10 Coolest 3D Printed Vase

Don’t have any ideas for what to 3D print? How about a 3D printed vase?

There are tons of out-of-this-world 3D printable vase designs online, and you can’t find almost any of them for sale at a store or Amazon!

And 3D printed vases can serve a ton of purposes. Of course, you could put some flowers or a plant in a 3D printed vase. But you can also use the 3D printed vase to hold pens and pencils, spare change, beer bottle caps, or something else.

I’ve looked at literally hundreds of 3D vase models online, so you don’t have to. In the sections below, I’ll be going over the top ten 3D printable vases that you can make today!

Best 3D Printed Vases

Below are the vases I found, including spiral vases, vases with unique design styles, and more!

1. Honeycomb

First up, this honeycomb vase follows a very unique design, with a honeycomb pattern running along its slightly-curved outer surface. The effect of the pattern makes the vase very visually appealing, and any flower or other item that you store in the vase will look spectacular.

On the project page, there is both a normal version of the model that’s ready for printing as well as a completely solid version that you can use with vase mode in your 3D slicer.

If you’ve never used vase mode in a 3D slicer, it’s a feature that turns solid 3D models into vase-like structures with thin walls and an open top. More on this later, though.

The designer even mentioned that you could sell this item online if you want!

As for printing, the creator of this vase didn’t provide any settings suggestions. But recorded Makes on Thingiverse suggest that you should print this model with a 0.1 mm layer height, a 20% infill density, and no supports. No supports means that this will be a very easy model to print!

2. Low Poly

Low Poly is an increasingly popular design style where models are made using normal geometries, like hexagons and triangles. On top of being easier to print than a high-poly, normal 3D model, low-poly prints, like vases, look so cool.

This low poly vase is actually a planter, so it’s perhaps most useful for anyone looking to print a model for holding a plant. But, if you really like the model, you can also use it for storing other items. The only problem with that is the planter is kind of short, so it might be better for storing smaller items, like coins.

The designer, like the one behind the honeycomb vase, provided both two versions of the vase, including a solid one that’s ready for vase mode and one that’s designed as a vase. Additionally, the designer added a mini version of the planter for anyone using a printer that has a small bed. 

3. Giroid

Next, the Giroid vase is a very appealing vase with a unique structure. As you can see above, the Giroid vase has a pretty normal, curved base but a spiralized top. It’s perfect for storing flowers, but it also works well for holding taller items, like pens or pencils.

Due to the very unique design, you won’t be able to print the Giroid vase using vase mode in your 3D slicer. But don’t worry because many recorded Makers have provided some printing tips, such as 0.2 mm layer height and a 20% infill density. Additionally, despite the overhangs near the top of the model, many users have been able to print the vase without supports.

4. Klein Bottle

A Klein bottle is a special non-orientable surface structure that can technically only exist in 4D. But people have designed 3D versions of the Klein bottle to try to capture its shape. This Klein bottle vase is the perfect item for anyone who loves math, and it also just looks really cool.

The vase has a very special shape that’s a little difficult to explain, so just check the picture of it above!

The designer didn’t provide a version of the model that works with vase mode. But I don’t think vase mode would work with this special structure anyways, so it’s not a problem.

5. Dual Extrusion

This next vase was made specifically for dual-extruder printers, and it looks amazing when printed in two different colors. The vase follows a spiral structure, and the designer made it so you can print one-half of the spirals in one filament and the other half in another.

To be honest, while the vase looks amazing in two colors, it doesn’t really have a lot of space for holding anything. As such, you should really only consider printing this vase if you want a model that shows off the multi-color printing capabilities of your machine rather than a vase for holding flowers or other items.

Side note- check out our list of the best multicolor 3D printers here if you want to learn more about multicolor 3D printing.

6. Flame

The Flame vase is a unique 3D printed vase that follows a very organic design. The vase has basically no regular geometries, and its “flowy” design kind of resembles a rising flame, hence the name of the vase.

The vase should be printed in vase mode in your 3D slicer, as the only available model is completely solid. This isn’t an issue, though, as activating vase mode is easy!

While the designer didn’t provide any suggestions for the print settings, some users posted some successful prints and stated that they used a 0.1 mm layer height to print the vase in PLA without any supports.

7. Spiral

Everyone loves a spiral 3D printed vase, and this one, in particular, looks spectacular. The vase has a slightly-curve shape, and there are spiral protrusions that run along the outer side of the model that add a nice visual touch to the vase.

And the vase is a decent size, so you can fit anything inside, whether it’s flowers, pens, spare change, or something else!

As for printing, because the model is completely solid, you’ll need to activate vase mode in your 3D slicer to print the part. Additionally, the designer recommends using a 0.3 mm layer height and not using any supports.

8. Twisted Heart

Next, if you need a good Valentine’s or anniversary present, this twisted heart vase is a terrific option. The vase was made by taking a 2D heart shape and twisting it while moving it up along the Z-axis. The result is a very cool-looking vase that displays an obvious heart shape when you look at it from the top.

