Archimedean Spiral
A single continuous spiral where the distance between consecutive turns stays constant. The canonical "record groove" curve — ideal for disc-shaped panels, coasters, and lattice centres.
Parameters
Archimedean Spiral parameters
Turns- Number of full revolutions from centre to edge. Range 1–100, default 20. More turns = larger spiral at the same spacing; combine with Spacing to hit a target outer diameter.
Spacing- Radial distance between consecutive turns in mm. Range 0.1–20, default 2. At nozzle line width (~0.4 mm) adjacent turns fuse; widen for a see-through lattice.
Resolution (pts/turn)- Number of sample points per full revolution. Range 10–360, default 72. Higher resolution yields a smoother circle; 72 (= 5° steps) is a good baseline.
The outer radius equals roughly Spacing × Turns. Set Turns = 20, Spacing = 5 for a ~100 mm diameter disc.
Typical use
- Single-pass coasters: one continuous path means zero travel moves on print.
- Patterned bases: layer a spiral beneath an intricate pattern to give the eye a focal point.
- Filter experiments: a spiral is a great test subject for
ripple,twist, andnoise-displacement— its simple structure makes distortions easy to read.
Related
- Fabric Sculpt Overview
- Concentric Curves — nested rings instead of one continuous spiral.
- Radial Lines — complementary spokes from the same centre.