OpticalShift to Give Color Shift Effects to 3D Printed Parts

Grayson Carpenter previously developed CMYKForge. This software tool takes your image and transforms it into a color material extrusion 3D print. Using translucent materials and color science, the software mixes and matches to create many different colors without having to use a lot of different tool heads. The approach is ingenious and should be more widely known.

Now he is starting a new project, OpticalShift. Initially a research project, he will later release it more broadly. He aims to “be publishing my development methods, research articles, tracking numbers, and any terms developed to better define what it does and how it works.” I like this research-out-in-the-open model, where he’s trying to win people to support his projects and then gradually finance them and broaden attention as they progress. We should really have something like an OnlyScience, where people could directly support independent researchers and help fund projects like this.

A person known as 3D Print Bunny came up with the idea. She wanted to be able to move the 3D printed artwork and then see different optical effects. With the new software, Grayson hopes to add holographic effects to his colorful parts. By using tiny ridges in the printed surface to control how light is reflected, Grayson hopes to create images and colors that change depending on the viewing angle. Grayson says that colors can be made to change, becoming lighter or darker. He believes that it “combines a tilting effect with CMYK color-mixing so prints look almost life-like, even though they are not.”

To make this work, he’s building a new 3D visualizer that aligns the geometry and how the model is perceived from different angles. He aims to build and test everything internally. He will print out samples and test them against the intended results from the engine that he will build. Then he will go to a public testing panel.

He cautions us that OpticalShift is not a real hologram, but an optical effect. It could disappear if the viewing angle is different. He also thinks that not every shape will work. He notes that “Ridge detail is bound by nozzle size, layer height, and material, so results will vary between machines.” His “goal is prints that look almost life-like. I will not claim photographic realism.”

Currently, he’s seeking partners to test the software, including 3D printer and filament companies. So far, he’s working with ProtoPasta, BIQU, CMYKForge, 3D Prints by Vic, and HueForge. I love this so, so much. I also really like Grayson’s clarity and expectation management. No crazy promises, just a realistic assessment of what he could deliver and what not. And his previous tools come with one-time payments of $35 or $70, which seems more than reasonable.

I think that this could be a great tool for artists and designers. Imagine making interior displays and signs that change as you pass them. Imagine all those millions of dragons, but their eyes move, or from some angles they seem to smile at you. Is it silly? Kind of, but it could also lead to selling many more dragons. You could make keychains or buttons that flash with color or change.

Maybe you can make bottle caps that tell you to stop turning once you reach the correct torque, or that can be turned one way to indicate empty and another to show full. Perhaps you could use this for Poka-yoke as well? Or for Lockout/Tagout (LOTO)? Or maybe you could make a fixture that, when precisely in place, shows a green dot, but shows a red one if it is misaligned? You could also use this to watermark objects. I think that this is a great initiative, and you can check it out here.