Texture painting for 3D printing: open source extension for PrusaSlicer and co

TenTech has released an update to its open source solution Fuzzyficator. Fuzzyficator is a plugin for well-known slicers such as OrcaSlicer, Bambu Studio and PrusaSlicer. It enables a “painting” feature for surface textures on 3D printed objects.

The process starts with a so-called displacement map, an image file that defines the deviation of the surface by different color tones. Light areas of the map raise surface points, while darker areas deepen them. This map is loaded into the plugin and allows users to paint specific textures onto the model – directly in the slicer, without additional modeling software.

As TenTech emphasizes, this is currently still a proof of concept. As the changes are made directly to the G-code, the tool reaches its limits with complex models. The patterns can appear distorted, particularly on round or irregular surfaces. In addition, the plugin currently does not always reliably recognize whether a pattern should be pressed into the surface or lifted from it. These limitations make it clear that improvements are still needed before the function is ready for productive use.

Further details and downloads can be found directly on GitHub.