3DPrintCAD › Guides › Vase generator

Vase generator: shapes, patterns and spiral vase mode

Q: Can I change a vase after creating it?

Yes. Double-click the vase (or select it and click Edit generator) and the generator opens with its settings.

Make a vase or a plant pot in a minute: pick a shape and pull it into the outline you want, add a spiral, ribbed, diamond or petal pattern, and print it hollow - or solid, for your slicer's spiral vase mode. Everything happens in your browser and the vase is ready for the slicer.

Make a vase nowNo account · nothing to install · runs in your browser

A pink tulip vase with petals, a blue classic vase with a spiral and a green bottle vase with ribs

Watch the tutorial

The whole generator in under two minutes, with subtitles: shapes, the outline sliders, patterns, hollow or vase mode. Watch on YouTube ↗

1Open the vase generator

Open the app and click Vase under Generators on the left (or use this link). A classic vase with a spiral pattern appears. Every setting on the right updates the preview, and the lines at the top give its size, the opening, how much it holds, the plastic it takes and how far its side leans - so you know it prints without supports.

The 3DPrintCAD app with a vase with a spiral pattern and the vase generator panel on the right — The vase generator: the vase, the settings and its outline on the right.

2Shape

Start from a shape: Classic, Amphora, Tulip, Bottle, Flared, Bowl or Cylinder. Then shape it with the sliders - each is a share of the diameter, and the outline beside them follows as you drag:

Bottom - the width at the foot.
Belly and its height - the widest point.
Neck and its height - the narrowest point near the top.
Lip - the width at the opening.
Height and Diameter in mm.

The Shape card: seven shape tiles, the outline and the lip, neck, belly and bottom sliders, height and diameter

Seven vases: classic, amphora, tulip, bottle, flared, bowl and cylinder — Classic, amphora, tulip, bottle, flared, bowl and cylinder.

3Pattern

A Pattern runs round the outside: Plain, Spiral, Ribs, Waves, Diamond, Facets, Rings or Petals. Set How many, the Twist from bottom to top, the Depth and the Groove width. A Plain rim keeps a smooth band at the top. The pattern follows the outline, so the grooves bend with the vase.

The Pattern card: plain, spiral, ribs, waves, diamond, facets, rings and petals, with count, twist, depth, groove width and plain rim

Eight vases: plain, spiral, ribs, waves, diamond, facets, rings and petals — Plain, spiral, ribs, waves, diamond, facets, rings and petals.

4Walls: hollow or vase mode

Hollow - a real vase with a Wall and a Floor. The wall keeps its thickness at every height, even under the pattern. Drainage hole turns it into a plant pot.
Solid (vase mode) - a solid shape for your slicer's spiral vase mode (Orca and Bambu: Spiral vase; PrusaSlicer: Spiral vase; Cura: Spiralize outer contour). The slicer prints only the outside, one continuous line: fast, light and seamless.

The Walls card: hollow or solid for vase mode, wall, floor and drainage hole

5Create and print

Pick a Colour, click Create vase and Export an STL. The panel tells you how far the side leans: under 45° it prints without supports. Wide flared tops and bowls lean the most - lower the lip or the belly a little if the panel warns you.

Questions

Hollow or solid - which should I choose?

Hollow makes a finished vase with a real wall and floor. Solid is for your slicer's spiral vase mode: it prints only the outside in one continuous line, which is faster and lighter, but the wall is only one line thick, so it is more delicate.

Will it print without supports?

The panel says how far the side leans from upright. Under 45° it prints without supports; it warns you when a flared lip or a bowl leans more.

Can I make a plant pot?

Yes. Choose Hollow and tick Drainage hole: a hole goes through the floor. A wider shape like Flared or Bowl makes a good pot.

Can I change a vase after creating it?

Yes. Double-click the vase (or select it and click Edit generator) and the generator opens with its settings.

Make your vase now

Open the vase generator, pick a shape and a pattern, and print.

Make a vase now

Also see: Jar generator, Lithophane maker, Box generator and all guides.