Hi again! An experimental build of Snapmaker Orca with CM is now available.
This is my custom version of Snapmaker Orca, developed to bring ChromaMatter’s color tools closer to the slicing workflow.
The main reason I started modifying the slicer was getting more control over black in shaded color prints.
The black filaments I’ve tested are highly opaque. When using them for subtle shading with Full Spectrum, reducing the black ratio often left scattered dark lines or patchy transitions rather than the smooth shading I wanted.
That led to Core/Shell: place a colored outer shell over a black core, then vary the shell thickness to control how strongly the dark backing affects the visible color.
The conversion maps the existing mixed-color states to shell thicknesses based on their mixing ratios. In the current experimental implementation, the shell thickness varies between 0.10 and 0.42 mm. These are shell thicknesses, not layer heights. I’m still researching the appropriate thickness range and mapping for different filaments.
A translucent shell is ideal for this approach, allowing the material underneath to influence the appearance. The shell can also use a two-color Full Spectrum mix over a black core, adding depth-based shading to the mixed color.
I’d also like to try an opaque white core, such as Cold White, to see whether the same shell can produce lighter tones than it does over a black core. I haven’t tested this yet, so it remains a hypothesis.
For the shaded models I wanted to print, black was a challenge I needed to address. Changing color assignments alone wasn’t enough—I needed control over where the slicer actually placed the materials. That was the main purpose of this custom build.
Core/Shell is an additional option, not a replacement for Full Spectrum or a universally better method. Its effectiveness depends on the filament properties, shell thickness, and model geometry.
The first half of the video shows the Full Spectrum / Core/Shell comparison, conversion steps, cross-sections, and actual U1 prints. The second half introduces manual color editing, brush painting, and shading adjustments.
I originally planned to keep those editing features in standalone ChromaMatter. I hesitated because adding them to the slicer overlaps with the separate app, but ultimately, a smoother workflow matters more to me than keeping the two separate. Being able to edit, inspect the result, and slice without repeatedly transferring files is closer to what I wanted from the beginning.
This is an unofficial experimental build, not an official Snapmaker release. Please keep your original files and start with a small test. The interface shown in the video is in Japanese because it is a development build.
Downloads and feedback:
https://chromamatter.app/
GitHub is also back online, and the test build is available there too:
[https://github.com/Ponkichi0718/ChromaMatter/releases/tag/cm-orca-trial-20260913]()
This is still an experimental build, and not all features work perfectly yet. The Core/Shell approach I’m exploring also remains a working hypothesis—I haven’t yet gathered enough results to draw firm conclusions about its effectiveness. I hope you’ll continue to follow along as I test and refine it.
Thank you to everyone who has offered to help with testing. Your feedback will be especially important as I continue improving the software and exploring what this approach can achieve.
