The Fidget Spinner Generator Gets New Shapes, a Finished Preview and Spin Figures
Petal and gear spinners, a preview that shows the bearing, nuts and coins in place, a figure for how much of the spin is in the weights, and a Randomize button for a new design every click.
The fidget spinner generator makes spinners you can print today: a classic spinner with a skateboard bearing in the middle, a print-in-place spinner that needs no bearing at all, or a spinning worry ring sized to your finger. This update is about making them look better and spin longer, and about seeing the finished spinner before you print.
It is free, it runs in your browser, and nothing is uploaded.
See it finished
The preview now shows the spinner as you will hold it: the steel bearing in the centre, the finger caps pushed in on both sides, and the weights in every arm, whether they are bearings, hex nuts or a stack of coins. Switch to Print layout to see exactly what goes on the bed. The bearings, nuts and coins are only in the preview, never in the download.
New shapes, smoother joins
There are now eight shapes: round lobes, straight bars, lobes joined by a ring, a pointed star, a rounded body, swept wings, and two new ones:
- Petals: teardrop arms with their tips swept round, like a flower.
- Gear: a toothed disc with the weights just inside the teeth. Choose from 12 to 48 teeth.
Every shape now blends smoothly where the arms meet the centre. Sharp inside corners are where printed spinners crack when they are dropped, and rounded ones look better too. The Blend between arms setting lets you make the curves tighter or softer.
One click, a new design
Press Randomize design and the generator rolls a new spinner: the shape, the number of arms, the weights, the arm length and the edges. Your bearing, fits and colours stay as they are. Keep clicking until you like one, then fine-tune it.
Know how well it will spin
A spinner keeps going because of its flywheel effect, and the heavier the weights and the further out they sit, the longer it spins. The generator now works out how much of the spinning inertia is in the weights rather than the plastic, and tells you if you could get a longer spin by moving them out or using heavier ones. It also gives the weight of the finished spinner, bearing and weights included.
It checks the weights fit too. If two pockets would run into each other, or into the centre, the arms are lengthened to make room, and it warns you if the weights are thicker than the body or if a single arm would leave the spinner off balance.
Weights you already have
Pockets are sized for 608 and 688 bearings, M8 and M6 hex nuts, US pennies, nickels and quarters, €1 and €2 coins, or any round weight you measure. Stack up to six coins in each pocket.
No bearing? No problem
The print-in-place spinner prints with its hub already trapped inside the body on a V-shaped track. Twist it firmly once when it comes off the bed and it spins.
Print settings that work
- Print flat with no supports, in PLA or PETG, with 3 or 4 walls.
- If a bearing is loose, lower Bearing fit by 0.05 mm; if it will not go in, raise it.
- For the longest, quietest spins, clean the grease out of the centre bearing.
Ready to make one? Open the fidget spinner generator.
Spotted something wrong, or have a fix that works better? Tell us at cobornassets@gmail.com — corrections get credited.
