the screen is the biggest upgrade for the mars 2. gone is the original 40 watt led unit to be replaced with a far sexier monochrome screen which as well as being longer lasting produces more powerful light which in turn reduces exposure times leading to faster printing the 2 pro has a built-in carbon filter to help reduce those nasty resin pongs in fact eligou also provide this incredibly annoying rubber seal to trim the bottom of the lid this in theory acts as an airtight seal to improve the efficiency of the carbon filters unfortunately i see two slight problems with this firstly i believe carbon filters have to be changed or recharged occasionally and to me this looks like a sealed unit making changing impossible secondly my rubber seal lasted just about two prints before i threw it away i found it dragged against the tri-clamps pulling free and taking unwanted baths in the resin so to my mind if eliku really wants a proper working seal on this lid they need something a little better than this flimsy effort there's also the issue of the fan elegu tell me it's an upgraded version to cope with a carbon filter and they also admit it's a little bit noisier and they're quite right it's far from loud but it's a high-pitched wine that you will be aware of the power switch is located on the back which annoys me but at least eligible have moved the usb port to the front for improved convenience obviously me being me i don't like it there either when eddie goo sent me their saturn beta i voiced concerns about placing the usb too close to the touchscreen as it was a potential hazard and they listened changing its location for the production model so why then would they place the port on the front of the 2 pro still many folks will like it there i suppose so let's move on the touchscreen incidentally is much the same nice and sharp responsive and with text that's a little too small at times [Music] leveling the build plate is the usual paper method with the build plate attached loosen the hex bolts place a piece of paper over the screen next completely ignore the confusing instructions which tell you to click the move z-axis to zero instead click this little home button square the plate in position by eye press it lightly and then tighten the hex bolts you should find the paper is held firmly now carefully select 0.1 then press the up arrow just once the paper should now pull free press the back button click the set z to zero button and confirm insert and clamp the resin tray and pour in your resin of choice now resin doesn't come with the printer but elegu were kind enough to send me a bottle of their water washable yellow to try and by the way i like the resin a lot i'm not keen on the colour but the resin does its job well you'll need to insert the usb stick into the port to access the test print file the usb also contains a copy of the instructions a copy of the g2 box slicing software and also an array of free prints from my mini factory which will be of great interest to miniature lovers the standard eligible rook test came off well but it didn't wail me not like it did when i reviewed the first mars and that got me thinking what's the point of all these little upgrades if it doesn't print any better well back then i printed this fabulous dwarf and i still have the file and of course i've got both printers so i couldn't resist having a go the yellow is the 2 pro and the blue is the original mars it is a difficult call if anything the blue looks a little bit better but i think this is just a color thing personally i think the yellow hides details so i applied a bit of primer and yes it's black it's the only color i've got not the best decision i know but i am glad i did it again it's subtle but i've got to give the edge to the 2 pro it shows up best when looking at the shield see the pattern around the face as i was feeling a bit better about the two pro now i turned to my buddies over at archival and games and they kindly sent me some of their miniatures to print for their patrons this month they've released the fabulous circus grotesque which frankly spoiled me for choice you know me guys i'm all about detail and look at this little guy a true mini he's just 40 millimeters tall and yet the 2 pro has packed in with detail this is dr jekyll again fabulous detail and once more just 40 millimeters you can even see the buttons on his boots and if there's a doctor jekyll there must be a mr hide make your own minds up about the print quality because if nothing else these miniatures by archvillians give us a great way to see what can be created easily at home on the 2 pro i know that miniatures aren't for everyone so i printed this ring as an example of jewelry potential so it's conclusion time what do i think of the mars 2 pro i have to admit i expected more for the second generation of the mars it would have been great to see a 4k screen instead of the same 2k and frankly i'm not certain exactly what is pro about this machine especially as eligible is bringing out a mars 2. but there are improvements here over the original mars we have a proper linear rail we have a slightly bigger build area there's a carbon filter with or without a daft rubber seal there's a monochrome screen for faster printing and longevity there's a new style resin tray to hold more resin but for me the usb port is still in the wrong place the carbon filter comes at the cost of a noisier fan really we should be seeing a dual rail and the build area is so slightly different it's not worth talking about most shockingly despite the monochrome screen printing isn't that much faster because the drive rail turns more slowly fortunately the light efficiency means shorter exposure times and that does help this dwarf printed on the original mars took five and a half hours this dwarf printed on the 2 pro took two and a half hours so it's twice as fast but certainly not three or four times faster personally i think there is an improvement in print quality though many will disagree with me there they will argue my results could be due to the resin difference but i'd then come to argue that it could be down to file format the original mars used g2 boxes cb ddlp file format the 2 pro uses their ctb file format according to what i've read this reduces the file size improves handling speed and most especially aids in the use of anti-aliasing so is the mars 2 pro a better printer than the original mars yes of course it is any one of these updates is still an improvement and when taken collectively it makes a difference it's not miles better but it is better if you already own a mars or even a mars pro i'm not sure these differences would be worth upgrading for but for those others watching i'll surmise with this the mars 2 pro is an all-round better printer than the original mars it's a printer that you would not regret owning and you would certainly delight in using but as with every fiscal choice in life be certain of your budget do your research and then make your choice so that's it for this review guys as always if you have any questions please don't hesitate to drop me a line and i'll do my best to help so take care guys and thanks for watching

Channel: VOG

Views: 44,937

Rating: 4.8821492 out of 5

Keywords: elegoo mars 2, pro, review, 3d printer, resin, vegoilguy, vog, comparison

Id: 4Qq33YeFCLg

Length: 12min 18sec (738 seconds)

Published: Fri Oct 16 2020