You Can Now Add Fuzzy Skin to the Top Surfaces of Your 3D Prints!

Everyone has the same complaint about FDM (Fused Deposition Modeling) 3D printing: the layer lines make it obvious that the part was 3D-printed. “Fuzzy skin” is a slicer setting that can help. It was first introduced in Cura and was intended to simulate the texture of fur. But users quickly found that at minimal settings, it can produce a textured finish that does a great job of hiding layer lines. The only problem is that it only adds that texture to the perimeters. That’s why TenTech came up with a way to add matching fuzzy skin texture to the top surfaces of 3D-printed parts.

The fuzzy skin feature is now available in other slicers (not just Cura), but they all work in a similar manner. As the printer moves along extruding a perimeter line (one outer layer of a vertical wall), it moves in and out slightly in the direction perpendicular to the line path. That movement is somewhat randomized (within the constraints of the set parameters) and the result is a rough texture on the wall. When that variation in distance from the normal path exceeds the layer line variation, the layer lines mostly disappear.

However, that only works on perimeters, because the algorithm is just tweaking the perimeter path. The bottom surface of a part can get texture of its own from the print bed, but that leaves the top surface smooth—something that stands out and ruins the effect.

TenTech’s solution is a script that runs within the slicer. It can run in Orca Slicer, Bambu Studio, or PrusaSlicer. Because it works with PrusaSlicer, there is a good chance that it will work with Slic3r and SuperSlicer, too. It isn’t compatible with Cura at this time, but TenTech is looking into that.

Based on settings specified by the user or pulled from the fuzzy skin parameters, the script alters the top surface paths. Instead of moving horizontally (perpendicular to perimeters), it moves vertically perpendicular to the top surface.

The script, programmed in Python, performs that modification to the paths in the G-code output by the slicer, so it is a post-processing action. Users can add a call to that script in the post-processing section of their slicer settings, so it all happens automatically. The script is available on TenTech’s GitHub page.

It is worth noting that this will likely have an effect on the strength of the part, because it compromises the adhesion of the top layer. You can compensate by adding one more top layer, but that top surface may still have poor adhesion.