Both a vase mode and a regular version of the model are available on the project page, which is convenient.

9. Voronoi (Two Parts)

Voronoi is another popular design style based on the Voronoi fractal concept. This 3D printed vase is made up of two parts, with the bottom one following a very normal design and the top matching a Voronoi structure. Due to its special design, the vase looks really appealing, especially if you print the two parts in different colors.

The vase, because it’s rather tall, is probably best for storing actual flowers or tall items, like pens. And, because the Voronoi part of the 3D printed vase has holes in it, I don’t recommend adding water to the vase.

As for making this 3D printed vase, you’ll need to print the two parts separately and then glue them together later. However, if you have a dual-extruder printer, you can use the MMU-ready file provided by the designer so you can print the vase in one take.

10. Decorative

Lastly, this decorative vase is another terrific 3D printed vase. The vase has a curved body that looks very nice, and there are spirals that run across the entire outer surface of the model. The vase also has a very wide top, so you should be able to fit a lot of flowers, or other items, inside.

According to the designer, you must activate vase mode in your 3D slicer to print this model. That’s because the only version of the model provided is completely solid.

The designer also provided a few of the print settings they used to achieve a high-quality print. These include a 0.2 mm layer height, an extrusion width of 1.0 mm, and no raft or any supports.

How to 3D Print a Vase?

There are two different ways you can 3D print a vase: in vase mode or normally. I’ll go over vase mode in the next section, so if you want to print your vase model normally (not in vase mode), then listen up.

The first thing you should do is deactivate supports in your 3D slicer. Because almost all vase models don’t have significant overhangs, you shouldn’t be using support structures, as these tend to make the outer surface of prints look bad.

Second, you should try to use a large layer height, like 0.2 or 0.24 mm; however, if you’re using a nozzle with a diameter greater than 0.4 mm, consider going even higher than 0.2-0.24 mm. That’s because a large layer height will make your model a little more watertight, in case the 3D printed vase will have liquids in it. And a larger layer height for low-detail models like a vase usually makes the print look better.

Lastly, make sure that you set the correct amount of walls for your model. Moreover, you should check the vase design to see how thick, in mm, the wall of the model is. Then, divide this value by the diameter of your nozzle to arrive at the exact number of walls you should use in order to get the highest-quality print.

What is Vase Mode?

Vase mode is a special mode in 3D slicers, like Cura (called “Spiralize Outer Contour”) and PrusaSlicer, that turns a regular, solid 3D model into a vase structure. In other words, vase mode shells out a 3D model to make it more like a vase.

Additionally, vase mode tells your machine to print the vase with continuous extrusion after the base is printed. Moreover, once the first few layers (based) are down, the printhead will lay down the filament for the vase in a non-stop manner. No retractions, no Z-seam, just layer-after-layer printing.

It’s important to note that, with vase mode, it’s best if you have a completely solid 3D model and not one that already has been hollowed out to look like a vase. That’s because once activated, vase mode will turn your solid model into a vase structure by only making a singular wall and removing any top layers.

To help you understand how vase mode works, here is a “before” 3D model that’s completely solid:

And now here is that same model after I’ve sliced it with vase mode activated:

As you can see, the 3D slicer hollowed out the part and only kept a single wall on all sides of the model, as well as a few layers at the bottom.

Prints made with vase mode will be kind of fragile because they are only one wall thick. However, they look much better than a vase-like model printed normally because of the continuous extrusion used. As such, if you’re printing a vase, I strongly recommend activating vase mode!

Can PLA Vase Hold Water?

No.

Unfortunately, most vases 3D printed in PLA aren’t solid enough to be able to hold water. That’s because PLA, as well as all 3D printed parts in general, are pretty porous. As such, water and other liquids tend to seep through the tiny gaps in a PLA 3D print, like a vase.

However, there are a few things you can do to try to get a PLA 3D printed vase to be able to contain water. The first thing is to use a larger layer height, like 0.2 or 0.24 mm. This will reduce the number of gaps in the model, making it less porous.

Additionally, increasing the number of perimeters, including walls and top/bottom layers, can also help make a 3D print more watertight.

But the easiest way to make a 3D print watertight is by printing in a less porous material, like ABS or PETG. Parts printed in these filament materials are less likely to leak water. And you can also easily layer smooth ABS and PETG parts, which makes the walls of the print smoother, so they have fewer holes.

Check out our article on how to smooth prints for more info.

Conclusion

If you’re not sure what to print, definitely try printing a vase. Vases are pretty easy to print and can hold anything from flowers to spare change.

Also, vases give you the perfect opportunity to try using vase mode in your 3D slicer, as it can yield some very visually appealing prints.

There are many different vase designs available online, but, easily, my favorite one is the Honeycomb vase. I also really like the Voronoi vase and the unique Flame vase, so definitely give these models a look!

Enjoy!