Monotonic top surface (top_surface_monotonic)
Monotonic top surface is on or off.
What does each slicer call it?
Five slicers, five spellings of one setting. The scope column is which preset the key belongs to, which is what decides whether changing it follows the printer, the filament, or the print profile.
| Slicer | Key | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| PrusaSlicer | top_fill_pattern |
process |
| Bambu Studio | top_surface_pattern |
process |
| OrcaSlicer | top_surface_pattern |
process |
| Cura | skin_monotonic |
process |
| Creality Print | top_surface_pattern |
process |
What does each slicer say about it?
Each slicer offers its own values, so each gets its own line.
- PrusaSlicer: Line pattern for the top visible layer, such as monotonic or concentric. Monotonic gives an even sheen.
- Bambu Studio: Line pattern of the top surface, such as monotonic, monotonic line, concentric or Hilbert curve. It sets the visible top texture.
- OrcaSlicer: Line pattern of the top surface: monotonic, rectilinear, concentric, spirals and more. Monotonic lines give the smoothest look.
- Cura: Prints skin lines in one direction order so neighbours overlap evenly. Gives smoother surfaces at a small time cost.
- Creality Print: Line pattern of the top surface: concentric, zig-zag, monotonic, monotonic line, aligned rectilinear, Hilbert, Archimedean, or octagram spiral. Changes the top look.
Where does it live in the file?
All five slicers file this under the process preset, so its value follows the print profile rather than the model. A .3mf is a zip, so unzip it and search for top_fill_pattern, top_surface_pattern and skin_monotonic, or open the file in preslice and read the Raw tab, which searches every member at once.
Four of the five slicers write their settings into a sidecar part beside the geometry. Cura writes them into the model XML itself, so there is no config part to open.
| Slicer | Part | Format |
|---|---|---|
| PrusaSlicer | Metadata/Slic3r_PE.config |
INI, one key = value per line |
| Bambu Studio | Metadata/project_settings.config |
JSON, one flat object |
| OrcaSlicer | Metadata/project_settings.config |
JSON, one flat object |
| Cura | 3D/3dmodel.model |
XML metadata inside the model part, under a cura namespace |
| Creality Print | Metadata/project_settings.config |
JSON, one flat object |
What values are valid?
Each slicer declares its own type, default, and bounds for its key. They do not always agree, and where they disagree the file is still valid in both: the slicer that wrote it is the one that enforced its own rule.
| Slicer | Type | Unit | Default | Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PrusaSlicer | enum | not declared | monotoniclines |
8 named values |
| Bambu Studio | enum | not declared | monotonicline |
8 named values |
| OrcaSlicer | enum | not declared | monotonicline |
8 named values |
| Cura | bool | not declared | on | not declared |
| Creality Print | enum | not declared | monotonicline |
8 named values |
Cura declares no range for this key, so nothing in the file bounds it.
This value is not a number, so PrusaSlicer, Bambu Studio, OrcaSlicer, Cura and Creality Print declare no unit for it.
The slicers disagree on the type: Cura as bool, PrusaSlicer, Bambu Studio, OrcaSlicer and Creality Print as enum. preslice reads all of them.
The slicers do not accept the same names, which is what a value has to survive when a file moves between them:
- Bambu Studio and Creality Print accept
concentric,zig-zag,monotonic,monotonicline,alignedrectilinear,hilbertcurve,archimedeanchords,octagramspiral - OrcaSlicer accepts
monotonic,monotonicline,rectilinear,alignedrectilinear,concentric,hilbertcurve,archimedeanchords,octagramspiral - PrusaSlicer accepts
rectilinear,monotonic,monotoniclines,alignedrectilinear,concentric,hilbertcurve,archimedeanchords,octagramspiral
Every type, default, and bound above is read from the slicer's own field definitions rather than from measurement: PrusaSlicer's PrintConfig.cpp, Bambu Studio's PrintConfig.cpp, OrcaSlicer's PrintConfig.cpp, Cura's fdmprinter.def.json and Creality Print's PrintConfig.cpp.
Can I read it from my own file?
Yes, without installing a slicer. Open preslice and drop a .3mf on the page. It unzips and parses the file in your browser, and shows monotonic top surface under its own name alongside the rest of the print settings. The file stays in your browser; see what leaves it.