Simple Elegoo Rapid Resin Review – Worth Buying or Not?
When it comes to choosing a resin, there are so many to choose from with specific properties that can be useful, but when you want a simple resin there’s some great choices out there. One of those choices you might have come across is from a company called Elegoo, who create the Elegoo Rapid Resin.
This resin is one of the most popular resins you’ll come across on Amazon, so it’s definitely worth checking out and looking into.
I decided to write a review on the highly promising Elegoo Rapid Resin so everyone looking to purchase it knows whether it’s worth their time and money or not.
I’ll make sure to discuss its features, major pros and cons, settings recommendations, and customer reviews to help illustrate the quality of this resin. Keep on reading for a detailed review.
Elegoo Rapid Resin Review
The Elegoo Rapid Resin comes from the Shenzhen-based 3D printing giant popularly known for making high-quality and reliable MSLA/DLP 3D printers.
The company makes its own resin 3D printers, but their resins, including the Elegoo Rapid Resin (Amazon), can be used with all machines that are compatible with third-party resins.
This resin is available in several colors and is reasonably priced at somewhere around $35. There are a number of features that the Elegoo Rapid has to its name, and is a product that shows signs of quality.
Thousands of users have successfully printed some great high quality objects throughout the years, so let’s dive into this review of the Elegoo Rapid Resin.
Features of the Elegoo Rapid Resin
- Consistent and High-Quality Prints
- Light-Odor Printing
- Precise Performance
- Low Volume Shrinkage
- Wide Color Variety
- Multiple Applications
- Leak-Proof Bottle With Compact Packaging
- Recommended for Miniatures
- Fast Curing Times
- Premium-Grade Fluidity
- Compatible With Most SLA 3D Printers
Parameters of the Elegoo Rapid Resin
- Hardness: 84D
- Shrinkage: 7.1%
- Viscosity (25°C): 150-200mPa.s
- Liquid Density: 1.100g/cm³
- Solid Density: 1.195g/cm³
- Flexure Strength: 59-70Mpa
- Extension Strength: 36-53Mpa
- Elongation at Break: 14.2
- Shelf Life: 1 year
- Capacity: 500g
- Color Option: Grey, White, Beige, Clear Green, Black, Translucent/Clear, Yellow, Blue, Maroon, and Clear Red
- First Layer Exposure: 20-60s
- Normal Exposure: 5-15sÂ
Precautions with the Elegoo Rapid Resin
- Shake the bottle of resin well before use
- Recommended operating temperature of 20°C – 25°C
- You should try to always wear gloves and a mask to avoid direct skin contact
- Keep away from children, dust, and direct sunlight for safety and to prolong shelf-life
- Wash with plenty of water immediately if you get direct skin contact with resin
Best Settings for Elegoo Rapid Resin
The Elegoo Rapid Resin has specific settings for different 3D printers. These are either recommended by the manufacturer or what people mostly use with their printer setups.
If you want to find the best exposure timings for your specific resin 3D printer, you can print the Photonsters Validation Matrix from Thingiverse which is just an STL file that tests the quality of your resin. The video below walks through the process.
Here are some 3D printers and the settings of the resin that other people have had success with. You can find the Official Elegoo Resin Settings Spreadsheet for bottom and normal exposure times.
Elegoo Mars
For the Elegoo Mars, you’ll get great results using a Normal Exposure time of 8 seconds. In addition, the recommended Bottom Exposure time is around 60 seconds. Below are the values for different colors of the Elegoo Rapid.
- Translucent – Normal Exposure: 12s / Bottom Exposure: 70s
- Black – Normal Exposure: 13-15s / Bottom Exposure: 70s
- Blue – Normal Exposure: 8s / Bottom Exposure: 60s
Elegoo Mars 2 Pro/Mars 2
For the Elegoo Mars 2 Pro or Mars 2, a great Normal Exposure to use is 2.5-3 seconds depending on what color resin you are using. For the Bottom Exposure, you’ll want to use a time between 35-45 seconds.
Elegoo Saturn
For the Elegoo Saturn, the best Normal Exposure time is between 2.5-3.5 seconds while the recommended value for Bottom Exposure is 35 seconds.
- Black – Normal Exposure: 3s / Bottom Exposure: 45s
- Green – Normal Exposure: 2.5s / Bottom Exposure: 35s
- Clear Blue – Normal Exposure: 2.5s / Bottom Exposure: 35s
Anycubic Photon
For the Anycubic Photon, people have had consistent success by using a Normal Exposure time between 10-12s and a Bottom Exposure time between 60-90s.
Anycubic Photon Mono X
You can find a spreadsheet of user-submitted settings for the Anycubic Photon Mono X and many resins out there on the market.
For Elegoo Rapid Resin, we have Normal Exposure value ranging from 1-2 seconds, and Bottom Exposure times ranging from 22-70 seconds, though I think 20-40 seconds would be more than enough for this 3D printer.
Benefits of the Elegoo Rapid Resin
- Great color variation
- Consistent build plate adhesion
- Prints come out with stunning details
- Easy to calibrate
- The smell is far better than most other resins
- It’s relatively easy to clean up
- Quick curing times
- Strong and rigid for thicker prints
- Fairly priced for what it’s worth
- Perfect for general use
- Sticks nicely to the build surface
- Recommended for jewelry items and accessories
- User-friendly experience
Downsides of the Elegoo Rapid Resin
- The resin is somewhat brittle
- The lid of the bottle can crack when closed tightly
- Some people have reported the gray color to have a soft surface finish after printing
Customer Reviews of the Elegoo Rapid Resin
The Elegoo Rapid Resin is a top-rated product on Amazon with a 4.7/5.0 overall rating at time of writing and over 4,000 ratings. 82% of the people who bought it have left a 5-star review with great positive feedback.
Customers write that they love how the Elegoo Rapid does not have a strong odor as compared to most of its competitors. It’s also less hazardous and is easy to clean up after you’re done printing.
Another user says that this was the first resin they ever tried and the results were simply astonishing. They were able to print fairly quickly using the default settings of their slicer without having to calibrate further, Lychee Slicer being a common one used.
Most buyers have admired the clean and compact packaging of this resin that allows people to deal with it easily. The pricing is reasonable and there’s just terrific value for money buying this product.
One user pairs the Elegoo Rapid resin with their Elegoo Mars SLA 3D printer and has prints coming out looking spectacular. People highly recommend this resin for jewelry-making, miniatures, and figures.
Another person says that they were using a resin from Anycubic but kept getting failed prints repeatedly with the Longer Orange 10. Once they switched to the Elegoo Rapid, they started getting consistent beautiful results and even saved some money!
Verdict – Worth Buying or Not?
The Elegoo Rapid is a great option for everyone looking to purchase an all-rounder resin with multiple applications. One of its strongest selling points is the low odor it gives out when being used and this is a quality that not all liquid resins offer.
The cherry on top is its high performance and consistency in making gorgeous and exceptionally detailed parts. The fair pricing vouches for its affordability and effortless post-processing makes it a great recommendation for beginners and casual makers.
If you’ve got yourself an SLA 3D printer and are fairly new to the scene or you’re an experienced user who’s looking for a breath of fresh air, buying the Elegoo Rapid Resin is a choice you won’t regret.
Get yourself a bottle of the Elegoo Rapid Resin directly from Amazon today.