Elegoo Mars C

The Elegoo Mars C is the cheapest machine the Mars family ever had: the same resin printer as the original Mars, but with an ABS plastic body instead of anodized aluminum and a plastic vat instead of metal. It arrived in the fall of 2020, sold for a few weeks and vanished.

The optics and mechanics carried over from the Mars untouched: a 5.5-inch masking LCD at 2560×1440 (2K), a 47 μm pixel, a 40 W UV array at 405 nm. Build volume is 120×68×155 mm, layer height 0.01–0.2 mm, Z accuracy 0.00125 mm. A 2.8-inch color touchscreen runs it, files arrive on a USB stick as .ctb, sliced in ChiTuBox. No Wi-Fi, camera, resin heater or carbon filter: fume filtering was a Mars Pro feature.

Pros

• Lowest ticket in: All3DP spotted it at $170 at launch, and Elegoo's store still lists leftovers at $99.99
• Print quality wasn't cut: the LCD and UV array match the Mars at a 47 μm pixel
• The ABS plastic body is far lighter than metal, so the printer is easy to move around
• The box covers a first print: plate, vat, USB stick, funnels, two scrapers, gloves, masks and spare screws
• Fully offline: no cloud, no account — you walk the file over on a stick, so it still runs years after being discontinued

Cons

• Elegoo never published a spec sheet: the "Specification" block is empty and the model is missing from the comparison table. Part of this card is reconstructed from catalogs and the Mars
• No independent tests or reviews exist in any language — you're buying blind
• The color (RGB) panel is slow: third-party profiles call for 10–20 second exposures at 0.05 mm against two or three on monochrome screens
• A plastic vat instead of metal — those draw more complaints; there's no Mars C spare either, only the 5.5-inch panel listed for the Mars

Today the Mars C only makes sense as a cheap second-hand machine for miniatures, busts and small model parts. Anyone buying a first resin printer should look at the Elegoo Mars 5 (4K monochrome, 70 mm/h) or the Mars 5 Ultra: several times faster and still supported with parts.

Bottom line: an honest budget cut of its era — it kept the Mars optics and print quality, and lost the metal, some convenience and the manufacturer's attention. Fine as a backup, not as a first buy.

Sources and Related Reviews

• All3DP — Elegoo Mars C: Specs, Price, Release & Reviews — a write-up on the model, not a hands-on test: specs and launch price
• All3DP — Elegoo Mars Review: Great Budget Resin 3D Printer — a review of the ORIGINAL Mars, sharing the optics and LCD
• Tom's Hardware — Elegoo Mars Review: Incredibly Affordable Resin Printer — hands-on with the original Mars, the closest thing to a Mars C test that exists