MeshColor

What is MeshColor?

MeshColor is a free browser tool from the Break a Layer YouTube channel that adds color to a 3D model you already have. You load an STL or 3MF, add a layer with one of nine built-in patterns (two wood grains, Lava, Sci-Fi, Army, Waves, Schematics and two abstract designs) or your own image, and the tool works out which filament each part of the surface should print in. The export is a 3MF with the colors already assigned, which Bambu Studio and OrcaSlicer open as if you had painted the model by hand.

A logo or color image is split into its separate colors automatically, each on its own filament slot. You pick planar, triplanar or cylindrical projection, set scale, offset and rotation, and use a fill tool to limit a layer to the faces you choose, so a logo can sit on the front while wood grain covers the rest. Text layers offer six system fonts with bold, italic and mirror options, and nozzle presets from 0.2 to 0.8 mm keep the detail at a size your printer can resolve.

It changes color only, not shape, so the printed surface stays smooth. A texture puts several colors on almost every layer, so in practice you need an AMS, AMS lite or a toolchanger, and a desktop browser rather than a phone.

What you can make

• Wood-grain and patterned color finishes on your own models
• Multicolor logos on enclosures, vases and shells
• Text painted onto flat or curved surfaces
• Color decals made from your own images

How to use MeshColor

1. Open meshcolor.com on a computer and load an STL or 3MF
2. Choose the nozzle preset that matches your printer
3. Add a pattern, your own image or a text layer and pick the projection
4. Use the fill tool to limit each layer to the faces you want
5. Export the multicolor 3MF and match the filament slots in your slicer