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Spiral spring generator: turn a body into a springy toy

A springy egg that stretches like a coil spring and closes back into an egg - printed in one piece, no assembly. The Spiral generator does it to any body: it makes the body hollow and cuts its wall into coils, leaving a cap on top and a base below. It is experimental (Beta): the shapes are right, how well the coils come apart depends on your printer - start with the defaults.

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An egg turned into a spiral spring, pulled open so the coils show

Watch the tutorial

Every step in under three minutes, narrated with subtitles: the kind of spring, the coils, top and bottom, the preview and making it. Experimental. Watch on YouTube ↗

1Pick a body

Make or import a body first - an Egg from More shapes is a good start. Then click Spiral under Generators (it works on a body you already have, like Puzzle). With several bodies, click the one you want. The body turns into a spring in the view at once.

The Spiral tile under Generators, marked Beta — The **Spiral** tile.

2Spiral or rings

Spiral - one long coil winding up. Choose one, two or three spirals wound together, and whether they wind to the left or to the right. Rings - flat rings joined by 1 to 4 small bridges, each ring's bridges half way between the ones below; set how wide a bridge is.

The egg as one spiral, two spirals, three spirals and rings with one bridge, each pulled open

The Kind of spring card: Spiral or Rings, one to three spirals, winding left or right

The Rings options: bridges on each ring and the bridge width

3The coils

The drawing shows the wall cut open: A how wide a coil is, B one coil with its gap, C the gap. Soft, Normal and Stiff set A and B together. Pick your layer height - the coils and the gap are made whole layers, and a gap of one layer is what lets the coils come apart.

The Coils card: a lettered drawing, Soft, Normal, Stiff, coil width, coil and gap, gap, layer height

The egg with soft, normal and stiff coils, pulled open

4Top and bottom

The top cap (D) is the part that stays whole: 10, 22, 35 or 50 % of the body, or your own share. It is Solid (heavier - the spring wobbles better) or Hollow. The base (E) stays whole at the bottom; the bottom is Closed or Open. A wider foot adds a rim round the bottom: it sticks to the bed better and stands firmer.

The egg cut open: a solid cap with a closed bottom, a hollow cap, an open bottom, and a cap of 50 %

The Top and bottom card: the cap share, solid or hollow, closed or open, a foot

5A loop on top

Loop adds a ring on the cap - to hang it by, or to pull the spring up. Set its diameter and thickness.

The egg with a loop on top and a wider foot

6Look at it: cut open and pull

Cut it open shows the coils and the inside. Pull it stretches the spring in the view, up to five times - every coil moves as one piece, so you see what it will do. It is only a preview: it always prints closed.

The Look at it card: cut it open, the Pull it slider, Make the spring

The spring closed, pulled twice and pulled four times

7Other shapes

It works on any closed body: a heart, a cylinder, a ball, a prism, an imported model. Stand the body the way it should print first - the coils wind round the upright direction.

A heart, a cylinder, a ball and a hexagon as spiral springs, pulled open

8Make it and print it

Click Make the spring. Print it standing, without supports; PLA works best. Then slide a thin blade between the coils once round to loosen them, and pull.

More to do with a body you have: the Puzzle generator and the Flexi generator.

Questions

How do I print it?

Standing as it is, without supports. PLA works best. Use the layer height you picked in the panel: the coils and the gap between them are whole layers. Print slowly enough for clean walls, with normal cooling.

How do the coils come apart?

The gap between two coils is one layer by default: it prints as a thin skin that holds the coils lightly. Slide a thin blade or a spatula between them once round, then pull gently - they come loose. If they stay stuck on your printer, raise the gap to two layers.

Spiral or rings?

A spiral is one long coil - the classic spring that stretches far and wobbles. Rings are flat rings joined by small bridges, like a bellows: they stretch less but print more easily, since every ring is level.

What do two or three spirals do?

They are wound into each other. Each one rises faster, so the spring stretches further and feels softer for the same coil size.

Why is the cap solid?

A heavy top makes the spring nod, wobble and walk better. A hollow cap saves filament and makes a lighter spring.

Which shapes work?

Anything that is one closed body and is taller than about 8 mm: eggs, hearts, balls, cylinders, your own models. Between the base and the cap every level of the body must be one piece - a shape that splits into two parts half way up breaks the coil there, and the panel says so.

Make a spring

Pick a body, pull it open.

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Also see: Puzzle generator, Flexi generator, Basic shapes and body tools and Vase generator.