Shapes

Cross-Section Shapes

VaseMaker includes 29 cross-section shapes that determine the vase's horizontal profile — what it looks like from above.

Shape	Notes
Circle	Perfect circle — the default starting point
Ellipse	Stretched circle with independent X/Y radius control
Square	Square with corner rounding control
Rectangle	Rectangular with corner rounding, independent width/height
Diamond	Rotated square / rhombus
Polygon	Regular polygon with 3–12 sides

Shape	Notes
Heart	Classic heart shape
Egg (2 variants)	Asymmetric egg/oval shapes
Butterfly	Winged figure-eight shape with thin pinch point — needs thick walls for printing
Cardioid (3 variants)	Cardioid curve variants
Teardrop	Asymmetric raindrop/pear shape. Pointiness controls how sharp the narrow end is
Nephroid	Kidney/bean shape with a single smooth indentation. Indent controls depth

Shape	Notes
Rose	Polar rose with multiple petals
SuperEllipse	Between rectangle and ellipse (Lamé curve)
SuperFormula	The most versatile — see SuperFormula Guide below
Infinity	Figure-eight / lemniscate
Limacon	Snail-shell curve
Folium	Leaf-shaped curve with a sharp cusp
Astroid	4-cusped hypocycloid — sharp points
Lissajous	Parametric Lissajous figure
RationalRose	Rational rose with fraction parameters
Cassini Oval	Smooth pinched oval. Pinch slider controls waist narrowness

Shape	Notes
Gear	Up to 60 teeth — surprisingly printable
Spirograph	Epitrochoid curves — very thin lobes, display only
Cycloid	Epi/Hypo slider blends between outward bumps and inward cusps
Piriform	Pear-shaped curve

Enable Top Shape to blend from the bottom shape at the base to the top shape at the rim. Each shape has independent parameters.

Great combos:

The SuperFormula (Gielis formula) is the most versatile shape — circles, stars, polygons, petals, and organic forms from 6 parameters.

Formula: r(θ) = |cos(mθ/4)/a|^n2 + |sin(mθ/4)/b|^n3, raised to -1/n1

Parameter	Effect	Tip
m	Number of symmetry lobes/petals (1–20)	Start here — sets the count
n1	Overall roundness (lower = puffier, higher = pointier)	Main shape control
n2	Cos term sharpness	Fine-tune lobe shape
n3	Sin term sharpness	Fine-tune lobe shape
a	Horizontal stretch (0.1–5)	Squash/stretch
b	Vertical stretch (0.1–5)	Squash/stretch

Example presets:

Shape	m	n1	n2	n3
Circle	0	1	1	1
Square	4	100	100	100
Triangle	3	100	100	100
Star (5-point)	5	0.3	1	1
4-petal flower	8	0.5	1	1
Asteroid	4	0.5	0.5	0.5
Soft clover	6	1	1	6
Spiky star	5	2	7	7

Tip: Set m first for the right number of lobes, then adjust n1 for roundness vs sharpness.

Shape	Issue	Workaround
Spirograph	Very thin lobes	Display only, increase radius
Butterfly	Thin pinch point	Use 2–3mm wall thickness
SuperFormula (extreme values)	Thin spikes or deep concavities	Start with mild values
Astroid, Folium	Sharp cusps	Expect thin edges at cusps
Cycloid (Hypo mode)	Sharp inward cusps	Low cusp count = extreme thin points

Slicer showing missing sections? Increase wall thickness — complex shapes have pinch points where thin walls can't be sliced.