I think we have probably all been there before. Some of our parts do not come out nice and smooth. What if we actually used that though? If we let it get some top surface texture and then we stain it or swap filament, the stain or the darker filament will go into the grooves. The top layer may need to be an ironing pass though. What do you all think of this idea?
Wood varies in it’s texture and lines, a 3d printed surface is probably way too regular for this, it will just highlight the 3d printed nature, not hide it.
Print settings and ironing help with top surfaces, but FDM printing has it’s limits… If you want really smooth you need to either use resin printing or be prepared to fill, sand, seal and stain the top.
Plastic with molded wood grain, or an applied vinyl sticker to simulate wood grain used to be a thing.
My inclination would be to make a pattern for the final layer and lean into the 3D printedness, ironing said pattern into the design.
Or, tune/adjust your printer to get an adequately smooth appearance?
1 Like
Just a recommendation, if texture is needed on a 3d print, just model it onto the print model. You will get a consistent outcome since its part of the model. Also, you are not limited to any one texture and the sky is the limit on textures. The downside is it will add additional printing time to the print.
Blender is a free option to add textures to any model and not super hard to do.
As always there are a ton of programs that can do this as well.
s
2 Likes