# Printing washers with the 3D Print Washer Generator

> any washer, any size, in two minutes of printing

Washers are the part you never have in the right size: a wide one to keep a screw head from sinking into soft wood, a thick one to take up slack on an axle, a plastic one to stop two metal parts from scratching each other. Instead of buying a 200-piece assortment that still lacks the one you need, print exactly that one.

Printed washers are plastic. They are good for spacing, protecting a surface and stopping rattles. Where a bolt is tightened hard or holds weight, use a metal washer.

## What you need

- Any FDM 3D printer
- PLA for indoor spacers, PETG where it gets warm or wet, TPU for soft anti-rattle washers
- Calipers to measure the bolt and the space around the hole

## 1. Measure the bolt



Open the tool and set your **Units**. Measure the bolt shank and add about 0.5 mm for the **Inner Diameter**, so an M8 bolt gets an 8.5 mm hole.

## 2. Size the washer



- **Outer Diameter:** about twice the bolt diameter for a standard washer. Go wider to spread the pressure on wood or plastic, as long as it fits the space around the hole.
- **Thickness:** 1.5 to 2 mm matches a typical metal washer. Make it thicker when the washer is really a spacer.

## 3. Download and print a sample



Download **STL** or **3MF** and print one washer. Try it on the bolt, then duplicate it in the slicer for the rest.

## 3D printing

### Print in batches



1. Print flat, with 100% infill or at least 4 walls, so the washer is solid all the way through.
2. 0.2 mm layers are fine. A washer has no face anyone looks at.
3. Print 10 to 20 at a time; each one takes a couple of minutes.
4. TPU washers are soft and quiet. They stop rattles, but they will not seal water like a rubber gasket.
5. Plastic slowly squashes under a tight bolt, PETG included. Check the bolt again after a day.

## Make it yours

- Wide washers under screws that go into soft wood or plastic.
- Thick spacers to take up the wobble on a toy axle or a display stand.
- TPU anti-rattle washers for licence plates and machine panels.
- One filament colour per bolt size, so the hardware drawer sorts itself.
- A stack of 2 mm washers as shims for levelling furniture or a printer bed.
- Pair with the Machine Screws + Nuts Generator for a fully printed fastener set.

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Open the 3D Print Washer Generator: https://www.mylasertools.com/3d-washer-generator
Read online: https://www.mylasertools.com/learn/guides/3d-washer-generator