Paintable modifier (surface + penetration masking for generic modifiers) #82

New Issue

MrUnknownDE · 2026-04-05T16:18:22+02:00

MrUnknownDE commented

2026-04-05 16:18:22 +02:00

Originally created by @dangerweenie on 3/29/2026

Is there an existing issue for this feature request?

I have searched the existing issues

Modifier objects have been super super useful (go Orca)! That said, creating arbitrary mesh STLs (in Blender, etc) and importing (then positioning them in arbitrary coordinate system without snapping tools ) into Orca is cumbersome and time consuming.

Likewise, for more complex geometry, primitives often are not accurate enough - either missing parts of the targeted area, or including parts that need to be excluded.

Which printers will be beneficial to this feature?

All

Describe the solution you'd like

Orca already has an established surface painting engine that is extremely useful. At this time, it is limited to guiding seams, fuzzy skin, supports, etc.

If there was a way to leverage that painting feature as a means to:

Paint on surface of mesh to create a "mask"
Specify how "deep" into the mesh that mask should extend / penetrate (this could use the vertex/face normals of the painted outer surface to specify the direction of the volumetric "extrusion")
For this mask, user could invoke the modification options that are otherwise available in modifier objects, and/or the "line types" to be affected
This would then guide the slicing

Alternatively, having Orca support the "vertex_color" attribute for imported STLs, would allow the user to paint these features in other software (zbrush, blender, etc).

Describe alternatives you've considered

Paint the mask in zbrush/blender/nomad sculpt, then add thickness/depth, grow the bounds a little, separate that, seal it, export as solo mesh
Import that mesh into Orca slicer, and use that mesh as a modifier volume

The problem with this approach is that Orca does not allow granular enough positioning tools to accurately return this modifier volume mesh to the position from which it was created in the authoring software.

An Orca <> Blender plugin system that would return this to original location would be useful. It would simply be responsible for parsing the solo mesh's location and then re-imposing it in the Orca scene.

I've also tried setting different z-gaps for different parts of the mesh via the above techniques, but Orca does not support modifying z-gaps within modifier object volumes.

Additional context

In the example below, I have printed a lotus flower with very steep overhangs under the bottom, horizontally oriented petals. I've been tuning this for weeks.

For some reason I am not grasping, the overhang_walls print quite cleanly, and the outer_walls have a bit of a "knuckle" effect (small thick blobs connected by thinner extrusion lines).

Being able to manually classify these sections as overhang_walls would ostensibly solve my problem (I've already tried using modifier meshes to match the attributes (speed, flow, width, etc, to no avail).

While being able to manually paint on attributes that would change these walls to be classified as overhang might not solve this particular issue, the utility of being able to paint general modifiers onto the mesh is quite clear.

*Originally created by @dangerweenie on 3/29/2026* ### Is there an existing issue for this feature request? - [x] I have searched the existing issues ### Is your feature request related to a problem? Modifier objects have been super super useful (go Orca)! That said, creating arbitrary mesh STLs (in Blender, etc) and importing (then positioning them in arbitrary coordinate system without snapping tools ) into Orca is cumbersome and time consuming. Likewise, for more complex geometry, primitives often are not accurate enough - either missing parts of the targeted area, or including parts that need to be excluded. ### Which printers will be beneficial to this feature? All ### Describe the solution you'd like Orca already has an established surface painting engine that is extremely useful. At this time, it is limited to guiding seams, fuzzy skin, supports, etc. If there was a way to leverage that painting feature as a means to: 1. Paint on surface of mesh to create a "mask" 2. Specify how "deep" into the mesh that mask should extend / penetrate (this could use the vertex/face normals of the painted outer surface to specify the direction of the volumetric "extrusion") 3. For this mask, user could invoke the modification options that are otherwise available in modifier objects, and/or the "line types" to be affected 4. This would then guide the slicing Alternatively, having Orca support the "vertex_color" attribute for imported STLs, would allow the user to paint these features in other software (zbrush, blender, etc). ### Describe alternatives you've considered 1. Paint the mask in zbrush/blender/nomad sculpt, then add thickness/depth, grow the bounds a little, separate that, seal it, export as solo mesh 2. Import that mesh into Orca slicer, and use that mesh as a modifier volume The problem with this approach is that Orca does not allow granular enough positioning tools to accurately return this modifier volume mesh to the position from which it was created in the authoring software. An Orca <> Blender plugin system that would return this to original location would be useful. It would simply be responsible for parsing the solo mesh's location and then re-imposing it in the Orca scene. I've also tried setting different z-gaps for different parts of the mesh via the above techniques, but Orca does not support modifying z-gaps within modifier object volumes. ### Additional context In the example below, I have printed a lotus flower with very steep overhangs under the bottom, horizontally oriented petals. I've been tuning this for weeks. For some reason I am not grasping, the **overhang_walls** print quite cleanly, and the **outer_walls** have a bit of a "knuckle" effect (small thick blobs connected by thinner extrusion lines). Being able to manually classify these sections as **overhang_walls** would ostensibly solve my problem (I've already tried using modifier meshes to match the attributes (speed, flow, width, etc, to no avail). While being able to manually paint on attributes that would change these walls to be classified as **overhang** might not solve this particular issue, the utility of being able to paint general modifiers onto the mesh is quite clear. <img width="1975" height="1150" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/50c1e7da-b3e9-435b-8ed8-c69f09f703d0" />

MrUnknownDE added the enhancement enhancement enhancement enhancement enhancement enhancement enhancement enhancement enhancement enhancement enhancement enhancement enhancement enhancement enhancement labels 2026-04-05 16:18:22 +02:00

Sign in to join this conversation.

No Label enhancement enhancement enhancement enhancement enhancement enhancement enhancement enhancement enhancement enhancement enhancement enhancement enhancement enhancement enhancement

1 Participants

Notifications

Due Date

No due date set.

Dependencies

No dependencies set.

Reference: github/OrcaSlicer#82