Creating Texturing Patterns on FDM Parts

Miguel De Haro

6 Nov, 2018 10:00 PM

The goal of this tutorial it´s how to add texture patterns to your FDM part and make it more presentable. Erasing those awful visible layers to give a better finishing, you can salect any texture and add to your FDM parts even photos or any image.

1. Step 1: Open your part

   Open your model that you want to add 3D texture in the surface, in this example I will use a gripper that I designed.

   

   
   

   
   

2. Step 2: Add the texture

   This step we only can do with Solidworks 2019, it´s a new tool in this version, so if you want to try to do in older version you can´t do it.

   
   

   So the first step it's select the appearance

   

   
   

   Next select miscellaneous

   

   
   

   Next select 3D textures, this parta can only works with Solidworks 2019

   

   
   

   As you can see, appears differents kind of texture so you have many option to select one texture for your design.

   

   
   

   
   

   I select this one:

   

   
   

   
   

   
   

   
   

   
   

3. Step 3: Pre-procces to make a better texture

   In this step we gonna make a little pre-porcces only to make a better texture.

   
   

   so the first step it´s to go to appeareance

   

   
   

   Right click on the texture that we add, and then select edit appearance

   

   
   

   Here we control the density of the texture moving the square in the center, if the square it´s big the pattern of the texture it´s big, but if the square it´s small the patter of the texture it´s small. So it depends the pattern that you want, it´s big, small, you can select acording your necesity.

   

   
   

   

   
   

   
   

   
   

   
   

4. Step 4: 3D Texture

   In this step we gonna add the 3D texture in our model

   So you have to look the tool 3D texture.

   

   
   

   next select your model

   

   Next check the checkbox to add the texture that we selected before.

   

   
   

   
   

   Now we can make the 3D texture, you have to put the minimum value on "maximum size of element", this is to creat a mesh, if the mesh it´s thinner our model it´s gonna be better, that´s the reason why I put in the minimum value, but you can play with this part and give different values to have differentes appereances.

   

   
   

   Next step it´s to put the value of the texture height, in this case I put a value of 2 and the texture looks big so we have to change the value.

   
   

   

   
   

   So I had to adjust to 0.7mm, with this value looks better, so you can give different values and obtain different textures

   

   
   

   

   
   

   Finally save your model as a STL to send the file to your printer

   
   

   
   

5. Step 5: Print your Model

   The final step it´s print your model

   I´m uisng grabcad to slice the model, so here you can se the texture ready to print.

   Using this method you can change the appreacne of your FDM parts, looking a quite better, forget the typical finishing, now you can make different finishing s in you fdm parts