Layer Translucency Color Mixing

A few models to allow you to see how thin layers of different coloured filiment interact. This can, perhaps, be taken advantage of to make intermediate colours for your prints.

A discussion

Filaments are not perfectly opaque, and their translucency varies between filament types, colours and even brands. This is especially noticable with ligher colours, and especially white.

The translucency can be taken advantange of to create intermediate colours for horizontal surfaces, like signs and wall art. A different method; alternating colours; would be needed for vertical surfaces.

Currently, to take advantage of this, modifications to the model itself would be required, as the colouration features of existing slicers really only “paint” the surfaces; it's very hard to control what goes on underneath the surface or side layers. Perhaps slicers can offer direct support for LTCM.

Note that this is lightly different than colourised lithophanes, which deals with light that completely transits the layers of plastics. Instead, we're looking at light that reflects off the surface and sub-surface layers.

The samples

• Four 3MF files are supplied, each mixing at different layer heights: 200um, 160um, 120um and 80um
• Each panel has a different number of layers of one colour before switching to the other colour. For example, a center panel has one layer of yellow over blue layers, and so on.
• A 6 panel, with one , and an 8 panel, version of SCAD files have also been provided.
  • The 6 panel version provides 1 and 2 layers of colour over the base.
  • The 8 panel version provides 1, 2 and 3 layers of colour over the base.
• STLs have been provided, but the 3MF files have all the necessary settings and, at least, the two “sides” of the STLs pre-combined.