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Nonplanar Spacer

A circular spacer with sinusoidal non-planar waves around the circumference. The wave amplitude grows from the inner ring (flat) to the outer ring (full height), giving a flexible, interlocking structure. The toolpath is a single continuous spiral from the inner diameter outward — no travel moves between rings.

See Predefined Models for the general workflow and how to select this model.

Parameters (sliders)

Each control in the parameter panel does the following and why it’s useful:

Parameters

Waves
Number of sinusoidal waves around the circumference. Fewer waves (e.g. 4–6) give larger, softer lobes; more waves (8–10) give a finer, stiffer pattern.
Thickness
Total height of the spacer (mm). Wave amplitude grows from zero at the inner ring to this value at the outer ring. Use it to set how tall the part is at the rim.
Hole Size
Diameter of the central hole (mm). Match a bolt, shaft, or mounting hole so the spacer fits over it.
Diameter Ratio
Outer diameter = Hole Size × this ratio. E.g. ratio 3 with 8 mm hole gives 24 mm outer diameter.
Material Thickness
Extrusion height per ring (mm). Set equal to your nozzle diameter (e.g. 0.4 mm) for good adhesion along the spiral.
Width/Height Ratio
Extrusion width to height ratio (EW/EH). Controls line width relative to layer height for your nozzle.
Overlap
Lateral overlap between adjacent rings (0–40%). Higher overlap (e.g. 20–30%) improves strength; lower gives a lighter part.
Wave Contraction
Pulls wave tips inward radially for better squish. Increase (e.g. 1.0–1.5) if peaks don’t stick or layers separate.
Quantity
Number of parts generated side by side in one job.

How it works

  1. Ring spacing is computed from extrusion width (Material Thickness × Width/Height Ratio) minus Overlap.
  2. A short purge spiral from the nozzle radius inward to just before the first ring primes the nozzle.
  3. The main toolpath is a single continuous outward spiral: for each step, a fraction from 0→1 along the spiral drives both radius and angle. Z follows a cosine wave (amplitude 0 at the inner ring, full Thickness at the outer ring). Radius is reduced at wave peaks by Wave Contraction so peaks stay closer to the previous layer for better adhesion.
  4. The start angle is chosen so the path begins under a wave crest; segments align with wave nodes so the toolpath hits exact minima and maxima.