Fwd: *NEW* 3DP Tool Development!

[Kurt]

Hey Folks - TGIF!!!

So - based upon another thread here ( free texture tool  ) - started by Mr. Jeff Ratner - which had me going down a serious Rabbit Hole this past weekend - I've now begun development on a NEW 3DP Tool - as a kind of "Add-on" to the CNC Kitchen tool that creates Bump patterns on Meshes:   BumpMesh by CNC Kitchen

In this screenshot - you can see my experimenting with it - to Specifically create a Cylinder with Bumps on it (literally) - as a test:

Now - upon trying out using this web app - the one issue I had was that it would only do Bumps on an object. Problem is - the whole world of desktop 3D Printing is moving in the direction of Multicolor/Multifilaments printing. And, it seems BumpMesh does NOT have that option. 

I actually did reach out to Stefan at CNC Kitchen - and he did respond back to me in regards to my initial email to him. As I simply tried to see if I could get a response about this web app - and he did reply. But, afterward - once I sent him my questions - in regards to what I wrote above - I have not heard back from him.

And, I got impatient - so, I decided to tackle the problem myself - with an assist from my BFF - Claude. 

How did I do it - like what was my process? It involved the cylinder above (purely as a Test). So, I originally created the basic cylinder, brought it into BumpMesh - got a pattern of bumps on it - and exported that STL file. I then brought both - Original & Bumped Cyls - into the slicer - and then exported an STL. This is what it looked like:

The  Guts of my plan - would be a 3MF file that has the Original object - and the New Object that has the bumps. In this way, hopefully an algorithm can be implemented that can determine the bumps on the object by essentially comparing it to the original object without the bumps!!!

Then - I had Claude work on an algorithm - to detect the bumps - and then assign the Yellow material to those bumps. Although, it's 1st algorithm it was working on - I stopped the process - since it was trying to do something Specifically for processing of Cylinder - and I needed something more General purpose. So - it switched gears - and the 1st output was mostly a success:

However, there are STILL Errors happening - and over a number of revisions - there are still certain problems. But, I'm hoping to have something Truly Viable shortly! 

I was trying to attach 2 files to this posting - the original before bumps got the color assignment - and the the very first output - even though it has problems(bottom should NOT be Yellow). So - at least this way - people can open up some test files of what I am trying to do. But - Google complained email size too big.

So - I will follow-up shortly with the 3MF file...

I hope folks truly find this interesting - and that it's a tool that people can find Useful!

-K

[Kurt]

OK - here is my original 3MF file - to begin testing the algorithm...

-K

[Kurt]

This next file is the 1st test outcome - a 3MF file generated by Claude my BFF!

-K

On Friday, May 15, 2026 at 12:57:40 PM UTC-4 Kurt wrote:

[Kurt The 3D Printer GUY!!]

By the end of day yesterday - after I was done with work - and then I pushed Claude to really get it RIGHT - in the end - it DID succeed - and I got a Successful Scene!!!! For those that want to peek at it - especially those with a TC - a SnapMaker - or a Bambu - feel free to check it out! I am attaching the file now. Will admit - upon loading it up in the SnapMaker Slicer - there are still some issues - and issue BEYOND what you will get when you try to Slice the object. You WILL Get An Error - but, in most slicers - just Right Click on the part - and hit Repair. I know what the problem is - but, the explanation is kinda complicated. Still  - beyond that error - there is STILL a problem - Kinda...

I'd be curious to know WHO will be the first to tell me the problem I see with the output!!!

I am planning on trying to resolve that issue as well. So - it's still a WIP (Work-in-Progress)...

-K

On Friday, May 15, 2026 at 12:57:40 PM UTC-4 Kurt wrote:

[Kurt The 3D Printer GUY!!]

Last weekend I made more progress. I succeeded in doing a Much more complicated Test! This time - I created a basic Bracelet using 3DS Max. 

Then - the plan was - to get a Wood Grain type bumps onto it. And, I got things working:

I was hoping folks would not only find this project Interesting - the building of a new SW Tool - but, also Useful. 

But, based upon the complete lack of replies to this posting - I guess I was wrong...

-K

[david merten]

You have at least 1 person interested! Me! That looks interesting.  Can you do the reverse, make the texture and innie instead of an outie? You are working with stl's correct? IMO that makes it more useful as stls are a pain in the ass to modify.

              David

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "3D Printing Tips and Tricks" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to 3d-printing-tips--...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/3d-printing-tips--tricks/86704fb9-4576-4622-97fb-7d75bbf3c619n%40googlegroups.com.

[Kurt The 3D Printer GUY!!]

Hey David,

Thanks SO Much for your kind words - and your interest. Funny thing is - I WAS actually thinking about that - Just today!!! 

Why??

Cause my Original Dragon design - the body had these "scales" I designed into it - but, they were Bumped Inwards triangles - not Outwards! So - I was actually thinking about the exact situation you mentioned. 

The code is based of Geometry Differentiation. You have Two Objects - the 2nd one is a modified version of the 1st one - and the code I am developing - essentially Isolates those differences. So - If I push the code - No reason I can't have it determine Inward bumps instead of Outward bumps!

And - it's a Great idea to implement in the Software! So - thanks for your Interest as well as a Great suggestion!

Am curious - what SW do you use to do modeling? I suspect you mentioned it before - I just forgot...

-K

[david merten]

My main go to drawing/modeling software is actually MasterCam a very old version 2008. It is an extremely expensive package especially when you have the full cadcam, it's so much easier to use what you know. I also need the ability to post gcode for different types of cnc machines that it gives me.The 3D modeling is getting a bit dated. So I bought plasticity. It seems really powerful but I have trouble getting my head around it

 Such a different work flow.

I have seen some blender videos that shows how the two programs can integrate together for even better results. Don't know if I will ever get that good. I need Claude blender.

I also need all my software to run on my laptop, some machine shops will not let you on their network, even though they know me quite well.

        David

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/3d-printing-tips--tricks/c472552e-10c9-4757-9769-fd186fcfaf4bn%40googlegroups.com.

[Kurt The 3D Printer GUY!!]

Hey David,

Interesting reply. Yeah - I suspect that MasterCam is very specific to things like CNC machines. Totally understand the grind of a learning curve. 

Funny you should say Claude Blender! In fact, Claude like others are LLM. As such, if you did some kind of CAD that is more like code or a scripting language - that is where the LLM's can SHINE! 

So - my suggestion - try a combo of Claude and OpenSCAD - you might be Surprised at the results you might get!!!

-K

[david merten]

I have actually tried vibe/scadding a couple times over the last few years. The results were terrible. And it gets really hard to debug a complex part. Maybe its getting better but I would rather spend time on plasticity.  I can draw geometry in MC then import into plasticity to generate the solid.

Always looking for better/easier methods to model. So Always open to new suggestions. 

                     David

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/3d-printing-tips--tricks/40edb2f3-2d98-402f-9902-831643447cccn%40googlegroups.com.